The Boelongan team from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) has become second winner in the National Student Scientific Writing (LKTI) competition in Universitas Negeri Malang, 25 September 2016. The Archaeology students are Dwi Kurnia Sandy, Salma Fitri Kusumastuti, and Sandy Maulana Yusuf.
The Boelongan team beat 23 teams from other universities such as Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Universitas Negeri Malang, Universitas Indonesia, and Universitas Jambi.
Team chairman, Dwi Kurnia Sandy, said in the competition they submitted a paper on empowerment of the Mandeh community in West Sumatera through the Boelongan Shipwreck. The paper went to the finals along with five other papers.
“We describe the tourism heritage potential of Mandeh area, which is the Boelongan shipwreck,” he said on Friday (7/10) on campus.
Boelongan Shipwreck is of a Dutch ship that sunk in Mandeh bay, West Sumatera, in 1942, after being targeted by the Japanese. According to Sandy, Boelongan Shipwreck has a big potential to be made into a world class diving spot. Such potential, however, has not been explored and developed further, lacking of community engagement.
“The conservation of Boelongan Shipwreck and the environment is important to do by engaging the local community, so the benefit can be enjoyed by the people directly,” he said.
It is expected that the Boelongan Shipwreck tourism can run continually, making it a world diving spot and improving the economy of the Mandeh area.