Penerima Beasiswa Seni dan Budaya Indonesia (BSBI) dari Kementerian Luar Negeri Republik Indonesia (Kemlu RI) pada hari Selasa, 10 Mei 2016 lalu berkunjung ke FIB UI dalam rangka mengikuti program orientasi budaya. Para peserta yang hadir berjumlah sebanyak 60 orang, berusia 21-30 tahun dengan latar belakang negara dan budaya yang beranekaragam. Di FIB UI, dalam satu hari penuh mereka diberikan pembekalan mengenai sejarah serta gambaran umum kebudayaan dan masyarakat Indonesia, yang nantinya diharapkan dapat bermanfaat dan membantu mereka dalam menjalani program kekhususan di berbagai lembaga seni di Indonesia selama tiga bulan ke depan. Acara pada hari Selasa tersebut dimulai dari pembukaan dan sambutan yang diwakili oleh Wakil Dekan Bidang Pendidikan, Riset dan Kemahasiswaan FIB UI, Bapak Manneke Budiman, Ph.D dan Direktur Diplomasi Publik Kemlu RI, Bapak Al Busyra Basnur. Acara kemudian diikuti dengan tur kampus singkat ke tiga lokasi di UI; FIB, Perpustakaan dan Gedung Rektorat. Dalam tur kampus tersebut, peserta tidak hanya diperkenalkan dengan sistem akademik dan administrasi yang ada di UI dan FIB, namun juga mendapatkan gambaran mengenai kehidupan kampus pada umumnya di UI dan Indonesia.
Setelah itu, para peserta mendapatkan sesi kuliah pertamanya tentang kenakeragaman bangsa dan budaya Indonesia beserta isu-isu kontemporer oleh Prof. Melani Budianta. Dalam sesi pertama ini, peserta diajak berdiskusi tentang perkembangan dan kompleksitas budaya Indonesia sejak zaman awal kemerdekaan hingga era milenium. Berikutnya setelah makan siang, peserta BSBI lanjut ke sesi kuliah kedua dengan Bapak Manneke Budiman, yang kali ini memberikan pengantar singkat sejarah Indonesia, sejak zaman pra-sejarah hingga penjajahan Belanda. Sepanjang kuliah-kuliah tersebut, muncul banyak pertanyaan-pertanyaan beragam, dan bahkan tak terduga karena latar belakang peserta yang begitu beragam dari 40 negara menyebabkan mereka memiliki pandangan dan pengetahuan yang berbeda dalam mendiskusikan hal-hal tertentu. Para peserta yang juga sebagian besar adalah seniman muda dan mahasiwa seni menaruh minat besar untuk mempelajari secara mendalam tentang karya sastra Indonesia seperti dongeng rakyat untuk anak-anak, maupun musik dan tari tradisional serta perkembangan seni dan budaya diaspora yang ada di Indonesia. Sesi kuliah kedua pun kemudian diikuti dengan penutupan dan sesi foto bersama dengan Bapak Manneke Budiman, mengakhiri program orientasi singkat mereka di FIB UI. Program BSBI sendiri merupakan strategi Kemlu RI dalam menciptakan friends of Indonesia di luar negeri. Sejak 2003, program tersebut telah meluluskan sebanyak 658 alumni dari 60 negara yang dinilai telah memberikan kontribusi bagi upaya promosi Indonesia yang dilakukan oleh perwakilan RI di luar negeri. Setelah mendapatkan pembekalan intensif selama satu minggu di Jakarta, ke-60 peserta nantinya akan berpencar ke berbagai kota dan daerah di Indonesia untuk mendapatkan pelatihan seni tari, musik bahasa Indonesia dan kearifan lokal di salah satu sanggar seni yang menjadi mitra kerja Kemlu RI di antaranya Semarandana – Bali, Studio Tydif – Surabaya, Rumah Budaya Rumata – Makassar, Sanggar Seni Syofyani – Padang dan UPN Veteran – Yogyakarta. Tahun 2016 ini para peserta yang terpilih setelah mengikuti proses seleksi dari bulan Januari lalu berasal dari 41 negara, termasuk Slovenia, Slovakia, Spanyol, Republik Ceko, Kazakhstan, Korea Selatan, Jepang, Fiji, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, Kanada, Selandia Baru, Papua Nugini, Suriname, negara-negara ASEAN dan lain-lain.
FIB UI Hosted a Cultural Orientation Programme in Collaboration with the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
On Tuesday, 10 May 2016, a day-long cultural orientation programme was held at the Faculty of Humanities (FIB), Universitas Indonesia (UI) to prepare 60 awardees of Indonesia Arts and Culture Scholarship, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The cultural orientation programme was initiated by the Ministry as a part of the 3-month cultural immersion programme in various arts and cultural centres across Indonesia. FIB UI was in charge in providing the participants with academic guidance, and thus delivered a series of interactive lectures on the introduction to the past and contemporary Indonesian society, culture and history. This debriefing was aimed for the highly diverse participants to get a better grounding while navigating the country during the specialisation programme from May to August 2016.
Held at the Building 1’s Auditorium, the programme started with an Opening Session in the morning, followed by welcoming speech from the Vice Dean of Education, research and Student Affairs of FIB UI, Dr. Manneke Budiman, and the Director of Public Diplomacy of the Indonesian Ministry of Trade, Mr. Al Busyra Basnur. The participants then had a brief campus tour at three UI’s major spots; FIB UI, the Central Library and the Central Administration Building. During the tour, not only did they learn about the history, facilities as well as the academic and administrative systems of the university, they were also introduced to the campus life and Indonesian student lifestyles in general.
The first lecture on Indonesia’s cultural diversity and its contemporary issues began and was delivered by Prof. Melani Budianta. In this session, after a general overview on Indonesia’s bio, geographical and ethnic diversities, the participants were taken to the times of post-Independence Indonesia, the authoritarian regime, the Reform and to the millenials. At this point, they were given chances to discuss the current development and historical complexities that have shaped the Indonesian society and culture in a capricious fashion. Afterwards, Dr. Manneke Budiman shed light on the pre-historic and colonial Indonesia on the second lecture, allowing the participants to learn about Indonesia in different dimensions of Hindu and Buddhist empires, Islamic kingdoms and colonial conquest.
Many intriguing, surprising questions were raised and discussed during the whole lecture series. The profoundly diverse backgrounds of the audience largely contributed to varied perspectives and ways of thinking, which helped reach an enriched understanding of Indonesia.
Most participants were also artists and arts students interested to explore the aesthetics and undercurrents of both Indonesian traditional and contemporary dances and music, as well as Indonesian literary works, especially on children literature.
The Indonesia Arts and Culture Scholarship itself serves as one of the strategies of the Ministry to create a circle of “Friends of Indonesia” abroad. Since 2003, the programme has succeeded to gather around 658 alumni from 60 countries that have become invaluable partners with Indonesian representatives abroad, especially in terms of country promotion. After an intensive, 1-week training in Jakarta, the 60 participants will then scatter around different regions in Indonesia to immerse themselves in the communities and learn more about Indonesian language, music, dance and local wisdom in several partner institutions such as Semarandana (Bali), Studio Tydif (Surabaya), Rumah Budaya Rumata (Makassar), Sanggar Seni Syofyani (Padang) and UPN Veteran (Yogyakarta). This year, the participants come from over 41 countries including Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Czech, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Japan, Fiji, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, Canada, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Suriname, member countries of ASEAN and many more.
