UNS — The Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Mendikbudristek) of the Republic of Indonesia (RI), Nadiem Anwar Makarim, appreciated the Cultural Discussion 2024 held at Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta. He conveyed online that the collaboration between universities and educational organizations plays a fundamental role in shaping and determining the direction of a nation’s life. He made these remarks on the first day of the Cultural Discussion 2024 at the G.P.H. Haryo Mataram Auditorium, Tuesday (5/3/2024).
“I appreciate the cultural discussion that was held through the collaboration of various universities and educational organizations. Universities always play a fundamental role in shaping and determining the direction of the nation’s life,” Nadiem said.
Nadiem believes that the Indonesian youth have a love for Indonesian culture and a strong desire to contribute to the nation. According to Nadiem, Indonesian youth have proven this through the enthusiasm of students from all over Indonesia to enroll in the Kampus Mengajar and Pertukaran Mahasiswa Merdeka (PMM) programs.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of RI is striving for the advancement of local culture and regional languages. Nadiem explained that there are Cultural Endowment Fund and Regional Language Revitalization Programs. With this program, local communities and cultural practitioners are increasingly encouraged to advance regional culture. This momentum is also supported by the contributions of students actively involved in several Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM) programs.
“In the Kampus Mengajar program, hundreds of thousands of students dare to leave their comfort zones and teach in 3T (remote, frontier, outermost) area schools. Meanwhile, in the PMM Program, students with different cultural backgrounds interact and exchange knowledge, strengthening the spirit of diversity,” he explained.
Furthermore, Nadiem Makarim advised that universities should be the birthplace of Pancasila students who are able to think critically and have a high national spirit. He hoped that the Cultural Discussion 2024 could provide inspiration for all participants.
In this moment, Nadiem Makarim, the Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of RI, also officially opened the Cultural Discussion 2024 event. Symbolically, in the UNS Auditorium, the opening was conducted by the Director General of Higher Education, Research, and Technology (Diktiristek), Prof. Ir. Nizam, M.Sc., DIC, Ph.D.; and the Chairperson of the Indonesian State Universities Rector’s Forum (MRPTNI) Prof. Ganefri, Ph.D. They struck the gong, signaling the commencement of the event.
UNS Acting Rector, Dr. Chatarina Muliana, conveyed that universities play an important role as instruments in strengthening national values. Universities are encouraged to preserve and develop culture both within their environment and in the wider community in order to strengthen national unity.
“UNS has also been and continues to strive to foster national values by formally incorporating this commitment into the UNS vision, which is to become a center of excellence in the development of science, technology, and art at the international level based on the noble cultural values of the nation,” Dr. Chatarina said.
This is manifested in several concrete initiatives. Among them are several faculties, such as the Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB) and the Faculty of Visual Arts and Design (FSRD). Additionally, at the doctoral level, there is the Cultural Studies Program (Prodi) which offers an interdisciplinary approach. This study program examines issues from various fields from a cultural studies perspective.
Dr. Chatarina Muliana emphasized that UNS is the only university in Indonesia that has a Center of Excellence in Science and Technology (PUI) based on Javanese culture, namely Javanologi. This PUI focuses on the description, exploration, explanation, and downstreaming of superior Javanese cultural products.
“We hope that the Cultural Discussion 2024 can produce a concrete formulation on how culture should be developed by universities to strengthen national values within the framework of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI),” Dr. Chatarina concluded. HUMAS UNS
Reporter: R. P. Adji
Editor: Dwi Hastuti