Yogyakarta, Saturday, March 9, 2024 – The culmination of the 18th annual Korean Day was held by the Korean Language and Culture Study Program of Universitas Gadjah Mada at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences. The performers blended the cultures of the two countries through their costumes to adding a touch of Indonesian culture into their performances, for example by performing not only Korean songs, but also Indonesian songs.

This year, Korean Day was themed “Hallyunesia Wonderland” to celebrate Indonesian and Korean culture. The event was also enlivened by performances from various dongari (clubs) of UGM Korean Language and Culture Study Program, namely Samulnori, Hansamchum, Katarsis Sing, Katarsis Dance, Talchum, and Buchaechum. There were food, beverage, and accessory tenants that filled the venue. The Random Play Dance session and the appearance of the guest star, Nadafid, were the highlights of the event. Then, there was also a Noraebang (karaoke) session which also closed the Korean Day 18 event.

The entire series of the 18th Korean Day event is expected to be a source of inspiration for Korean culture lovers, providing a forum for creativity and community while encouraging the preservation of Indonesian culture. In addition, Korean Day is one of the media forms of cooperation with parties who have contributed to the success of the event.

On Monday, March 4, 2024, at 09.30 WITA, Dr. Arsanti Wulandari, S.S., M.Hum, a lecturer from the Javanese Language, Literature and Culture Study Program, became a speaker in a public lecture entitled ‘Philology in Javanese Manuscript Studies’. This activity was organized through the Zoom platform by the Old Javanese Literature Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Udayana University (FIB UNUD).

In the public lecture, Dr. Arsanti Wulandari presented an introduction to philology, reviewed the concept of philology, the object of study, the tasks of philologists, and the final product produced. The presentation was equipped with examples of Javanese manuscripts and their identification, so that the audience could understand about philology more easily. The discussion session that followed provided space for participants to ask various questions, showing their high enthusiasm for the topics discussed.

This public lecture on philology was held in response to the diminishing interest of students in the field of philological studies. However, the government is currently seriously encouraging the excavation of knowledge and values contained in ancient manuscripts. Hopefully, through this kind of activity, interest and understanding of philology can grow again among students.

The importance of understanding and maintaining the sustainability of knowledge and cultural values contained in ancient manuscripts is the focus of this public lecture. By providing knowledge, enthusiasm, and establishing good cooperation, it is hoped that the knowledge and cultural values in ancient manuscripts can be preserved and can then be developed according to the needs of the times.

The Open Senate Meeting in commemoration of the 78th Anniversary of Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM was successfully held on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. In the event, one of the lecturers and students of the History Department of FIB UGM won awards as outstanding lecturers and outstanding students. The lecturer is Dr. Agus Suwignyo, M.A. and a History student class of 2020, namely Dinda Nabila.

When interviewed, Dinda Nabila revealed that she felt very grateful for the award that had been given to her. “Alhamdulillah, of course grateful. If you think back a little, I tried many things and of course it wasn’t always smooth. A lot of the behind-the-scenes process is tiring. But with all that, I can cherish every process. But, other than that, I felt like I don’t deserve it, because, yes, there are many friends who are cool and deserve this too,” said Dinda.

Dinda also gave a message to her friends and juniors to keep appreciating every process that is being passed, especially the lecture process. She said, “trust your process, no matter how fast or slow. As long as you have dreams and faith, you’ll get it at your right time. So, from now on, don’t think too much over things you can’t control, just focus on what you can and do your best!”

On Saturday, April 27, 2024, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate held its inaugural activity, the Handover of Office of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate 2024. This activity is part of the main activities of the new management of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate in the procession of handing over positions from the management of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences  Student Senate for the 2023/2024 period to the management of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences Student Senate for the 2024/2025 period. All representatives from the Departmental Student Association (HMJ), Semi-Autonomous Bodies (BSO), and Student Executive Institutions (LEM) of Faculty of Arts UGM, were invited to witness the handover procession as well as the presentation or Grand Launching of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate 2024/2025, which was held in Room 709, Soegondo Building, presenting information about management.

The event opened with remarks from the Chairman of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate for the 2023/2024 period who is now the 1st Advisor of the Senate, I Putu Adhimas Radiansyah Aryawan. Reflection of activities which became the main message of the speech from the work program that has been carried out for one year and the things that have been done by the Faculty of Cultural Sciences  UGM Student Senate period 2023/2024 to contribute to the student environment. The participation of faculty-level student organizations is a major point of the existence of the Student Senate to support democracy, channel aspirations, and increase student involvement in order to increase the role of active students in the non-academic environment.

The handover procession continued with the reading of the oath of office which was followed by all the administrators of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate for the 2024/2025 period and the oath of office to the new Chairman of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate, Aisyah Muthmainnah Alamsyah and the Secretary General of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate, Muhamad Rafi Nur Fauzy. After the procession was completed, the next session was a speech by the new Chairperson of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate for the 2024/2025 period regarding hopes and invitations for collaboration to all representatives from HMJ, BSO, and LEM FIB UGM, for synergy between organizations in order to realize a collaborative and strong faculty-level student organization.

After the speech was given, the presentation of the Grand Launching of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM Student Senate 2024/2025, was carried out by a number of representatives of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences Student Senate management who described each main board and commission, work programs, and workflows of each Faculty of Arts Student Senate commission in the legislative and supervisory fields at Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM. The event then came to an end with a joint documentation session and closing which ended the event and started a new beginning for the future of the faculty-level student legislature at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM.

On Thursday, April 18, 2024, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM participated in a series of UNESCO Jakarta events together with Tidar University and Atma Jaya University Yogyakarta to commemorate World Heritage Day 2024. UGM Archaeology students joined the one-day event held at Campus II of Atma Jaya University Yogyakarta. This activity is an effort from UNESCO to raise public awareness, especially among young people or students, on the diversity of cultural heritage and draw people’s attention to the vulnerability of existing cultural heritage and steps to protect it. This activity also demonstrates collaboration for the management of cultural heritage sites that include aspects of conservation and interaction with heritage preservation communities for sustainable development.

The event began with an opening in the lobby of the Campus II building of Atma Jaya University Yogyakarta with an exhibition consisting of local crafts. The local works were inspired by Indonesia’s cultural heritage, such as leather wallets in the shape of Borobudur, typical Borobudur wedang powder, card games about cultural heritage conservation, miniature Prambanan temples, and others. The opening began with a group photo followed by representatives from UNESCO Jakarta, UGM, Tidar University, Atma Jaya University Yogyakarta, and Borobudur Conservation Center. The event then proceeded to the Campus II Auditorium for the opening by the representatives and a special opening by the Head of Culture Unit UNESCO Jakarta, Moe Chiba followed by a representative from Borobudur Conservation Center, Mr. Brahmantara. Followed by a panelist session by two main speakers.

The first and second main speakers, Mr. Brahmantara from Borobudur Conservation Center and Ms. Dian Nisa Anna Rahmayani, from Sangiran Conservation Center gave a panel presentation session entitled, “World Heritage Management, Community Engagement and Current Challenges”. This panel presentation presented how a cultural heritage site is managed and the interaction of the management institution to the community with current challenges. Cases used as examples were the management of Borobudur, Sangiran, and the presentation of various cultural heritage site mapping techniques.

The students of the three universities attended the event by sitting in groups and enlivened the event by voicing yells from each group and participating in two game sessions at the interval. Both games were in the form of cultural heritage site puzzles that emphasized the role of group cooperation to solve the puzzles together. Students were given 15 minutes to complete the puzzle. The winners of the puzzles were then awarded prizes after the event ended.

The commemoration of World Heritage Day held by UNESCO Jakarta supported by the National Federation of UNESCO Associations in Japan (NFUAJ) had an important impact on the community, especially on students. The introduction of local culture and crafts as well as the exposure of how to manage a cultural or world heritage site is the essence of building collective awareness. Awareness to maintain and preserve cultural heritage that becomes regional and national identity.