UGM Residence held the 2024 Cultural Festival to strengthen the camaraderie among UGM dormitory students. The event was enlivened by various Student Activity Units (UKM) and other student communities.
The 2024 Cultural Festival was successfully held on Jun. 1-2, 2024, at Grha Sabha Pramana, featuring the theme of West Kalimantan culture under the title “Harmonize Cultural Diversity, Forge Bonds in Diversity for a Glorious Indonesia.”
Ando Fanda Belvian, the Coordinator of the Inter-Dormitory Culture Festival, mentioned that this event has been held since 2011. This year’s event, the 13th, focused on West Kalimantan culture.
“West Kalimantan culture was deliberately chosen to represent the equator monument,” Belvian stated in a release sent on Thursday (Jun. 6).
The UGM Director of Student Affairs, Dr. Sindung Tjahyadi, explained that the UGM Cultural Festival is a form of solidarity among UGM students.
He hopes that such cultural festival activities will continue to be held annually to strengthen the bonds among dormitory students and serve as a platform for creativity development.
“I think this kind of event needs to be continued and developed further. It also serves as a platform for student creativity,” he said.
The festival activities were lively and inclusive. The first day featured cultural orations, cultural art performances, and exhibitions. The interpretation of West Kalimantan culture in this theme was highlighted ceremonially, and the natural wealth and current challenges were examined.
In his cultural oration speech, Professor Pujo Semedi Hargo Yuwono of the UGM Faculty of Cultural Sciences (FIB UGM) shared his experiences and concerns when researching West Kalimantan in the 1980s.
“The introduction of palm oil in Kalimantan in the 1980s has improved the welfare and economy of the community. This prosperity, however, has been followed by the loss of land among some farmers,” he explained.
Land is an irreplaceable resource for farmers, as it is the source of their wealth and assets. Professor Yuwono explained that deforestation and the reduction of farmland have led to the emergence of landless farmers.
The abundant resources in West Kalimantan do not automatically make the community prosperous. According to the professor, at least two processes cause farmers to lose their land.
The first is an external process from companies or other forces outside Kalimantan. The second causes land loss within the community itself. Internal land loss is due to the high maintenance costs of palm oil plantations.
This fact leads to internal land accumulation, where only well-capitalized farmers can own land and productively plant palm oil.
“Usually, the lost land is bought by their wealthy relatives. This change transforms the status of independent farmers who own their land into workers for their relatives once they lose their land,” Professor Yuwono explained.
The 2024 Cultural Festival was attended by dozens of Regional Student Organizations (Ormada) in Yogyakarta and UGM Residence students. Besides showcasing the activeness and solidarity among students, this event is expected to revive nationalism and love for the homeland by preserving the archipelago’s culture.
Author: Tasya
Editor: Gusti Grehenson