Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Jogjakarta Plaza Hotel and Wirun village in Sukoharjo regency, Central Java, on Friday (22/9) at Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM. This marks the agreement on student apprenticeship and development of Wirun village as tourism village.
“The MoU is initiated as a form of cooperation with the tourism industry. The Wirun village has great potential in tourism and with Jogjakarta Plaza Hotel we can cooperate to produce something beneficial for us all,” said Dean of Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, Dr. Wening Udasmoro, M.Hum., DEA.
Furthermore, Wening explained through this cooperation Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM would like to bridge the industry and the society to develop local potential together. She hoped this would be a model for future cooperations with other regions in Indonesia.
“Hopefully, the cooperation would not just impact positively but also reach out to the society that needs it,” she said.
Village Chief of Wirun, Eri Suseno Wibowo, welcomed this, saying that the Wirun village had diverse natural resources, culture, and human resource that can make the village as one of favourite tourism destinations.
“The Wirun village is the largest gamelan music instrument making village in the world. We have also shadow puppet makers, bamboo craft makers, as well as culinary products or natural sceneries that are still underdeveloped for tourism,” he said.
He hoped the cooperation would open opportunities for the development of the village as a tourism village that attracts domestic and international tourists.
“Thank you for having responded positively to our village. I hope the Wirun village gets better,” said Eri.
Chief Engineer of Jogjakarta Plaza Hotel, Supriyadi, said his office would give training on competence for the people of Wirun, particularly in giving services to visitors, which is one important aspect in tourism village development.He welcomed the cooperation with UGM that allows students to do apprenticeship at the Hotel. This is expected to equip the students with skills that are required at work.