Yogyakarta—Universitas Islam Indonesia’s (UII) International Relations Study Program (PSHI) organized the 2023 Inspiring Fair at the university’s Prof. K.H. Abdulkahar Mudzakkir Auditorium on Saturday, 17 June 2023.

The event brought in the Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia, Dr. Zuhair Al Shun, to speak at the Ambassadorial Lecture session titled “Muslim Youth and Diplomacy”.

A Career Talk session followed the seminar, with a panel of experts coming from various backgrounds. They were creativepreneur Danang Giri Sadewa; PSHI alumni and Field Facilitator for the IOM-UN Migration 2021-2023, Muhammad Hidayat Hasan; and PSHI alumni and staff at the Indonesian Regional Representative Council (DPR-RI), Najla Indah Annisa.

Most of the attendees were senior high school (SMA) students planning for their future career.

UII Rector Prof. Fathul Wahid, ST., M.Sc., Ph.D. told the attendees in his opening remarks that the eager and willingness to study diligently would broaden perspective. “Consistency in learning will lead to continuous development of our potentials. These potentials then lead to improved skills that make us more flexible in various contexts,” he said.

“It’s true that we are planning for our future. But we don’t know where it will end, at which port we will dock,” the rector said.

Prof. Fathul Wahid went on to say that any future we ended up with would bring benefits if they provide positive impacts to the society. “Every future is a role that we must play. Insya Allah [God willing], it will spread benefits and leave a good footprint in society, both at home and abroad,” he said.

“It’s our role as a human to play our part. Insya Allah, if we do it right and wholeheartedly, it will benefit not only ourselves, but also many other people,” he added.

During the Ambassadorial Lecture, Dr. Zuhair Al Shun said that diplomacy played a strategic role in facilitating the achievement of agreements. “Diplomacy is a very significant and important topic. Ideologies in the world that achieve their goals are those that prepare themselves well in diplomacy,” the ambassador said.

Dr. Zuhair Al Shun elaborated that diplomacy came in many forms, such as diplomacy to reduce or minimize conflict, war diplomacy, dollar diplomacy, general diplomacy, popular diplomacy, economic diplomacy, and electronic or technological diplomacy.

He praised Indonesia for successfully implementing its diplomacy. This is evident, for example, in scholarship offerings for Palestinians that are a result of diplomacy in the education sector.

“Indonesia diplomatized in the education sector actively and in a unified manner with Palestine,” he said. “We now see lots of Indonesian university scholarships are offered to Palestinian students.”

Dr. Zuhair Al Shun encouraged students to continue learning, saying that the younger generation is one of the keys to advancing the nation’s success. “The youth is a crucial generation as it will become the driver of the nation’s advancements,” he said.

Career Opportunities for International Relations Alumni 

During the Career Talk session, Muhammad Hidayat Hasan gave tips for the high school attendees to find the right career path. “Know your talents,” he said. “From now on, you must know your passion and what you would like to do.”

The second panelist, Najla Indah Annisa, said that competency, integrity and conviction were qualities required to achieve success.

“You should become an individual that is competent and equipped with the right skills, willing to learn, reliable, knowledgeable,” she said. “And all this go hand in hand with integrity. Because, without integrity, they mean nothing.”

Similarly, Danang Giri Sadewa said that understanding one’s passion was key to achieving a successful career. “To be happy in what you do, you must do things you are passionate about,” he said.

“Data shows that 87 percent students chose the wrong program study. Once this happens, it will be difficult to perform. You then procrastinate. Therefore, the first thing to do is to find your passion,” he emphasized.

In addition, to pursue education and career properly, Danang Giri Sadewa said it was necessary to determine priorities. “There is something called a priority scale quadrant. Using this, we can see what is important, what is less important, what is urgent, and what is less urgent,” he said. (VIP Magazine Vol 10)