Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation agreement with three partners in accelerating the development and welfare of Berau Regency people on Friday (6/3) in the UGM leadership meeting room.
The three partners are Regency Government of Berau, Dharma Bhakti Berau Coal foundation, and the Nusantara Nature Conservation Foundation. The collaboration carried out aims to improve the quality of human resources (HR) in Berau Regency through education, research, and community service in the form of the Prosperous SIGAP Fighters (PSS) program. There are a few ways to improve the quality of human resources; they are facilitating village governance, facilitating natural resource management, and facilitating village economic development.
UGM Vice Chancellor for Cooperation and Alumni, Prof. Dr. Paripurna, S.H., M.Hum., responded the collaboration in kind. According to him, the cooperation agreement carried out in a vast scope and great value to advance the community.
“This collaboration supports the acceleration of community development as well as supporting environmental sustainability, and this is in line with the goals of the SDGs. Therefore, we welcome and thank you for your trust to work in this collaboration,” he said.
Governance Senior Manager of the Nusantara Natural Conservation Foundation, Ir. Niel Makinuddin, M.Sc., also appreciated the collaboration because it involved four parties between the government academics, the private sector, and NGOs. This cooperation is very strategic because it strengthens the governance and capacity of a well-known unit; in this case, a village.
“I hope UGM can proceed this to the national level. Through this cooperation, we expect that it will create not only economic value but also create new things that can attract millennials back to their villages,” he said.
The chairman of the Berau Coal Dharma Bhakti Foundation, Horas Parsaulian Pardede, said that support for the PSS program is a form of the company’s CSR program for the economic development of the Berau community. This PSS program has been started since 2019.
“Since the cooperation of these four parties is a positive thing, hopefully, it can be continued, and we will have better progress in this second year,” he said.
The Head of the Berau District Community Empowerment Office, H. Ilyas Natsir, M.M, also conveyed similar hoped. He hoped that the collaboration would work well to improve the quality and capacity of the Berau community.
Author: Ika
Photo: Vino
Translator: Natasa A