Indonesian students from the IISMA Programme of Universitat Pompeu Fabra successfully promotes Indonesian culture through an event titled Culturise: Enchanting Indonesia at Ciutadella Parc, Barcelona, Catalonia (11/10/24).

IISMA (Indonesian International Student Mobility Awards) awardees are Indonesian undergraduate students that receives the opportunity to study abroad for one semester at various top universities around the world. They have a responsibility to be ambassadors of Indonesian culture through their academic journey abroad.

Culturise: Enchanting Indonesia is one of the way for the IISMA awardees to introduce Indonesian culture to the local community of Barcelona. The iniative is also a part of celebrating National Batik Day. The event focused in social services and appreciating Indonesian culture abroad at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Various Indonesian cultures were showcased, including local cuisines, traditional games, as well as batik.

The event showcased Indonesian culture through interactive booths that were spread around the kids park in Parc Ciutadella. First, the visitors were directed to the batik exhibition booth as the awardees have prepared an introduction to various unique batik patterns, such as batik Parang, Megamendung, and more. Visitors also explored the philosophical nature of batik starting from Babon Angrem, used in the tujuh-bulanan ceremony, up to Slobog, used to cover the dead. The visitors were also invited to experience the making of hand-drawn batik. With tools and equipment brought straight from Indonesia, provided by the IISMA awardees at UPF, the visitors are able to have first-hand experience in making batik with the original canting and malam guided by the awardees. Visitors then tried on some of the batik fabrics.

The next booth, visitors were encouraged to participate in traditional Indonesian games, including sack-race, cracker-eating competition, and pen-in-the-bottle game. These activities brought smiles and laughters to the local visitors of Barcelona. The winners of the activities were then directed to claim their prize in the form of exclusive Indonesian souvenirs at the merchandise booth. The souvenirs included self designed postcards, handmade souvenirs, and pampleths containing puzzles and trivia about Indonesia.

The last booth offered visitors exquisite Indonesian culinary experience, featuring various dishes such as Nasi Goreng, Bakwan Jagung, Fried Bananas, telur dadar padang (Padang-style omelet), chili sambal, and instant sachet beverages like tea and Nutrisari. Different reactions sparked from the visitors, and many discussions were held about the culinary that were served.

The event also included the screening of short films by Indonesian filmmakers. The screening had a theme “Lesson Learned, Lesson Earned,” with three short films being shown such as “Bloody Rose” (2022; dir. Elsy Grazia), “Half-Hearted Trip” (2024; dir. Iqbal Keane Kembaren), and “Are We Still Friends?” (2024; dir. Al Ridwan).

Anta Dendri Putranto, as one of the IISMA UPF awardees from English Literature year 2022 said that he was delighted to be a part of this event. He participated in the event as a part of the documentation team capturing the beautiful moments of the event.

The event aimed to introduce Indonesian culture through multiple ways. As ambassadors of Indonesian culture, the awardees have successfully introduced and appreciated Indonesian culture especially towards the local community in Barcelona, Catalonia. The awardees collaborated with media partners such as PPI Spain, Diaspora Catalunya, AIESEC in UPF, UPF International Program, and Erasmus Student Network (ESN) to gain attention of locals, diaspora and international students.

Through Culturise: Enchanting Indonesia, Indonesian students from IISMA awardees of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra hopes that Indonesian culture will continue to be recognized academically and internationally.