UGM students embed in Bandung’s culture through dance, instruments and child-led exchanges
Universiti Geomatika Malaysia’s Outbound Mobility Programme 2026 sent students to Bandung to learn through direct cultural immersion, including performing traditional dances, playing local instruments like the angklung…
Source: Universiti Geomatika Malaysia · September 21, 2026 at 12:03 AM · AI-assisted report
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BANDUNG, 21 SEPTEMBER 2026 —
Universiti Geomatika Malaysia’s Outbound Mobility Programme 2026 sent students to Bandung to learn through direct cultural immersion, including performing traditional dances, playing local instruments like the angklung and gamelan, and spending unstructured time with schoolchildren in the city’s kampung communities.
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The three-week programme replaced passive observation with hands-on participation—students replicated tari topeng mask dances under guidance from local artists, while children taught them simple Javanese phrases in exchange for shared meals of nasi campur and es cendol.
The initiative frames cultural exchange as a tool for sustainable development, aligning with SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by requiring students to document how their interactions challenged assumptions about rural-urban divides in West Java.
According to UGM’s programme coordinator, Dr. Lina Mohamad, “We designed the schedule so no activity was transactional—whether repairing a community garden or learning wayang kulit shadow puppetry, the goal was reciprocal learning.” The university’s sustainability officer, Datuk Seri Ahmad Razali, noted that 80% of participants later cited the child-led conversations as the most transformative element, with some returning to Malaysia to advocate for similar youth exchanges.
Bandung’s cultural agencies praised the programme’s focus on preservation over tourism. The city’s Dinas Kebudayaan (Culture Department) reported a 15% increase in inquiries about traditional craft workshops following UGM’s visit, while local gamelan ensembles expressed interest in reciprocal visits to Kuala Lumpur.
The programme’s emphasis on “slow tourism”—limiting group sizes to 20 and banning commercial photography—also earned endorsement from Bandung’s Balai Konservasi Alam (Nature Conservation Office), which linked the model to SDG 15 by reducing foot traffic in protected areas like Hutan Kota (City Forest). UGM’s next outbound cohort will replicate the model in Bali, with plans to integrate Indonesian language fluency as a prerequisite.