Students of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) associated in a team of Mahardika Bakti Nusantara (MBN) of batch 2 performing a community service in Warmon Kokoda village, Mayamuk District, West Papua province conducted ‘Panggung Rakyat’ on Thursday (22/8) on Herlina street, Makbusun village, Mayamuk district. The event was to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of Indonesia’s Independence Day.
The event was attended by the Mayamuk District Secretary Muhammad Choirul Asyik and the heads of Warmon Kokoda and Makbusun village. Syamsudin Namugur, Warmon Kokoda village head, said that the Panggung Rakyat could become a cultural acculturation event of both villages that one village is dwelt by Papua natives while the other is inhibited by transmigrants.
More than 400 crowds attended the event and bamboo music, Aster dance, poems and many other arts were presented to enliven the Panggung Rakyat. The event was opened with the holy Qur’an recitation by Cecep Syaifudin Namugur as a qira‘ (a Qur’an reciter) from Warmon Kokoda. Furthermore, the winners of a number of competitions held prior to the Independence Day were also announced in this event. Last, it was closed with a video screening of the Independence Day events.
The committee chief of the 72nd Anniversary of Indonesia’s Independence Day Commemoration Ade Kurniawan expected that this Panggung Rakyat would increase the harmony of the two villages and create mutual understanding as well as respect among communities. He informed that ‘Menggapai Mimpi dalam ke-Bhinneka-an’ (Achieving Dreams in the Unity) was brought as the theme. “The theme aimed to encourage all people to have dreams and desires for a better future,” ended Ade.
