On Monday, August 5, 2024, the Master of Literature Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) has successfully held an online socialization of new student admissions. This activity was attended by all new students of odd semester 2024/2025 after they completed the registration stage. This socialization aims to introduce the lecture process and various important information related to the study program.

The event, which started at 10.00 WIB, went smoothly and was attended by many participants. Through the Whatsapp Group platform, new students were given the opportunity to interact directly with the study program, namely Dr. Aprinus Salam, M.Hum. as the head of the master of literature study program, and get a detailed explanation of the procedures for lectures and other academic activities. We hope that this activity provides optimal benefits and readiness for new students in starting their academic journey.

FERDEO, S.Sos., is a student of the Master of Anthropology program at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, since August 2023. He is very committed to growing through his experiences, and is passionate about education. With more than five years of experience as a public speaker, Ferdeo currently serves as a Mental Health Ambassador and Postgraduate Ambassador at his university. In his role as a mental health ambassador, he contributes to creating a campus environment that supports student well-being. In addition, Ferdeo is active in academic and cultural activities at the national and international levels and is a frequent MC and moderator in various faculty and university events.

Currently, Ferdeo is also active in various organizations. Since August 2023, Ferdeo has served as a Mental Health Ambassador in the Mental Health Ministry of BEM KM Universitas Gadjah Mada, which focuses on student mental health advocacy through psychological education, research studies, mental health service monitoring, and collaboration with related parties. In his role, Ferdeo initiated and leads the advocacy program “Journey to Joy”, which is open to the general public in Yogyakarta. He is also a frequent speaker and advocate of mental health discussions in the Universitas Gadjah Mada community, faculties, and surrounding high schools. In addition to being honored as Gadjah Mada University’s Mental Health Ambassador, Ferdeo was also selected as Gadjah Mada University’s Postgraduate Ambassador from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences.

Ferdeo also has a lot of work experience as a freelancer since 2020, where he performed various roles with high professionalism. As a speaker, Ferdeo delivers engaging presentations at events on a variety of topics. As a Master of Ceremony, he organizes events smoothly and elegantly, while his skills as a moderator enable productive discussions and collaborations. In addition, Ferdeo also contributes as a model, adding elegance and credibility to visual representations. With more than five years of experience, he has spoken at many events, ranging from school and university events to regional, national, and international platforms. Since 2021, Ferdeo has also been active as a photography model for various salons and boutiques, as well as appearing as a runway model and usher at various regional events.

From his many experiences and achievements, it can be seen that he has various skills that support his performance both in work and other activities. Ferdeo is highly skilled in public speaking, interpersonal communication, problem solving, critical thinking, adaptation, time management, and working to achieve targets. He even received an A certificate in public speaking skill development training from the Directorate of Student Affairs (DITMAWA) Unit of Universitas Gadjah Mada. With a combination of strong skills and dedication in various fields, Ferdeo shows outstanding commitment in academic, professional, and organizational roles. His active role as a Mental Health Ambassador, his involvement in national and international events, and his expertise as a speaker, moderator, and model, make him an inspiring and influential figure in his community. Ferdeo continues to strive to advance her field of interest and contribute significantly to the well-being and development of her community.

Decolonization is an important issue that continues to be studied in the social sciences these days. The effort to break away from Western hegemony, which is a legacy of colonialism, is a long road that is being traveled, especially for Global North thinkers. This effort was also evident in a forum entitled Who Can Speak and What We Can Speak About held at AAS, Gadjah Mada University, July 11, 2024.

In this forum, there were 6 speakers who presented their research results. The common threads of the presentations were about the fate of others, the struggle for human rights, and efforts to uncover the Global North-Global South power relations.

The first speaker was Lili Chen from the National University of East Timor. In her presentation, she explained the dynamics of life for LGBT people in Timor Leste. After independence from Indonesia, LGBT people in Timor Leste are quite progressive. Compared to Indonesia, this group is also much more accepted. This can be seen from the Pride Parade that they can participate in in Dili every year. However, this does not mean that their lives are completely safe. In a country with a highly religious Christian population, LGBT people are still discriminated against. However, there are efforts made by LGBT people to negotiate this. For example, they try to continue to explore pre-colonial local culture, which actually also recognizes the concept of gender outside heteronormativity.

Still related to gender issues, Carol Rodriguez Bello Dawonlay from the University of Philippines, discussed various indigenous women’s groups in the Philippines against child marriage and gender violence. Meanwhile, Anna Christi Suwardi from Mae Fah Luang University, also discussed the role of women in efforts to resolve conflicts in Southern Thailand.

Faryal Khan from the Bonn International Center for Conflict Studies (BICC) discussed the military conflict in South Waziristan, Pakistan. According to Khan, the conflict involving the state and various tribes became prolonged, because the state took a military approach to resolve it.

Faryal Khan’s presentation was also linked to that of Amjad Hassan from the National University of Modern Language Peshawar. Hassan, who is also from Pakistan, criticized the state’s approach to resolving various violent conflicts in Pakistan. According to Hassan, Pakistani policymakers, think tanks and intellectuals still take a Western approach, especially the realist, positivistic and capitalist modernity approach. This is highly ineffective as Pakistan will always fail to address the root cause of all modern conflicts, which is actually the West itself. According to Hassan, the West, especially America, is the elephant in the room that has failed to be identified. Therefore, it is important to map the extent of their interests behind these violent conflicts.

Meanwhile, Gopale Amarnath discussed the problem of health facilities in the Gadchiroli region of Maharashtra, India, which is an area of conflict between the government and left-wing extremists. According to Amarnath, the presence of these extremist groups has made the region discriminated in terms of health policy. Amarnath expressed concern about the poor health facilities and lack of doctors in the area. In addition, the lack of child care facilities, maternal delivery, and proper buildings, also complicates the problem. Moreover, the military also often enters hospitals or health centers to conduct inspections, which makes health workers worried.

In general, the forum also discussed research methods based on the spirit of decolonization. There are at least three points that researchers who go into the field should do. First, they should listen more. Second, research must be based on consent, or the agreement of both parties. Third, do no harm, or do not hurt the physical and emotional well-being of the group being visited.  This forum is very important because it shows how field research methods can explore problems in depth, but also based on empathy for affected communities. This is also a form of decolonization, especially of anthropological research methods that used to objectify the indigenous population. Decolonization is not only a result, but also a process.

Author: Ari Bagus Panuntun

In an effort to improve the achievement of Key Performance Indicators, especially in point five of the publication field, the Faculty of Cultural Sciences organizes various research publication facilitation programs. One of the programs held is Publication Assistance through the “PAPERING TOGETHER” Program. The program aims to accelerate the publication process both in reputable international journals and accredited national journals through a mentoring process with mentors. Program participants are lecturers who already have a draft article with a 75% completion value. Articles included in this program have gone through a review process and during the program participants can consult with mentors.

In 2024, the Research and Publication Unit organized the “MENYEPI BERSAMA” Program in two batches. The first batch was held on July 15-19, 2024 at Grand Edge Hotel, Semarang and the second batch was held on July 22-26, 2024 at Oak Tree Emerald Hotel, Semarang by presenting mentors according to their fields of expertise such as culture, literature, history, and linguistics. The mentors who support this program are Prof. Dr. Pujo Semedi Hargo Yuwono, Prof. Dr. Faruk, Prof. Dr. Setiadi, Prof. Dr. Bambang Hudayana, Dr. Agus Suwignyo, M.A., and Dr. Sajarwa, M.Hum. and the number of participants who take part in this program is 20 people. By participating in this program, participants are expected to be able to complete the article and the article is ready to be submitted to the target journal.

Yogyakarta, 12 July 2024 – The Office of Public Relations, News, and Protocol of Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) successfully held a sharing session themed “Strategic Content Development of Universitas Gadjah Mada” today. The event which lasted from 12.00 to 16.00 WIB was attended by UGM public relations, news, and protocol staff in Multimedia Room 1, 3rd Floor of the North Wing, UGM Central Building.

The speakers who attended this session included Dr. Tirta Mandira Hudhi, M.B.A., Winda Pratiwi, Farchan Noor Rachman, and Mohamad Ryan Saputra. They provided various insights and strategies in strategic content development for UGM such as recognizing audiences through data interpretation, as well as content planning and development. 

Previously, the organizers had invited all relevant staff to participate in this activity, which aims to strengthen the public relations function on campus. The University Secretariat would like to thank all participants for their attention and participation.