The Faculty of Language, Arts and Culture of Yogyakarta State University organized a social service outing for FBSB UNY International Students at Parangkusumo Beach. With the title "Beach Clean Up", this activity is a social service of beach cleaning, eco-bricking workshops and literacy-based fun activities with children around the beach. This activity involved international students taking credit transfer, bachelor and master programs at UNY. Forty-five international students participated in this activity. They came from China, Chile, Egypt, Pakistan, Sudan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Yemen, Russia, Sudan, Philippines, Zimbabwe and Colombia. In addition, Indonesian students also joined to assist in this activity.
The activity was initiated by the Indonesian Language Program for Foreign Speakers (BIPA) FBSB UNY collaborated with Garbage Care Education (Gardu Action) and berbagibuku.id Community as partners. Through this collaboration, UNY international students are expected to get acquainted with Yogyakarta's community and the geographical area to get an authentic and meaningful Indonesian language learning experience. In addition, this activity provides an opportunity for FBSB international students to contribute to Indonesia, especially the beach community of Parangkusumo, Yogyakarta.
The Head of the BIPA Laboratory of FBSB UNY, Dr. Ari Kusmiatun, M.Hum, said that this activity is an environmental activity which is a form of love for Indonesia by FBSB UNY international students. Furthermore, Ari explained that this activity was cleaning up garbage on the beach and learning how to process it with the eco-brick model. "This activity will not be just once, but sustainable," she said recently.
In line with this, Polina, a student from Russia, stated that this beach cleaning activity is good and positive because we can protect the environment and also learn how to process waste for valuable things. She also hopes that there will be similar activities on other occasions. "This program is excellent and should continue so that the beach environment is always clean," said Muhammad Aqief, a master's student from Pakistan. Aqief also stated that this activity is also an educational step to inform how vital beach cleanliness is.
On the same occasion, Arda Kusumawati, the manager of Gardu Action, explained that this activity resulted from a positive initiative that benefited the environment. She mentioned that this was the first offline activity after the pandemic. "We hope these international students can also apply themselves how to process waste into eco-bricks at home," said Arda.
