Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) held an SDGs Writing Workshop to increase the number of news publications related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Participants from four faculties, namely the Faculty of Geography (Geography UGM), Faculty of Biology (Biology UGM), Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA UGM), and Faculty of Pharmacy (Pharmacy UGM), attended the workshop, which took place at Geography UGM, room E-601, on Friday (Jun. 21).
The SDGs writing workshop was opened by Professor Wening Udasmoro, the UGM Vice-Rector for Education and Teaching. She expressed her hope that the training would increase the number of SDGs news publications on the UGM campus website.
“The SDGs writing workshop is intentionally organized in groups or clusters because participants will simultaneously practice how writing can be done,” she said.
For Professor Udasmoro, the reason for the SDGs writing workshop is that UGM, as a higher education institution, inherently embodies sustainability (SDGs). Thus, even without the SDGs label, UGM already practices SDGs principles.
Various activities and research from the four faculties have already demonstrated this. For example, Geography UGM, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, has consistently held discussions on environmental issues, climate change, and more.
Similarly, Pharmacy UGM engages in various health-related activities, such as producing medicine and herbal remedies. Biology UGM researches biodiversity and produces Hikapel melons, watermelons, and other agricultural products.
“So, what aren’t SDGs? Everything at UGM is SDGs. The only issue is that these excellent products sometimes go unwritten, so the public does not know what UGM has accomplished. Because the Indonesian and global communities are unaware, UGM’s record is weak because it does not claim what it has done,” she explained.
On the other hand, some people at UGM feel that publishing such achievements is seen as boastful or self-aggrandizing. However, Professor Udasmoro emphasized that these results result from hard work and should be published as a point of pride for the research and products produced.
“We are starting with a new mindset; we write about SDGs not to show off but to inform the public that UGM has done a lot and can inspire many people,” the vice-rector added.
Dr. Sentagi Sesotya Utami noted that Indonesia has agreed to support the SDGs, and UGM has already implemented sustainability on campus or as a sustainable campus. Therefore, she said, it is necessary to measure SDGs’ achievements.
“The targets of these achievements do not necessarily have to be through rankings, but within these rankings, there are measurement tools that can be used to assess how far UGM has come and how impressive its SDGs achievements are,” she explained.
The Head of the UGM Digital Transformation Bureau, Dr. Mardhani Riasetiawan, stated that UGM continues to progress in creating SDGs news. He mentioned that the process of creating SDGs news articles supports KKN activities.
Discussing articles on the SDGs website, he highlighted two essential components: website and content management. For website management, he reminded participants always to include the SDGs category and tags.
“This is very important; we are trying to analyze it and link content management by incorporating keywords according to the quality of the news itself,” he said.
UGM has developed several steps for writing. Tools for creating news articles have been prepared, making the process easier for units or faculties.
“With these tools, I believe the effort to resolve difficulties in creating news will be achieved. We hope this will facilitate units or faculties in producing news,” Dr. Riasetiawan concluded.
Author: Agung Nugroho