YOGYAKARTA- The eruption of Mount Merapi since 26 October 2010 does not disrupt the International World Conference on Science, Education, and Culture (WISDOM) 2010 at UGM. The Rector of UGM, Prof. Ir. Sudjarwadi, M.Eng., Ph.D., described information collected from the BPPTK and UGM volunteers that the eruption will only hazardous to the areas in the radius of 10km of the top of Merapi. UGM will therefore be unaffected. “We collect information from our resources, particularly UGM volunteers around Merapi, that the vulnerable zones cover only 10km radius of the mountain. UGM, in fact, lies over 15 km away,” Sudjarwadi told reporters in Grha Sabha Pramana on Monday (1/11).
Sudjarwadi said that UGM was concerned with the volcanic eruptions. He believed, however, that the condition will return to normal after the eruptions. Sudjarwadi said that no students and staff of UGM became victims in the disaster. Instead, he saw the disaster as a local wisdom. "This is a local wisdom. We learned the lesson that we can later share with other regions or countries for the WISDOM conference," he added. Sudjarwadi said the WISDOM conference would be able to bring together and unify past and present intelligence.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Organizing Committee (OC), Prof. Ir. Atyanto Dharoko, M.Phil., Ph.D., said that until today, preparations are almost over. It involves 5 ministries, 30 Indonesian universities, 24 countries, 93 speakers, and 850 participants. "All’s running well and the number of participants and countries kept increasing," Tony, Prof. Atyanto Dharoko’s nickname, said.
Tony added, keyspeakers in the conference is the Nobel laureate for peace in 2006, the founder of Grameen Bank and member of Board of Executive of the UN, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Yunus from Bangladesh. The big theme of the conference is Local Wisdom Inspiring Global Solutions.
Another main agenda of WISDOM 2010 is Colloquium in Honor of Dr. Ann Dunham and Prof. Dr. Mubyarto. She is the mother of US President Barrack Obama while the late Prof. Dr. Mubyarto is known as a fighter for democratic economy. "Muhammad Yunus has confirmed his attendance," Tony said.
Meanwhile, the committee has yet to wait for the confirmation whether President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will open WISDOM. To support the event, tree planting will be done in advance by Environment Minister, Gusti Muhammad Hatta, and 30 rectors. At the end of the event, WISDOM declaration will be announced. “The initial plan is for President Yudhoyono to open the conference, but we still have to wait for confirmation. He supported this event as this is expected to be the opening to the World Culture Forum 2012 in Bali," Tony added.
The event will also present top multidimensional figures from Indonesia such as Prof. Dr. Sri Edi Swasono, Prof. Dr. Azyumardi Azra, Prof. Dr. Franz Magnis-Suseno, Prof. dr. Arief Rachman, M.Pd., Dr. Ninok Laksono, Dr. Charles Saerang, Garin Nugroho, Dwiki Dharmawan, and Carmanita. Academicians will take part, too, including Prof. Michael Hitchock, Ph.D. (UK), Prof. Dr. Datuk Mohd. Noh Dalimin (Malaysia), Dr. Nancy Cooper (USA), and Prof. Kaoru Takara (Japan).