Duta Wacana’s 61st anniversary was a special moment for Universitas Kristen Duta Wacana Christian University (UKDW) Yogyakarta because this year’s anniversary ceremony also held the inauguration of Rev. Dr. Robert Setio as full professor or Guru Besar – the highest academic rank in the Indonesian education system. The event took place at Koinonia Auditorium on Tuesday, October 31, 2023.
Rev. Dr. Robert Setio is a professor in the field of Theological Sciences. On this occasion, he delivered a scientific oration entitled “How Funny are Religion, Bible, and UKDW – Humor as a Gentle Criticism of Social Paralize”. Prof. Robert said humor is an important part of communication, which serves as an instrument that connects people or groups. Not only is it entertaining, it also challenges societal norms and normalcy.
In Indonesia, humor is deeply rooted in local culture and functions to overcome everyday challenges and unite communities. “Difficulties caused by the heavy burden of life, estrangements in relationships between groups, and even conflicts can be dissolved with humor,” he explained.
In the educational context, humor helps encourage a critical attitude towards forms of education that sometimes overlook the integrity and complexity of humans. “Humor is needed because with humor, students are trained to think creatively, be sensitive to the environment, be able to use various perspectives, be cognitively flexible, and even be ready to criticize themselves,” he added.
Duta Wacana’s 61st anniversary was also livened by Butet Kartaredjasa, who performed a monologue related to the theme of Rev. Dr. Robert Setio. Butet said UKDW needed to learn again to trust art as a power to build lives.
The event continued with a report from the Rector of UKDW Dr.-Ing. Wiyatiningsih, S.T., M.T., said that UKDW will enter a new era, a new master plan, so this year is an important stepping stone for the next steps. “UKDW will enter a new stage to realize its dream of becoming a Sustainable Entrepreneurial Research University. To achieve this, UKDW will focus on two things: sustainability and inclusiveness, which are the breath and spirit of everything it does. “UKDW also carried out a groundbreaking on October 30, which marked the construction of the Duta Wacana Academic Hospital, and will continue with the construction of Campus 2 in Sedayu,” he explained. (mpk/Eng.drr)