At least 11 Asian African countries participate in the Asian African Festival held at Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, Saturday (9/5). All participants perform traditional performing arts, also displaying their culinary traditions. International students currently studying in Yogyakarta join the event. They come from China, Japan, Cambodia, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, and Australia.
UGM’s Head of International Affairs Office, I Made Andi Arsana, Ph.D., said the Asian African Festival with the theme Revitalizing the Spirit of Asia-Africa Conference is part of the celebrations of the 60th Asian African Conference hosted by UGM. “This event is expected to maintain the good relations between participating Asian and African countries as well as sustaining the vision and mission of the Conference,” he said when opening the event on Saturday (9/5).
Andi further expected the event would help maintain the international network existing at UGM so that Indonesian and international students may exchange ideas and undersatnding with each others. “In line with UGM’s vision and mission which is internationalisation at home, this event is expected to receive good response from the international students, thus able to boost international cooperation in education to flourish in the future,” he explained.