Komodo National Park, as one of Indonesia’s natural treasures, has attracted the attention of tourists from all over the world. However, behind the charm of the islands and the unique fauna that reside within them, there is a deeper story about the Ata Modo tribe, which has been impacted by the rapid development of the tourism industry in the region. The Ata Modo tribe itself is a community that has inhabited the island of Komodo for a long time, even before the establishment of Komodo Island as the Komodo National Park. With the designation of Komodo National Park and the influx of tourism activities, the Ata Modo tribe experienced changes in their socio-cultural activities. One of them is the shift in the livelihood of the Ata Modo tribe.

The socio-cultural dynamics that occur in the Ata Modo tribe have been seen and investigated in the latest research by a research team that is part of the Student Creativity Program in Social Humanities Research (PKM-RSH) in 2023. This research team is called AtaModo UGM, consisting of Arif Putra Pratama (Faculty of Law 2020), Avicenna Elang (Faculty of Law 2021), An Nuur Khairune Nisa (Faculty of Cultural Sciences 2021), and Noor Risa Isnanto (Faculty of Cultural Sciences 2021). The research team was accompanied by an accompanying lecturer, namely  Dr. Dian Agung Wicaksono, S.H., LL.M. The research was conducted in approximately one week using participant observation methods, in-depth interviews, and searching for secondary sources from various literature and legislation.

The research entitled “Coercive Transformation of Indigenous Peoples: Marginalization of the Komodo Tribe Amid the Hegemony of Komodo National Park Tourism Development” seeks to find out about three things related to the social, cultural, and economic conditions of the Ata Modo tribal community. The research team succeeded in getting direct answers from the Ata Modo tribal community regarding three problem formulations. First, the Ata Modo tribe has cultural potential that can still be maintained and developed according to the needs of the Ata Modo tribe community and related parties who are interested in collaborating. By discovering the cultural potential that still exists in the Ata Modo tribe, the research team realized that this was to Koentjaraningrat’s theory regarding the seven elements of culture consisting of language, knowledge system, social organization, technology, livelihood system, belief system, and art. Second, it was discovered that until now there has been no legal determination of Komodo Village as a Customary Law Community or designation of a Traditional Village, this could result in a conflict of interest and the overriding of the traditional rights of the Ata Modo tribal community. Third, the arrival of the Komodo National Park and the tourism industry has made the Ata Modo tribal community experience a coercive transformation in social, cultural, and economic aspects.

Therefore, through this research, the PKM-RSH team hopes that these findings will provide valuable understanding and considerations for all parties involved in developing Komodo National Park tourism. In this context, special focus is given to the Ata Modo Tribe which is the center of attention, so that they can be actively involved in efforts to protect their cultural heritage and local wealth. This approach is also in line with the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 11 regarding sustainable city and community development, in which the Ata Modo Tribe, as a community that has long lived on Komodo Island, also plays an important role.

Writer: Member of the UGM PKM-RSH AtaModo Team

The new British Ambassador to Indonesia, Dominic Jermey made his first official visit to Yogyakarta on 17 November 2023. On this occasion, he delivered a public lecture at the Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Gadjah Mada on UK-Indonesia bilateral relations in the fields of education, politics, climate change, digitalisation, arts and culture.

The event began with a warm welcome delivered by the Vice Dean for Research, Community Service, Cooperation, and Alumni, Dr. Mimi Savitri, M.A. In her opening speech, Dr. Mimi Savitri sincerely expressed her appreciation for the high level of bilateral cooperation that has existed between the UK and Indonesia over the years. She emphasised the importance of this relationship as a foundation for further cooperation in academic and social fields.

The next segment was Dominic Jermey’s ambassadorial speech. In his speech, he stated that he had high hopes for the students present in the room to become the successors of the country’s development relay. He highlighted some crucial issues that are being faced by all countries in the world, namely climate change. According to him, the issue of climate change must be brought up and discussed further because the earth that is inhabited today will one day be inherited by younger generations. Students – he continued – can guard this problem according to their portion.

In the last half of his speech, Dominic Jermey warmly welcomed students who had the intention to continue their studies in the UK. He expressed his appreciation for the dedication of the prospective students. Dominic also encouraged the students and gave them the full support of the UK government to ensure the success of their academic journey in the country. In addition, he emphasised the importance of cooperation between countries in supporting knowledge exchange and global human resource development.

The public lecture session was closed with a Q&A session, where participants were given the opportunity to ask questions directly to Dominic Jermey. This session created an interactive atmosphere that allowed for an exchange of ideas and views between the speaker and the audience. Afterwards, the event was closed with a group selfie session.

Sleman (15/11/2023) – The Department of Archeology and the Archeology Student Association of Gadjah Mada University (HIMA) held a collaborative exhibition entitled Sagara Amarta in the series of the VI Archeology Festival with the theme of the Austronesian journey. The Sagara Amarta exhibition is located at the Soegondo Hall, 1st Floor, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University (FIB-UGM).

“At the Sagara Amarta exhibition stand at this year’s VI Archeology Festival, we from HIMA collaborated with several creative product business actors belonging to tourist villages around Borobudur Temple,” said HIMA Chair, Nurul Athifah, at Selamat Hall Soegondo, Wednesday 15 November 2023.

Nurul Athifah added that creative products belonging to tourist villages uphold local wisdom values. Apart from creative products from tourist villages around Borobudur Temple, creative products from UGM Archeology students were also displayed. The Sagara Amarta Exhibition also featured the UGM Majapahit Mandala. Apart from that, there are also culinary stands and photobooths.

“This event is free entry from 10 to 5 pm,” concluded Nurul Athifah.

Meanwhile, the collaborating parties were students’ creative product circles, one of whom was Mandira Brick, all of whom, Ahmad Zaki, said that the aim of participating in this exhibition was to introduce Mandira Brick products as student work. The Mandira Brick product itself is in the form of dismantling miniature temples like Lego, but using the interlock system in the temple.

“Mandira Brick has a mission to educate and introduce the preservation of cultural heritage, architectural art and temple construction techniques in Indonesia,” stressed Zaki.

Archaeological Festival VI: Sagara Amarta Exhibition on 15-17 November 2023 at the 1st Floor of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Gadjah Mada University (FIB-UGM) held in collaboration with the Department of Archeology and the Archeology Student Association of Gadjah Mada University (HIMA) in collaboration with Borobudur Village Exotica , Pasek, Kahitz, Mandira Brick, Botak Shoes Cleaner (BSC), and Cuci Motor Mas Boy, sponsored by RH Dental Clinic (RDH), Jogja Agrapana Water Filter, and Sekar Tanjung Dance Studio.

Credit by Aditya Revianur, S.Hum., M.Hum.

Recently, on 2 November 2023, Universitas Gadjah Mada paid a visit to the University of Zurich. During the visit, both institutions discussed ways to build on shared characteristics and strengthen existing relationships. The UGM delegation’s visit to the University of Zurich emphasised the common characteristics of these two universities and explored various opportunities for past and future cooperation.

At the institutional level, UGM and UZH are connected through University 21 (U21). U21 is a unique global network that brings together 29 of the world’s leading research-intensive universities. UGM is the newest member of U21 which joined in early 2021. While UZH has joined in 2017. U21 plays an important role in creating opportunities for student mobility and provides a platform to share approaches to address common challenges and trends in higher education.

For almost ten years, the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) and the Department of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies (ISEK) at UZH have established a strong and lasting relationship. This partnership has been initiated and sustained by the dedication of Prof. Dr. Pujo Semedi from UGM and Prof. Dr. Annuska Derks from UZH. Over the years, they have established a strong collaboration that has resulted in various programmes such as PhD student exchanges, research fellowships, writing residencies, and master student exchange programmes. UGM has also played a significant role in the International Summer School series called “Southeast Asia in Motion,” with the latest edition being hosted at UGM in August 2022.

Exploring New Ways to Collaborate

Professor Puji Astuti, UGM Director of Partnerships and Global Relations, expressed her excitement for the cooperation that has been established between UGM and UZH. They aim to strengthen this relationship further. They discussed the possibility of offering a double degree programme, which is popular among UZH students. The merging of two university systems can be challenging, but the exchange programme with UGM indirectly provides some solutions.

Meanwhile, ISEK is exploring other collaboration opportunities, such as research projects on alternative education. They are also planning an International Summer School in 2025, where UGM students and faculty will visit the University of Zurich. Molly Fitzpatrick, a researcher at ISEK, believes that this collaboration has been fruitful and hopes that it can be extended to other faculties.

Sleman (9/11/2023) – The Faculty of Cultural Sciences of Universitas Gadjah Mada (FIB-UGM) and the Sleman Regency Cultural Office (Kundha Kabudayan) presented the results of a study of intangible cultural objects that have the potential to be designated as the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Intangible Cultural Heritage (WBTB) at Puri Mataram, Sleman. The presentation of this study is intended to provide recommendations for the Culture Office in determining WBTB.

“There are ten cultural objects found in four sub-districts, including in Minggir, Tempel, Pakem, Turi,” said Imam Prakoso as the head of the inventory and WBTB study team from FIB at Puri Mataram on 9 November 2023.

Furthermore, according to Imam, the ten cultural objects include art, traditional knowledge, and oral tradition. In the scope of art, there are sholawat katolik, sholawat pitutur, rodat, keroncong tunas mekar, and reog campursari eko budoyo. Meanwhile, traditional knowledge includes the culinary delights of duck bacem nglengis, jamu gendong gesikan, and the market economy system. The last is oral tradition in the form of ngelmu titen Gunung Merapi and the Legend of Turgo Hill.

“Every cultural object has the potential to be designated as WBTB, but it needs to be considered again in accordance with the context of the implementation of the Law on Cultural Promotion Objects,” said Imam.

In addition, the Head of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Division, Dekhi Nugroho, said that the purpose of this activity is the first step to determine intangible cultural heritage. This is related to the unevenness of the types of culture designated from the Sleman Regency area, apart from the realm of art.

“The establishment of intangible cultural heritage is still minimal in the field of art. Therefore, the inventory and study of intangible cultural heritage aims to look more broadly at the potential of other forms of culture such as traditional knowledge embodied by culinary, so that it can be optimised into the economic realm to advance the welfare of the community,” said Dekhi.

The Dissemination of Inventory and Study of WBTB of Sleman Regency 2023 involved a team of lecturers from Faculty of Arts UGM consisting of Imam Prakoso, M.A, as the chairman with members Dr. Mimi Savitri, M.A., Dr. Suzie Handayani, M.A., Agus Indiyanto, M.Si, Aditya Revianur, M.Hum., and Dama Qory Arjanto, M.Si. The team was also assisted by FIB UGM students as cultural data collection assistants, including Ervita Ninda Iswantari Siti Nur Aqidatul Izza Ulfa Ifatul N Ridho Qholbi Nurvania Rachmah.