UGM Residence again held the 2021 Cultural Festival on 11-12 June yesterday. One of the main agendas of the series of events was the Webinar on Culture and Dormitory Management held on Saturday (12/6) afternoon. The webinar has the theme “The Role of Dormitory in Strengthening the Character of the Nation with Cultural Diversity in the Middle of World Civilization”.
FX. Pri Joewo Guntoro, General Manager of UGM Residence, stated that the theme was raised given that the residents of the dormitory are millennials. They are the hope of the nation to preserve the nation’s culture amid advances in information technology and globalization.
In addition, according to Guntoro, the theme is in line with the function of UGM Residence as a second home for students from 34 provinces in Indonesia. The cultural encounter of each student becomes unavoidable. Therefore, this Culfest serves as a medium so that the students get to know their respective cultures and the cultures of other regions.
“We hope that in the future, they will be the perpetrators of building a strong Indonesian culture. This is in line with the mandate of Law no. 5 of 2017 concerning cultural progress, which is our shared responsibility,” he said.
This is in line with the presentation of Prof. Djagal Wiseso Marseno, UGM Vice-Chancellor for Education, Teaching, and Student Affairs. He stated that current students are the foundation for achieving Indonesia’s Golden Generation in 2045.
However, Djagal said, although there are still more or less 25 years to go, there are still many rooms for improvement. This is especially true for vital issues, such as the high rates of corruption, radicalism, and terrorism, which also target youth.
From the fragility index of countries worldwide, Indonesia ranks number 82 out of 178 countries. In the corruption perception index, Indonesia is ranked 102 out of 180 countries. From Lab data. Measurement of National Resilience, although now slightly improved, in two of the eight gatras, namely ideology and socio-cultural, we are in the yellow zone.
“This means that when the state loses its ideology, it will weaken its socio-cultural life, which can spread to other aspects of life. For that, we must be more intensive in preventing things that weaken the country,” he emphasized.
Therefore, at this time, the government has also formulated a national education system based on Pancasila as an effort to develop human resources. Djagal revealed that UGM is also preparing itself with an educational process based on values, skills, and knowledge. Therefore, graduates can face a future characterized by VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity).
“UGM has the concept of providing education according to identity, with three foundations (Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, and Indonesian Culture), five principles (accountability, transparency, non-profit, quality assurance, as well as effectiveness and efficiency), and three commitments (personality development, science, and culture). This is so to achieve our goals: to participate in realizing national development, national goals, and national ideals,” he explained.
All of these things, Djagal explained, were manifested in programs at UGM since students first enrolled. These programs include PPSMB, MKWU, KDK, and Student Community Service. The hope is to graduate students with Character, Knowledge, Culture, and Commitment (4 Ks).
According to Djagal, a student dormitory or UGM Residence also strengthens the education system. This is because students who live in dormitories are also given content through routine activities, one of which includes the Cultural Festival.
“Although now the dormitory is only limited to 31% of new students, we will continue to increase it. With the content and facilities provided, we hope that the dormitory will not become a black box for students but a school of character and leadership. Thus, after graduation students will become strategic, expert, skilled, adaptive, and solutive partners so that they can contribute to the nation, country, and the world,” he concluded.
Source: https://www.ugm.ac.id/id/berita/21251-ugm-residence-sebagai-media-pendidikan-karakter-mahasiswa
