(by Dr. Friederike Trotier and Kartika Wulang)

Under the direction of Dr. Friederike Trotier and the Indonesian lecturer Kartika Wulang, an excursion to the Central Javanese cities of Yogyakarta, Solo and Semarang took place from 6 to 17 March 2024. During the excursion, 24 students explored the topic of “Urban Indonesia: Cities, Palaces and Local Knowledge in Java” in various ways. In preparation for the excursion, the group had already taken part in a seminar in the winter semester 2023/24, in which they first analyzed regional topics and then specific aspects of Indonesian cities using academic texts. In the last part of the seminar, the students presented their ideas for the research projects they would carry out on site. The main objectives of the field trip were for the students to explore the topics of urbanity, characteristics and challenges of cities, cultural influences on city life and urban educational institutions.  In addition, especially those taking Indonesian as a language course were able to practice their language skills and review and deepen their understanding of various Indonesian concepts and terms.

The first city in the excursion program, Yogyakarta, is considered the cultural capital of Indonesia and the heart of Javanese culture. As a sultanate within Indonesia, Yogyakarta has a unique political and cultural position; however, the city is also considered an attractive student city and tourist destination. The first major item on the program took us to the partner university Universitas Atma Jaya Yogyakarta (UAJY), where we were warmly welcomed by the vice president of the university, the dean, lecturers and students of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences. As part of the official opening of the event, there were short presentations and videos about the two universities to inform, but also to get all students excited about the exchange programs. The Passau students had prepared a video and a presentation about their city and our university. Other parts of the program included a workshop on “Communicating Project through Visual Media”, a campus tour including a joint dance performance by the German and Indonesian students and a presentation by Dr. Trotier on “River-City Nexus in Indonesia” followed by a discussion.

The following day, a tour of several kampungs (informal urban neighborhoods) near the Kali Code River took place under the guidance of Sekolah Sungai (local informal educational institute). Together with officials and students from Atma Jaya, we were given an insight into the challenges and initiatives of the various kampungs with regard to life along the river, protection measures against natural disasters and the problem of waste and how to combat it. Afterwards, the Passau group was able to explore Yogyakarta on their own together with the Atma Jaya students. All activities with Atma Jaya strengthened the partnership between the University of Passau and the university in Yogyakarta.

The next day we went to Solo (officially Surakarta). The city is also the seat of a sultanate, but without political power. Under the motto “Spirit of Java”, Solo positions itself as equal to Yogyakarta, although the city is smaller and less well known to tourists. A visit to the princely palace, Mangkunegaran, allowed us to immerse ourselves in Javanese culture and history. It was particularly interesting to learn how the reigning Mangkunegara X is making efforts to open up, revitalize and market the palace with the involvement of various stakeholders.

Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world, but recognizes six official religions. This is why the cityscape is often characterized by religious buildings, especially mosques. Together we visited the Masjid Raya Sheikh Zayed Solo, which opened in 2023 and not only impressed with its architecture, but is also an example of Islam in practice and the use of the mosque as a public and communal space. The students then explored religious sites of the various religions (Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Confucianism/Taoism) in small groups and reported on their experiences.

We had the opportunity to attend a theater performance by the famous Javanese theater troupe Wayang Orang Sriwedari, which performed a story from the great epic Mahabarata as improvisational theater. The visit provided an insight into the Javanese culture of folk theater and the different roles in traditional Javanese society. A special experience for the students was the visit to the make-up room, where they met the actors during preparation, were able to ask questions and put on headdresses.

Through the connections of Atma Jaya University, we were able to visit another university in Solo, which differs in many ways from the partner university in Yogyakarta. Universitas Negeri Sebelas Maret (UNS) is a state university with a very large campus and a large number of faculties. The program included the official welcome, lectures on urban and social changes in Solo and a visit to the university's own Waste Bank.

The third city of the excursion, Semarang, has a long history as a trading city, a melting pot of Javanese and Chinese culture and an important base first of the Dutch VOC (United East India Company) and later of the colonial power, which makes it very different from Yogyakarta and Solo. The focus of our program in Semarang was the exploration of various urban kampungs and their revitalization programs as well as the urban expression of Chinese, Javanese and European elements. During the visits to China Town and the large Chinese temple complex Sam Poo Kong, we were able to experience the presence and importance of Semarang's ethnic Chinese population. We visited two different kampungs (Kampung Pelangi and Kampung Jadul) to assess the success or failure of local or government-led revitalization measures. In Kampung Jadul, we took part in a batik workshop organized for us, where bags were individually designed with batik patterns.

Markets, shopping centers and malls in various forms are central places in Indonesian cities, which is why we integrated as many as possible into the excursion program. These included the Pasar Kangen as an event market in Yogyakarta, the Pasar Gede in Solo with many food stalls, the Pasar Ramadan in front of the city hall in Solo, where we witnessed the first breaking of the Ramadan fast, the Pasar Malam (night market) in Solo with live music and performances, which takes place every weekend, the Pasar Semawis in Chinatown and Pasar Kauman in the Arab quarter in Semarang, each of which had specific culinary offerings.

During the excursion, there was always time for the students to carry out their research projects. Many projects related to urban topics such as the revitalization projects in Kampungs, community-based tourism, city marketing, waste banks, public transport in cities, street food and urban Islamic fashion. Other projects focused on cultural, historical and political topics (batik, the Borobodur temple, the image of the USA, soccer and politics). The students conducted interviews, took part in events or made observations in order to answer their research questions. At the end of the excursion, all groups reported on their project implementation and their initial findings.

The excursion was a great success in many ways. For many students, it was their first visit to Indonesia (and Southeast Asia), and they were able to gain a unique insight into life in the three Javanese cities and receive information on the excursion topics, which is hardly possible for tourists. The thematic and linguistic preparation in the seminar and language course was particularly helpful for immersing themselves in Indonesian life, gaining a deeper understanding of problems and contexts and communicating successfully with local people. Many experiences on site could be linked to what was learned in the seminar or language course. The participants of Indonesian courses used their Indonesian not only in simple everyday situations, but even in areas of project implementation. The excursion was also a success for strengthening the partnership and for concrete considerations of cooperation between Passau and Atma Jaya University. In addition, new contacts were established that could lead to further opportunities for cooperation. For all those involved, the excursion resulted in a significant increase in specialist knowledge, skills, language skills and personal experience, which always justifies the great effort involved in planning, financing and implementing such an undertaking.