[Unpad.ac.id, 22/07/2013] Thirty three Unpad students, now active in Pasir Putih community, are assigned by the university to take part in a cultural event, Zakopane Festival of Highland Folklore in Poland, August 23 to September 8, 2013.
Two delegates, Michelle Monique Pakel and Alvita Rasya Tritikaningty show their excitement at being able to introduce Indonesian traditional arts and present positive attitude and image of the Indonesian people when they in Poland.
“Negative sentiments about Indonesia appear quite often in world news. We are thinking about turning the table and introducing more positive aspects of the country,” said Michelle when interviewed on Friday. Giving similar response, Immanuel Varian Rumande said that “it takes our direct participation to fully understand our culture.”
“It seems like a lot of tasks, but we’re just going to enjoy it,” Alvita added.
After practicing for four months, the delegates will perform traditional dances such as Tari Nandak Ganjen (DKI Jakarta), Tari Banjidor Kahot (Jabar), Tari Piring (Sumbar), Tari Saman (Aceh), Tari Lontar (NTT), Tari Soya-soya (Maluku Utara), and Tari Tifa (Papua) along with traditional-contemporary music ensemble before 460 other delegates from 60 countries..
Pasir Putih is a grouped initiated by CIOFF, a cultural cooperation body under UNESCO. It is the second time that Unpad was chosen to represent Indonesia, the first of which was in Turkey in 2012. Due to the festival’s theme on campus located in highland, Unpad is again selected to participate.
