UNS — The International Office of the Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, will organize the annual UNS Cultural Night on October, 30th 2020. This year, UNS Cultural Night will involve more than 20 countries and will be hosted both virtually and offline. The Program Director for the Cultural Night, Yudi Sastroredjo, states that through this event the international students in UNS can share and display their culture to the public. “The UNS Cultural Night 2020 is scheduled on Friday, 30th October 2020 at 7.00 PM (Western Indonesia Time) and will be available both virtually and offline. This year we invite the alumni of UNS International students from other countries,” Yudi explains on Wednesday (14/10/2020).
The 2020 UNS Cultural Night will take on the theme “Menunggu Saat Berjumpa (Waiting for the Time to Meet),” with the hope of encouraging the world to face the ongoing pandemic. Following the previous event, an offline stage performance will be held in G.P.H Haryo Mataram Auditorium, by adhering to the health protocol.
Both active international students and the alumni of UNS international students from more than 20 countries such as Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Libya, Timor Leste, Rwanda, Madagaskar, Nigeria, Burundi, Japan, Philipines, Vietnam, Suriname, Thailand, Myanmar, Netherland, India, Liberia, Malaysia, Russia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Egypt will take part in this event. “They will perform stage performance such as traditional dance, song, and fashion show,” Yudi reveals.
Meanwhile, the Head of UNS International Office, Irwan Trinugroho, Ph.D., states that he supports the event. “The UNS Cultural Night is an event where UNS academic members from various cultures can meet each other. The international culture in UNS, which established through the presence of the international students, is celebrated in a cultural event as an event to learn about each other, respecting each other, and enhance understanding of the world’s diverse cultures through performing arts, national dress, and culinary abundance,” Irwan states.
However, due to the ongoing pandemic, the culinary session, which usually gains a great public interest, must be removed from the event. “For the sake of public safety, this year Cultural Night will not invite live participants, but through the virtual event. Hopefully, this will not reduce the enthusiasm and it can deliver the message to all people to stay motivated in facing the pandemic,” Irwan added.
Aside from the performance by the international students, the 2020 Cultural Night also presents a special Tribute to Didi Kempot. An art maestro and an Icon of Solo, who passed recently. The tribute will be performed by a student from Burundi. There will be also a cross-countries collaboration of the students from Madagascar, Philippines, and Suriname, which will bring the viewers to reminisce about their experience when studying in UNS. Completing the event, a special guest, Keroncong Millennials will perform hits song in keroncong music. Lastly, a special performance to motivate the public in handling the current Covid-19 pandemic will invite the Rector of UNS while collaborating with UNS International Students and Alumni. Humas UNS
Reporter: Dwi Hastuti
