Who doesn’t know sawer? Yes! The ancient culture of the archipelago in which the audience shares money with the performer for the entertainment provided. Apparently, this activity is still often practiced and thanks to the inevitability of digitalisation, a new variant of online sawer has emerged, utilising the commodification of social media features as the most affordable communication medium for all. One such application is in the form of gift live streams on the TikTok platform.

The new features pioneered by TikTok make it a platform that is loved by a wide audience. Unlike Youtube which relies on income from advertisements or Instagram from product endorsements, content creators on TikTok can get ‘paid’ directly from gifts given by the audience. Indonesia alone is second with 99.07 million active TikTok users with an average time of 23.1 hours per month (Statista, 2022). It is not surprising that people often utilise the TikTok platform to earn income through its various contents. Content that sells sadness and compassion such as mud baths, bribing babies with food, parents as visualisation streamers, and many more can earn hundreds of thousands to millions of rupiah.

The Student Creativity Programme (PKM) became a bridge for UGM students to research this phenomenon. Departing from the unrest over the normalisation of TikTok live stream content that absorbs sympathy into a source of wealth, this social humanities research is coordinated by Bulan Churniati (English Literature, 2021) with multidisciplinary personnel from various backgrounds, namely Zahra Hafizha Rahma (Communication Science, 2021), Regan Alim Tsaqif (Psychology, 2022), Aisyah Azka (Geography, 2020), and Faruq Saifudin Nurrohman (Animal Husbandry, 2021) and Syaifa Tania, S.I.P., M.A. as an accompanying lecturer. The primary data collection process in this study was through a survey with 401 people. Then based on the heterogeneity of the answers, 5 people were selected to take part in offline Focus Group Discussions and 3 online interviews to adjust the distribution.

Online sawer behaviour through the gift feature on the TikTok platform is one form of gift giving behavior that develops on social media and is an important part of this research which is interesting to study and analyse in relation to other phenomena found in this behaviour. The aspects studied in this research regarding gift giving behaviour include orientation, bonding value, and generalised reciprocity. Regarding the orientation aspect, 303 respondents gave gifts according to their wishes as viewers of “sawer online” live streaming content. This is in line with respondents’ answers regarding the equivalence of gifts given with the actions of live streamers, the majority or 258 respondents answered commensurate. Self-directed gift giving behaviour can be based on the thought that it will be commensurate with the actions of the live streamer. In the end, it can be concluded that live stream content should be gifted if it can entertain, have an impact on the giver, and the content is something that is worth gifting with or without a request from viewers.

The research that was conducted did not only stop at the act of searching, but also spreading what needed to be spread – understanding the public about this phenomenon. Therefore, the PKM RSH Sawer Online team also has various social media that contain education and recommendations for the public to sort out their watching. Hopefully, after this programme is completed, there will be many other programmes that are influenced to invite the public to be perception literate.

In a groundbreaking collaborative effort, Yogyakarta’s Gadjah Mada University (UGM) has joined hands with 12 prominent Asian universities to spearhead the establishment of the Asian Journal Network (AJN). Vice-Rector for Education and Teaching, Prof. Dr. Wening Udasmoro, S.S., M.Hum, D.A., said that this is a precaution and safeguard for social humanities educators from the clutches of so-called ‘predatory’ journals.

The primary objective of forming the Asian Journal Network is to ensure that social humanities journals uphold the highest standards of quality, free from the undue influence of financial interests. As Prof. Wening aptly puts it, this initiative aims to liberate these academic platforms from the constraints of profit-driven operations. Speaking on the matter, Prof. Wening emphasized, 

“So that various social humanities journals rely on quality and are not trapped in the way journals work with a financial orientation,” Prof. Wening said during a statement made on Thursday, October 5.

Furthermore, the creation of the Asian Journal Network serves a broader purpose of revitalizing the fundamental role of academic journals as fertile grounds for rigorous scholarly discourse and knowledge production. Prof. Wening noted that the Faculty of Cultural Sciences recently played host to this significant development, emphasizing the network’s commitment to nurturing academic exchange.

Among the distinguished nations participating in this monumental endeavour are the Philippines, China, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, and Japan. UGM’s initiative extends its collaborative efforts to include established journals of international repute, such as Kritika Kultura, Concentric, Kritike, Forum for World Literature, Winchen Review, Foreign Literature Studies, Wacana, and CSEAS (Kyoto).

Prof. Wening underscores that the establishment of AJN aligns with a broader vision of enhancing the quality of education—a goal in harmony with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By elevating the standard of education, this initiative aspires to bolster Indonesia’s human development index, ultimately enhancing the nation’s competitiveness in supporting the 2030 SDGs agenda. AJN represents a pivotal step toward realizing these vital educational and developmental objectives

The Korea University ASEAN Centre (KUAC) delegation, led by Professor Jae Hyeok Shin, the Director of KUAC, recently paid a visit to the Faculty of Cultural Sciences at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) in 16th August 2023. The delegation, which included Professor Jeong-in Suh, Former Korean Ambassador to ASEAN, Professor Jaehoo Park, Chief Administrative Officer, and a journalist from Yonhap News, Mr Kim Ho-Chun, had a seven-day visit to Indonesia and Thailand. During their visit, they gained valuable insights into ASEAN countries and had the opportunity to exchange ideas with students of the Korean Language and Culture Study Programme at FIB UGM.

The KUAC delegation’s visit was not just a mere academic and cultural exchange but also aimed to foster closer ties between Korea and ASEAN countries. To achieve this goal, the delegation attended a series of lectures on Cultural Differences between Indonesia and Korea. Moreover, two representatives from Chung Mong-Koo Foundation, Mr Cho Hyun Jin and Mr Shin Ji Nam, also accompanied the delegation, adding more value to the visit.

Overall, the KUAC delegation’s visit to UGM was a significant milestone in the academic and cultural exchange between the two regions. It is hoped that such visits will continue to take place, leading to more opportunities for collaboration and mutual understanding between Korea and ASEAN countries..