UGM sent students to participate in the arts and culture events at the world level which are Ensamble of Gamelan (EOG) and the Festival of Colours of the World (FESCO). The events were held from 15-16 April 2016 at Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP), Malaysia. In this mission UGM sent three teams which consisted of Javanese culture unit of Surakarta style (UKJGS), Rampoe, and Gasita units.
EOG was attended by 35 teams from several universities in Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia. While FESCO was attended by 24 teams from universities in Indonesia and Malaysia.
In EOG, UGM sent two delegations from UKJGS and Gasita. UKJGS team with 12 musicians and one sinden (singer) presenting contemporary works entitled Lindur. While the Gasita Team of English Deparment in the Vocational School sent 12 musicians and two sindens. They featured two songs, namely Penghijauan by Ki Cokro Warsito and Liyep Layaping Aluyup by Ki Wahono.
In FESCO, UGM sent three delegations from UKJGS, Gasita, and Rampoe. In FESCO, UKJGS performed Kidang Cakil dance, which is one fragment of the story of Ramayana. While Gasita presented a dance of Srimpen Kembar, performed by eight dancers. Rampoe which is the dance community of Aceh featured two dances in the show, Meusare-sare and Terak Pukat.
Fara Dina Dwi Rahayu AS., one of the UGM delegates, explained that their participation in this event is one of the efforts of preservation of the tradition of Indonesian gamelan and dance. It is also to establish relation with other foreign universities.
“Through the EOG and FESCO, friendship and collaboration between youths of each country are expected to arise,” said Chairman of the UKJGS on Tuesday (19/4).
While Yunita Herin J, chairman of Gasita, said that through this activity they can promote Indonesia as a country with interesting cultures and art. It is also to improve the quality of their soft skills, cross-cultural relationships, as well as to strengthen UGM’s image in the international arena.
Similar opinion was also shared by Ridwan, team member of Rampoe UGM. He joined this event because he wanted to introduce art, culture, especially the culture and art of Aceh, as well as Indonesian education at the global level.