UII, The Conversation Indonesia Determined to Increase Number of Public Scientists

Yogyakarta—To improve public understanding of contemporary issues through a popular science approach, Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII) and The Conversation Indonesia (TCID) has launched a TCID office in UII’s Main Campus in Yogyakarta.

With this launch, UII has become a pioneer university in Indonesia that facilitates the presence of TCID in a higher education environment. The launch ceremony took place in the Theatrical Room of UII’s Prof. Dr. Sardjito Building on Thursday, 11 May 2023, and was attended by the university’s leadership and students.

The launch of TCID office in UII was followed by a public discussion themed “Is Identity Politics Still Relevant in the 2024 Elections Campaign on Social Media?”. Attending as speakers were Ismail Fahmi, Ph.D., Rizki Dian Nursita, M.H.I, Wawan Mas’udi, SIP., MPA., Ph.D., and Shafiq Pontoh.

UII Rector Prof. Fathul Wahid, S.T., M.Sc., Ph.D., said in his welcome speech that it was critical to embrace scientific development through public discussions. “Insya Allah [God willing], this positive cooperation will become an important milestone for both parties to jointly express ideas that are important for opening healthy discussions and educating the public,” the rector said.

“Specifically, collaboration with campuses is also expected to enable information related to scientific developments to be heard more loudly in public spaces and make campus residents ready to become public intellectuals,” Prof. Fathul Wahid added.

Prof. Fathul Wahid went on saying that facts and data were the main keys that form the basis of opinions. “This is very important to maintain and improve the public’s scientific temper and attitude. One of the ways is to raise awareness of the importance of data or facts that underlie every choice of attitude or opinion,” he added.

The rector explained that difference was the color of diversity. “Differences should not create division. The opposite of difference is equality, while the negation of division is unity. Differences are not synonymous with divisions. Differences in identity are social factors and are sunnatullah [God’s rules],” he said.

Prof. Fatful Wahid hoped us to always instill equality values in every action. “It is necessary to imbue our actions with great values, such as equality among the nation’s children regardless of their background,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, TCID CEO/Publisher Prodita Kusuma Sabarini said in her remarks that The Conversation Indonesia was a media that aimed to disseminate science to the public. “We put efforts to bring science into the community, and we therefore always try to get closer to the science community in Indonesia,” she said.

Prodita Kusuma Sabarini expressed her pleasure with the two institutions’ cooperation. “We are very happy that when we conveyed the idea of The Conversation Indonesia’s cooperation as a house partner for UII, the university was very welcoming and opened its doors,” she said.

“Now, we have an office here and are even closer to the academic communities in Yogyakarta,” Prodita added.

Prodita was optimistic that public discussions in the future would prioritize factual literature and evidence. “We believe we can strengthen the quality of public discussions in Indonesia, so that public discussions will be truly based on research and facts,” she said.

Finally, Prodita expressed her hopes from the cooperation. “We hope that The Conversation Indonesia’s new office in Yogyakarta, at UII—and we would like to call it our new home, our shared home—can become our place to be involved in the public discussion process that can further what Prof. Fathul said earlier [scientific temper] among the public in Indonesia,” she concluded. (VIP Magazine Vol 10)