UNS — The International Office of Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta in collaboration with Airlangga Global Engagement Universitas Airlangga (Unair) Surabaya held the Indonesian Heritage Course (In-Herit) 2020. This is the third year of In-Herit which lasted from 5 to 15 October.
In-Herit 2020 was opened by the Chief of UNS International Office, Irwan Trinugroho, Ph.D and the Chief of Airlangga Global Engagement, Dr. Dian Ekowati. The Chief of UNS International Office, Dr. Irwan Trinugroho in his remark conveyed that the virtual In-Herit is joined by 36 participants from 12 countries including the Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sudan, Mali, Rwanda, Madagascar, Nigeria and Gambia.
“In-Herit is a two weeks short course program for international students to learn Indonesian cultural heritage. This year, for the first time, In-Herit was held virtually, which is slightly different from the previous years,” Dr. Irwan explained Thursday (15/10/2020).
Dr. Irwan stated that this program aims to provide in-depth knowledge of Indonesian cultural heritage for international students. However, on this occasion, international students, in particular, were invited to identify and examine their cultural heritage in a comprehensive development framework.
Creative industry and local wisdom are the main topics of discussion in In-Herit 2020. The introduction of “kampung” (village) will become the topic of discussion to introduce the existence of kampung as one of the main tourist destinations in Solo City. Besides its cultural background, Solo also develops creative industry based on its local wisdom and cultural richness. Through In-Herit 2020, UNS wants to take the participants to rethink their cultural background and heritage, on what they can do to develop creative industry in their country.
Meanwhile, Unair invited the participants to understand how Indonesia traditional medicines have contributed to community health long before colonialism started. Participants also participated in several activities such as making traditional beverages and practising traditional Indonesian massage. “This program aims not only to share and discuss the types of traditional medicines in Indonesia and participant’s home country but also encourage participants to contribute in developing and preserve their precious traditional heritage,” the Chief of Airlangga Global Engagement, Dr. Dian Ekowati stated.
Participant from Malaysia, Ibtisam binti Abdul Sahak stated that this program is interesting to learn Indonesian culture amid the limited mobility due to the pandemic. “This program is an interesting platform for cultural exchange while maintaining standard operational procedure amid Covid-19 pandemic,” she said. Humas UNS
Reporter: Dwi Hastuti