Indonesia is a country that is often stricken by natural disasters. Due to Indonesia’s position in the Ring of Fire, starting from year 1815 to 2011, the frequency of natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, and tsunamis increased, thus the community ought to be prepared to deal with the disasters. This was stated by UGM administration and public policy expert, Dr. Erwan Agus Purwanto, M.Si., in an international conference entitled International Cooperation: Borderless Public Administration, at Sheraton Mustika Hotel, Thursday (7/7). "It’s been proven that earthquakes, floods, and the tsunamis hit Indonesia so often that the public is always ready to anticipate it," says Erwan.
This event is the result of cooperation between UGM, Seoul Association for Public Administration (SAPA), and the Korea Forest Service (KFS). The conference was opened by Prof. Dr. Wonho Chai, President of SAPA. Also present at the occasion, among others, are the Dean of Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Professor. Dr. Pratikno, M. Soc. Sc., and Head of the Department of Management and Public Policy, Dr. Ambar Widaningrum, M.A.
Also present in the disaster management sessions are Dr. Jung Ku Kim (Semyung University), Dr. Tae Soo Kim (Korea Christian University), and Dr. Mark Wilding (Catholic University of Korea). In addition to the Disaster Management theme, the conference also raised other themes, namely the Resource Management and Regional Development, Social Change and Administrative Reform, Minority in Public Administration and Policy, Policy Conflict and Resolution, and several others.
The event that was attended by about 80 participants is expected to strengthen UGM’s relations with universities in Korea as well as to provide solutions to policy problems in Indonesia and Korea.