Joint Cultural Camp 2025: Exploring Yogyakarta’s History and Cultural Heritage
In an effort to strengthen academic collaboration and expand its global network, the Faculty of Education and Humanities (FKHUM) at Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana (UKDW) Yogyakarta, in partnership with the Global Engagement Office of Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) Surabaya, organized the Joint Cultural Camp (JCC) 2025 from October 27–29, 2025, in Yogyakarta.
Carrying the theme “Exploring Historical and Cultural Heritage of Yogyakarta,” the program brought together international students from Canada and Malaysia currently participating in short courses in Indonesia. The camp aimed to introduce participants to Yogyakarta’s rich historical and cultural landscape while fostering cross-cultural understanding between international students and their peers from UKDW.
UKDW Rector, Dr.-Ing. Wiyatiningsih, warmly welcomed the participants at the university’s Rectorate Office. She expressed her hope that the JCC would serve not only as a platform for cultural exploration but also as a gateway to future international collaborations.
Meanwhile, FKHUM Dean, Dr. Raden Bima Adi, M.Th., M.A., Ph.D., emphasized the importance of the event in enhancing both academic and intercultural competencies.
“We hope the students can gain an appreciation for local wisdom while broadening their global perspectives,” he remarked.
Over the course of three days, participants engaged in a variety of educational and recreational activities designed to immerse them in Yogyakarta’s cultural wealth.
The first day began with a welcoming session and a sharing discussion titled “Being International Students: Raising Global Awareness” with students from UKDW’s English Language Education and Humanities Studies programs. The activities continued with a campus tour, a hands-on workshop on traditional herbal medicine (jamu), and an exploration of parts of Yogyakarta’s philosophical axis, a UNESCO-recognized cultural landscape.
On the second day, participants visited Yogyakarta Palace (Kraton), the historic district of Kotagede, and Prambanan Temple, where they learned about the region’s royal history and the integration of Hindu and Javanese cultures.
The final day featured visits to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Ganjuran and the Madukismo Sugar Factory Museum, where students explored the interweaving of Javanese and Catholic traditions as well as the legacy of Yogyakarta’s sugar industry.
In addition to field activities, participants joined a joint lecture with UKDW students from the English Language Education and Humanities Studies programs to share their experiences as international students in Surabaya. They also took part in a Cultural Appreciation class facilitated by UKDW’s Humanities coordinator.
Through Joint Cultural Camp 2025, international students not only gained a deeper understanding of Indonesia’s history and culture, but also experienced meaningful intercultural exchanges—a living expression of UKDW’s core spirit of Service to the World.
W-ID & Doc: moko | Ed. (ENG): drr
