Yogyakarta, 5 September 2020—In commemoration of International Literacy Day, DiskusHI #4 picked the topic of literacy activism performed by IR UGM alumni, its relevance with international relations, and the urgency of literacy (particularly in the midst of the pandemic). Titled“From International Relations to Literacy”, the event invited Okky Madasari—IR UGM alumna batch 2002 who is currently working as a writer —and Deddy Permadi – IR UGM alumnus batch 2004 who acted as the head of SIBERKREASI ’17 and is currently a special staff for the Minister of Communication and Information — to speak on the matter. The discussion was aired live through Zoom and moderated by Nenda Primonik Rengganis—an IR UGM alumna batch 2008—CEO and founder of Hipwee.
After a brief introduction, the speakers proceeded to speaking on their motivation to be actively involved in promoting literacy, both conventional and digital. They talked about what type of students they were back in college days and what they imagined working on literacy would be.
Okky had an interest and vision of advancing in the IR field as a journalist. Since college, she already had a profound love for writing, but not for literature. She chose to pursue literature only after years working in as a journalist, since journalistic—in her opinion—was not enough for her to deliver her critiques. From there, she started reading more literature pieces and writing fictions, non-fictions, and academic writings up to this day.
Unlike Okky, Deddy never imagined working in the digital field, as he always went by the principle of going with the flow. He only became active in the world of digital literacy when he researched on the matter for his dissertation. He also became involved in discussions about digital issues—in particular, digital literacy—with his peers. Digital issues, he believed, can’t be separated from people’s daily lives. That said, the public needs to be aware of how important using the internet for good purposes is.
As a writer, Okky realized that studying international relations succeeded providing her with new paradigms of thinking, which include ideas of anti-violence, anti-discrimination, tolerance, and so on. Those values influenced much of her writing. Meanwhile, Deddy thought international relations succeeded enabling him to think in multidimensional and interdisciplinary perspectives.
After Okky and Deddy add more on their experiences working on their respective fields, the session was concluded by the moderator,”The field of literacy can be a career option for IR graduates. However, at the end of the day, your career will only be determined by two things: growth mindset and professionalism.”Wrapped up with speeches from KAHIGAMA, the forum ended at 5.26 PM.