Muhammad Khafifudin, who is familiarly called Khafif, is a student from the UGM Master of Middle Eastern Cultural Studies Program who was chosen to be a translator and personal assistant to one of the Professors of Canal Suez University Egypt, Prof. Dr. Hassan Youssef during his visit to Indonesia. The alumni of Al-Azhar University Egypt accompanied the professor to several events at various institutions, namely UIN Abdurrahman Wachid Pekalongan, Gadjah Mada University, Sebelas Maret University and UIN Raden Mas Said Surakarta. In his duties, he translates from Arabic to Indonesian, both oral and written.

Previously, Khafif had been selected as a translator for several other prominent figures from Egypt, namely Prof. Dr. Mohammed Imam Dawood from the Giza Qur’an Institute, Prof. Dr. Nahla Shabry As-Shoidy as Advisor to the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar University, and Dr. Nadzir Ayyad, as Secretary General of Majma’ Buhust Lugah al-Arabiyyah. From this experience, this outstanding student successfully translated speeches, material presentations and important documents. During his assignment, he also received positive responses and good appreciation from the figures he accompanied. Therefore, knowledge of spoken and written Arabic plays an important role in establishing communication and cooperation between countries.

On Wednesday, March 6, 2024, the UGM Japanese Language and Culture Study Program (BKJ) held a webinar entitled ‘Japanese Language and Literature Webinar’. The webinar was attended by more than seventy participants combined between BKJ Study Program students and students outside the study program who have an interest in Japanese Language and Literature.

The webinar took place in two sessions, with the first session by Dr. Mulyadi, M.A. as a lecturer in Linguistics of the UGM Japanese Language and Culture Study Program and the second session by Prof. Mika Baba who is a lecturer in the Literature sub-program of the Bachelor of Cultural Sciences and Literary Sciences Program from the University of Tsukuba.

The first session was an explanation of ‘The Use of Japanese in Naming Business Entities in Lamongan Regency’. This session began with the presentation of data on the naming of business entities using Japanese taken from Google Maps. There were twenty business names from various fields that used Japanese. The data shows that the Japanese language and culture are considered to have a high appeal in attracting customers, especially among young people.

The session continued with a discussion on ‘Personal Pronouns as a Method in Modern Japanese Literature’ by Professor Mika Baba. His research focused on literary works in the second half of the 19th century (1850-1900). In Japanese literature, first person pronouns are used such as 「私」watashi,「余」yo,「己」onore,「我」ware,「僕」boku,「俺」ore, and「自分」jibun. All seven first person pronouns have the same meaning of I or me. The difference lies in the time of use such as 「余」yo which is no longer used, and「己」onore and「我」ware which can still be seen today in literary works set in the past. Another difference lies in the gender of the user. The pronouns 「僕」boku and「俺」ore are mostly used by men, while 「私」watashi is mostly used by women. Lastly, the pronoun 「自分」jibun is generally used when expressing personal opinions in a public forum.

By holding Japanese literature and language webinar activities from the two speakers, it is hoped that students can gain new knowledge related to the use of Japanese both in practice and theory. The knowledge gained later can also be utilized by academics to explore this field.

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.

Yogyakarta, Friday, February 23, 2024 – The Korean Language and Culture Study Program, Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, has held a public lecture for the Comprehensive Korean 2 course. The Comprehensive Korean 2 course includes learning about Korean language that often appears in the business world. This course itself is a course held as a result of cooperation between the Korean Language and Culture Study Program and the Korea Foundation with lecturers directly from South Korea.

The Comprehensive Korean 2 public lecture is held online through the Zoom platform at 13.30 WIB. This public lecture is open to all students of Korean Language and Culture UGM, and is mandatory for students who take Comprehensive Korean 2.

This public lecture invited alumni of the UGM Korean Language and Culture Study Program, namely Jodie Anisya Kusumasari as a guest speaker. Jodie is an alumnus of Korean Language and Culture UGM class of 2017 who now works at the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) Jakarta Center. In the public lecture, Jodie shared her experiences during college until she started her career. After the presentation of the material, the public lecture continued with a question and answer session between the participants and the speakers. Then, the public lecture was closed with a closing session and documentation by the moderator.

This Comprehensive Korean Public Lecture 2 aims to introduce the world of work to students. That way, this public lecture is expected to be a means of self-development for students. In addition, this public lecture is a medium between the study program and alumni to continue to establish cooperation with alumni. This is in line with the sustainable development goals, namely Quality Education and Partnerships to Achieve Goals.

On Wednesday, March 06, 2024, the Department of History of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM held a seminar series on the history of Chinese people in Indonesia. The seminar entitled “The Role of Chinese in Indonesian History” was held in the Multimedia Room, 2nd Floor, Margono Building, Faculty of Arts UGM from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. This seminar was very interesting because the speakers who attended to present their research results came from China. Meanwhile, Dr. Farabi Fakih, M.Phil. from the Department of History UGM served as moderator.

The first speaker in the seminar was Guanmian Xu, an Assistant Professor from the Department of History, University of Peking. His research titled “Capitalism to Genocide: Batavia’s Sugar Frontier, 1700-1740” which explains the emergence of Chinese capitalism in the sugar industry and its relation to the Chinese genocide in Batavia in the 18th century. Xu, who used a global-history perspective in his research, revealed that the thick issues of racism, violence, and cross-cultural misunderstanding were factors that influenced the ethnic cleansing.

Meanwhile, Ma Guanglu who is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the School of International Relations, Xiamen University presented the results of his research entitled “Bung Karno’s Body and Chinese Doctors”. In his presentation, he explained about diplomacy in the medical field between China and Indonesia that occurred in 1962 until the fall of Sukarno’s government in 1965. Ma’s presentation quite clearly shows the political position of President Sukarno at that time towards the Chinese government.