Indonesia commemorates the birth of Pancasila every June 1st. This sacred moment reminds us to continuously uphold Pancasila as the nation’s foundation and source of law and strengthen its relevance as a national philosophy.
Therefore, practicing Pancasila values in national governance, democratic life, and maintaining unity among all citizens should be a shared goal upheld by all citizens, leaders, and state officials.
This message was highlighted in the National Seminar on Bulaksumur Thought, titled “Contextual Pancasila in the Application of Science and the Academic Role in Developing Diversity,” held on Wednesday (May 15th) at the UGM campus.
The seminar, organized by the UGM Council of Professors (DGB UGM), featured three speakers: the UGM Vice-Rector for Education and Teaching, Professor Wening Udasmoro; the Chair of the DGB UGM’s Organization and National Insight Commission, Professor Lasiyo; the Senior Researcher at the UGM Center for Pancasila Studies, Professor Sutaryo; and the Head of the UGM Center for Pancasila Studies, Dr. Agus Wahyudi, as a member of the drafting team.
Dr. Agus Wahyudi stated that academics are responsible for educating and disseminating knowledge to the public to preserve Pancasila and strengthen its relevance as the nation’s foundation and philosophy.
“The world of knowledge and academic roles present a challenge for us to formulate our roles and functions in implementing Pancasila values in national life,” he said.
Dr. Wahyudi outlined that Pancasila’s future challenges will not be easy, especially at the ontology, epistemology, and axiology levels. The conceptual level related to the relationship between values, principles, policies, and legal regulations will also pose challenges.
In national governance, Dr. Wahyudi emphasized that leaders and public officials must be exemplary in implementing Pancasila’s actual values.
“Especially given that we will always be diverse and need to celebrate our diversity,” he added.
UGM Vice-Rector for Education and Teaching, Professor Wening Udasmoro, stated that UGM, as a national university, will continue to affirm its identity as a Pancasila University that values diversity as a unity and serves as an inspiration for national life.
Indonesia’s diversity in terms of religion, ethnicity, and culture is a reference for UGM’s accommodation of this diversity through strategic university policies.
Some of these policies include constructing religious facilities for students of five religions and disseminating knowledge through massive open online courses (MOOC) related to diversity content and rejection of intolerance.
Regarding social justice values, Professor Udasmoro explained that UGM provides scholarship programs in partnership with industries, alumni, and the KIP-K program to assist students from economically disadvantaged families.
Additionally, there are inclusion programs through student admissions based on geographic regions, health considerations, age, and abilities in sports and the arts.
Author: Dita
Editor: Gusti Grehenson