Faculty of Humanities Universitas Indonesia (FIB UI) in cooperation with The Embassy of Mozambique to Indonesia, The Embassy of Portugal to Indonesia, The Embassy of Brazil to Indonesia, and The Embassy of Timor Leste to Indonesia held a “World Portuguese Day Celebration 2023” on May 5 at Faculty of Humanities Universitas Indonesia, Depok Campus. This is the third time for FIB UI to host the annual World Portuguese Day.
The Dean of The Faculty of Humanities Dr. Bondan Kanumoyoso, S.S., M.Hum. expressed his gratitude for the Ambassadors as well as for the French Studies Program for their cooperation in preparing this joyful event. The Dean added that The Portuguese language has been taught since 2000 at the Faculty of Humanities Universitas Indonesia with students from various faculties in Universitas Indonesia. With the popularity of this course—that focuses not only on the language but also the history and culture—the number of students taking the course reached up to 90 students in each semester. This year marks the course’s 23rd year and he hoped this will continue to the upcoming years. He closed his remark by reading a poetry from Chairil Anwar, “AKU”, that was translated to Portuguese by Dr. Danny Susanto.
In this occasion, H.E. Mr. Belmiro José Malate, the Ambassador of Mozambique to Indonesia and H.E. Mrs. Maria Joao Lopes Cardoso, the Ambassador of Portugal to Indonesia delivered opening remarks and read a poetry. In addition, H.E. Mr. Filomeno Aleixo da Cruz, The Ambassador of Timor Leste to Indonesia and H.E. Mr. José Amir C. Dornelles, the Ambassador of Brazil to Indonesia recited a poetry through a video. The translations of the poetries were provided by Dr. Summa Riella Rusdiarti and Ms. Airin Miranda (Lecturers of French Studies Program), and Ms. Lily Siti Multatuliana from Yayasan Hari Puisi.
The students of French Studies Program also performed songs and recited poetries to the audience. There were poetries from Mozambique, Portugal, Timor Leste, and Brazil in both Portuguese language and Indonesian language. The poetry recital session was closed by the performance of the head of French Study Program Dr. Summa Riella Rusdiarti with Dr. Danny Susanto.
This event is expected to enrich students and participants’ knowledge about the Portuguese-speaking countries. Moreover, through this event, the collaborative work between the four Embassies and the Faculty of Humanities Universitas Indonesia will be further strengthened and create new opportunities for future collaborations.
