The consolidation of student and community literacy continues to be the concern of many parties, as what the lecturers of Indonesian Language and Literature Education (PBSI) of Universitas Ahmad Dahlan (UAD), Dra. Sudarmini, M.Pd. and Prof. Drs. Soeparno, did.

They did community service through Gerakan Literasi Sekolah (GLS) or School Literacy Movement to improve student literacy in SMP Muhammadiyah 9 Yogyakarta. Sudarmini said that the activities (23-24/4/2018) aimed to improve the students' literacy skills.

"The GLS program designed by the government has not been well socialized to schools, including at SMP Muhammadiyah 9 Yogyakarta. The literacy activity level of this school is still very low. This can be seen from the average number of students visiting the library daily which is only five percent of the whole students," said Sudarmini.

He added that the main obstacles in the implementation of GLS included the density of student activities with the five-day school program, the limited human resources because it had to be conducted outside of school hours, and the limited facilities and supporting infrastructure for the visitors. Therefore, the implementation of the program requires collaboration with other parties to assist and provide guidance. In this case, the role was played by the university through community service activity.

GLS is a manifestation of public awareness, especially from universities. This program is one of the national literacy programs. The goal of the program is to improve literacy skills nationally and internationally. Literacy is a basic skill that must be mastered by every person.

In Indonesia, based on data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), more than 50 percent of 15-year-old Indonesians do not have good basic reading skills. The source mentions that Indonesia's literacy level is still at the bottom 10.

Another source from Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) on adults aged 16-65 in Jakarta, by 2015 shows that more than 70 percent of individuals are below level 1 (the lowest level) in terms of literacy.

Responding to this, Sudarmini and the team designed counseling activities and a special GLS campaign for students, including effective reading training (literature and SQ3R reading), writing training (poetry, synopsis, and reviews), as well as poetry writing contests and reviews.

"This activity is not only devoted to students. All the elements in the school, including the principal and the higher officials, teachers, administrative and library staff, and even the security guards are involved. This program is a shared responsibility. There will be a follow-up of collaboration agreement for an optimum result."

One of the GLS implementations that plays a big role on increasing student literacy is the revival of school library. School library becomes one of the fun activity centers to build school literacy.

In this activity, Sudarmini involved PBSI alumni and students as the student learning mentors. She expressed her expectation that the GLS program at SMP Muhammadiyah 9 Yogyakarta could improve the students' literacy skills and make students accustomed to reading and writing activities. (ard)

Alhamdulillah, good news comes from Tapak Suci (Indonesian martial arts) Team of Universitas Ahmad Dahlan (UAD) by winning the 6 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze medals in a National Championship held at Bogor Agricultural University (IPB). The event that took place on Thursday-Saturday (3-5 / 5/2018) was to fight over rotating trophies of MPR RI and IPB rector.

The six athletes who won gold medals were Muhammad Arfian Hariz in the male E category, Herdiyana Asmoroningtyas in the female E category, Alfin Mubarroq and Irfan Syahrul Ramdhani in the doubles male armed category, Javid Novean Noorcha in male C category, Zulfikar Faishal Akbari in male F category, and Habib Baharuddin Husain in the empty-handed category.

The four athletes who won silver medals were Dadang Arif Dwi Saputra in the male H category, Alfin Mubarroq in the single armed category, Dewi Setiawati in the female C category, and Dhia Asa Imtinan in the female D category. Meanwhile, Wahyu Safitri Zana R. in the female B category won a bronze medal.

A total of 29 participating universities was a proof of the fierce competition of the event which was held at Graha Widya Wisuda (GWW). In the meantime, we should not underestimate Tapak Suci martial arts, because it can be proven by the number of achievements made in this field that makes Indonesia more known on the international level.

"We should be thankful for whatever we have today. The achievement will make a name for UAD. Once again, I affirm that this is a good start in 2018, do not be too satisfied with what you have today because the next events will be even more difficult. So, practice diligently and insha Allah, UAD will always give you support. Keep the spirit and congratulations for all of you," said Gatot Sugiharto, S.H., M.H. as the coach.

The accompanying team manager, Tito Kurniawan, always advises, "Keep the spirit, guys! You become the champion only when you are on the podium, once you get back down you will be an athlete and have to start practicing again."

Universitas Ahmad Dahlan (UAD) Yogyakarta melantik pengurus Asosiasi Mahasiswa Pascasarjana (Aspada) UAD periode 2018-2019 di auditorium kampus 3, Senin (21/5/2018). Hadir dalam acara ini Wakil Rektor III Dr. Abdul Fadlil, M.T. didampingi Wakil Direktur Program Pascasarjana Dr. Ir. Dwi Sulisworo, M.T., dan Danang Sukantar, M.Hum. Kabid Kemahasiswaan dan Alumni Bimawa.

Pelantikan dan rapat kerja Asmapada kali ini bertajuk “Berkarya untuk Pascasarjana yang Berkemajuan”. Diharapkan Asmapada dapat berperan memajukan program pascasarjana dan UAD.

Abdul Fadlil, Wakil Rektor bidang Kemahasiswaan menyampaikan, Asmapada harus memperbanyak kegiatan positif. Program yang ada harus berkolaborasi dengan program studi yang ada di pascasarjana. Harus ada sinergitas dengan organisasi maupun lembaga lainnya.

Selain itu, ia menekankan pentingnya regenerasi. “Regenerasi perlu terus dijalankan, pelantikan adalah bukti regenerasi Asmapada berjalan baik. Kami berharap semua anggota ambil bagian. Semoga amanah dan memberikan banyak sumbangan bagi pascasarjana UAD.”

Ia pun menginginkan lahirnya program-program yang memiliki inovasi dan kreativitas. Tidak harus kegiatan besar, yang terpenting memberikan dampak besar. Program yang dikembangkan disesuaikan dengan sesuat yang ada di borang akreditasi. Supaya bisa menunjang akreditasi institusi.

Sementara Dwi Sulisworo menyampaikan, pengurusan pendek organisasi yang hanya satu tahun memerlukan kerja keras. Terkait situasi kondisi politik nasional, mahasiswa pascasarjana harus memiliki kematangan berpikir, sehingga bisa menjadi agen perubahan dan inisiator.

“Mahasiswa diharap menjadi contoh yang baik, dengan pemikiran-pemikirannya sehingga bisa memberi pencerahan kepada masyarakat. Program pascasarjana akan selalu mendukung kegiatan,” ujarnya.

Dalam kesempatan ini Dwi Pamungkas terpilih sabagai ketua Aspada periode 2018-2019. Dwi merupakan ketua periode ketiga Asmapada. (ard)

Library and Information Assembly (MPI) of Muhammadiyah Regional Leadership (PWM) DIY, along with mediamu.id manager, recently visited Ahmad Dahlan University (UAD) Yogyakarta. The team was greeted by UAD Rector, Kasiyarno, M.Hum., in the rector's office at campus 1 UAD on Jln. Kapas  9 Semaki, Yogyakarta, accompanied by Vice Rector I, Dr. Muchlas, M.T. and the Head of University Office, Dr. Hadi Suyono, S.Psi, M.Si.

The Chairman of MPI PWM DIY, Dr. Robby Habiba Abror, S.Ag., M.Hum., said that UAD was the future of Islamic campus. So far, UAD has proven its dedication to the nation in terms of education.

According to Robby, independence is an integral part of UAD in addition to moral integrity and intelligence. Muhammadiyah universities (PTM) also often conduct studies of Islam intensively on a regional, national, and international scale. He believes that Islamic civilization can grow and start from UAD campus.

Meanwhile, Kasiyarno expressed his expectation that in the future MPI PWM DIY could synergize with UAD da’wah, especially in terms of Islamic da'wah.

"Currently Islamic propaganda cannot be separated from the media," he said.

On the same occasion, Muchlas, who is also Chairman of MPI PP Muhammadiyah said that together with MPI PWM DIY, UAD was optimistic to build cooperation and work to contribute to Muhammadiyah.

The cooperation between MPI PWM DIY and UAD begins with the provision of mediamu.id web server and the activities coverage of UAD. Implementation of the first activity to be covered is of Ramadan 1439 Hijriyah. This Islamic da’wah is organized by PWM DIY in cooperation with UAD.

Prior to this, UAD and MPI PWM DIY had worked together in the library field in terms of utilization and empowerment of human resources, information technology, and literacy. (ard)

Faculty of Public Health (FKM) of Universitas Ahmad Dahlan (UAD) organized a regular community service program (PPM) in Bantul District from February 17^th to April 6^th, 2018. The team implementing the program consisted of atas Ahmad Faizal Rangkuti, M.Kes., Musfirah, M.Kes., and Helfi Agustin, M.KM. It also involved Pimpinan Cabang Aisyiyah (PCA) of Banguntapan Utara.

This program is aimed at helping the realization of the vision of the Regional Government of Bantul Regency. The vision includes the realization of a healthy, intelligent, and prosperous society of Bantul which is in accordance with humanity values, nationalism, and religiosity in the unity of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI). The implemented action done to realize the vision is improving the quality of human resources in terms of health, intelligence, skill, and noble personality.

The improvement if human resources capacity is directed to the cadres of Pimpinan Ranting Aisyiah (PRA) Baturetno 1, PRA Baturetno 2, dan PRA Banguntapan 4. The materials are focused on solving environmental health problems as measured by the improvement of knowledge, attitude and motivation to participate in the training. The goal is to encourage Aisyiyah cadres, as well as the people around, to realize clean and healthy village.

Many people have not realized the importance of maintaining environmental health. Therefore, there is still a lot of household waste, such as bottles, plastic waste, and fallen leaves which have not been recycled properly. The waste is sometimes left to accumulate and burn. Improper waste management can lead to the emergence of environmental-based diseases such as diarrhea, flyborne disease, leptospirosis, and dengue fever.

The Implementing Team of PPM FKM UAD provided education and training related to three main topics: first, the development of a healthy village towards healthy Bantul regency through 3R movement; second, the management of household organic waste towards healthy Bantul regency; and third, the recycling of inorganic plastic waste into creative craft products in realizing healthy household environment.

The real actions of Aisyiyah cadres could be seen through their participation in the training, including waste sorting and the utilization of painted bottles as containers for hydroponics with wicks method. They then proceeded to make compost from household organic waste and created wallets from plastic waste.

The respective PRA leaders asked UAD FKM team to provide regular and ongoing assistance in the recycling process of organic and inorganic wastes. Thus, they hope that there will be output that can stimulate the economic potential of Aisyiyah citizens and the general public. With this achievement, their economic independence will be accomplished, so that optimum environmental health and economic productivity can be achieved.

Warjilah, S.Pd., the Chairman of PCA Banguntapan Utara, expressed her gratitude to the team who gave their best efforts in providing education and training.

"We hope the mentoring activities will not stop with completion of Regular PPM activities, but followed by a sustainable partnership program to realize healthy Bantul regency." (Doc)