The Inter-religious Studies (IRS) Doctoral Program, the Religion and Cross-Cultural Studies/Center for Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies (ALB/CRCS) Master Program, and the Environmental Science Program of the Graduate School of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) are collaborating on waste management, particularly around the campus, by organizing a Research-based Community Service Program (PKM) from July 2024 to January 2025.
This activity aims to understand the forms, strategies, and development of collaborative waste management. It is motivated by the numerous initiatives from various parties that have been carried out to address the waste problem in Yogyakarta, but the issue remains unresolved, said Mr. Zain, the familiar call for Dr. Zainal Abidin Bagir (Chief of the IRS Doctoral Program at UGM).
Furthermore, Mr. Zain explained the need to bring together and build networks of various parties, including communities, activists, practitioners, academics, religious leaders, and policymakers (government) who are concerned about waste management issues. The network formed of these various components is expected to formulate a collaborative, cross-sector waste management model and commit to implementing it together to address the waste problems in Yogyakarta in an integrated manner.
A workshop titled “Coordination and Consolidation of Cross-Sector Waste Managers” (9/1/25) will be held to achieve this goal, involving cross-sector waste managers from the Yogyakarta Special Region (DIY) and academics/researchers from Gadjah Mada University. This activity will be followed by various programs and activities targeting three areas of agenda and advocacy, namely policies, communities, and strengthening cross-sector networks.
Author: Suronokarti