Yogyakarta, 20 May 2019—This year’s Ramadan in Fisipol (RDF), which lasted for two weeks, was officially closed. The closing ceremony was entitled “Ramadan, Self-Improvement, Social Improvement and National Unity.” This event was held at the West Hall of Fisipol UGM and was led by Purwo Santoso, a professor from the Department of Politics and Government.
RDF was closed by Wawan Mas’udi, the Vice Dean of Fisipol. Drum beating and a percussion orchestra enlivened this closing ceremony. Wawan appreciated the spirit of unity and inclusivity contained in RDF through the collaboration of all elements in Fisipol. “This reflects the actions of prophet Muhammad, which reached out to all elements of the society in order to improve it,” Wawan conveyed.
In the main event, Purwo Santoso invited all of the participants to seek as many blessings as possible. “If we see fasting as a ritual with an incentive and disincentive system, then it means that we are still profit-oriented, instead of fully serving God,” Purwo stated.
Bhram Kusuma, the chairman of the organizing committee, stressed that unity is the main spirit of RDF 2019. “Thankfully, Fisipol fully supports RDF, particularly after the 2019 General Election, which greatly divided the society. The tagline “Let’s synergize our togetherness in Fisipol is aimed to maintain our unity,” Bhram conveyed.
RDF collaborated with various departments of Fisipol to organize numerous discussions. “Islam and World Peace” was held under a cooperation with the Department of International Relations, “Charity and Social Security” with the Department of Social Development and Welfare, “Post-Disaster Community Empowerment” with the Department of Public Policy and Management, Clerical Micro-Celebrities” with the Department of Communication Studies, “Interfaith Discussion: Secularity and Religion” with the Department of Sociology and “Inter-Civil Society Organization Discussion: Framing Diversity, Achieving National Peace” with the Student Council of Fisipol.
“We implement the spirit of peace within these discussions by inviting all of the elements in Fisipol. Even though it’s not perfect, we have tried our best and I think that we should continue this,” Bhram stated as a closing statement.
