Rector of UGM, Prof. Ir. Panut Mulyono, M.Eng., D.Eng., inaugurated the Hall of Saemaul Ponjong in Gunung Kidul regency along with Sri Paduka Pakualam X that represents Governor of the Province of Yogyakarta Special Region, Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X.
“The hall of Saemaul Ponjong is a result of tripartite cooperation between UGM, the provincial government of Gyeongsangbukdo in South Korea, and provincial government in Yogyakarta,” said the Rector in an event to officiate the building on Tuesday (17/10).
Panut said the tripartite cooperation centred on community empowerment in various sectors, such as farming, women’s empowerment, etc.
The Saemaul Ponjong hall is built on a land owned by the village of Ponjong measuring 600m2 that has been built in 4.5 months under the principle of Indonesian gotong royong or Korean Saemaul Undong (cooperation). It is built to facilitate the people of Ponjong to utilise their potential both in human resource and natural resource.
"Around the hall there are rooms to run the projects of the village that includes training for the local community in farming, food, women’s empowerment, and economic independence management,” said Chairman of UGM Center for Trisakti-Saemaul Undong Studies, Prof. Mukhtasar Syamsuddin.
The cooperation between UGM and Gyeongsangbukdo provincial government, said Mukhtasar, had started since the signing of MoU on the development of Tridharma programme that will directly impact the welfare of the people. It was signed by then Rector of UGM, Prof. Dwikorita Karnawati, and Governor of Gyeongsangbukdo, Kim Kwan Young, on 1 September 2015.
“To support this cooperation, the Centre for Trisakti-Saemaul Undong Studies was established at UGM on 1 September 2017,” he said.
Mukhtasar said the Centre had membership Faculty of Philosophy, Social and Political Sciences, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, and Faculty of Animal Sciences. Through this Centre, UGM continues to contribute in the form of research, seminar, workshop, and training based on the principles of gotong royong and Saemaul Undong that can enhance and optimise the tripartite cooperation.
“Hopefully, the tripartite cooperation will impact significantly in improving the welfare of the people of Gunung Kidul in general and Ponjong in particular,” he added.