Indonesia
Cintya Dara Sakina
Cintya Dara Sakina, a student of the Study Programme of Japanese Literature, Faculty of Cultural Studies (FCS) Universitas Brawijaya (UB), became the Best Presenter 1 and presented one of 12 Best Papers at the 2022 Brawijaya Undergraduate Students Conference (BRAUSC) essay competition. It was held from 20 December 2021 to 16 February 2022 via the Zoom Meeting platform.
BRAUSC is an essay competition and conference event for all students in Indonesia. BRAUSC is organized by the Study Programme of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UB which is supported by the Japan Foundation.
The main theme of the BRAUSC 2022 essay contest is ‘Japan Today: Out of Sight, Out of Mind’, Exploring Current Issues of Japan in the 21st Century. This theme covers four topics, namely, Environment and Sustainability, Human Rights, Culture and Society, and Global and Regional Cooperation.
Some steps must be followed in the essay competition. Participants were asked to write essays that were selected to be the best 12 essays. From the 12 best essays, they advance to the next stage, namely panel discussions. The period given from the announcement of the selected essays to the panel discussion was only four days. The panel discussion was divided into categories based on the four themes, after which the participants entered the breakout room according to the theme for the presentation of each essay they wrote. There was also a question-and-answer session by the participants and judges in the presentation session. The judges gave feedback to all participants.
“Initially, I didn’t intend to take part in the BRAUSC competition, because there were other activities that were more prioritized. However, it turned out that there was an extension of one week from the end of the closing deadline that had originally been determined. The extension of time made me change my mind and finally decided to join it,” said Cintya.
“In this competition, I chose the theme Culture and Society, with the essay title ‘The Influence of Gender Roles on the Shousika Phenomenon in Japan’. I need two days to work on, or D-2 from the closing schedule,” she continued.
“At that time, I was nervous because suddenly the committee announced that the essay presentation time would be reduced by five minutes. I also had problems with the camera which made me less sure. However, I try as much as possible to show the best,” said Cintya.
The obstacles that Cintya experienced did not discourage her from presenting the essay presentation. Cintya could maintain articulation and intonation firmly during presentations to express criticism of discourse on gender roles in Japan. With Cintya’s sense of optimism, Cintya was finally chosen as Best Presenter 1 in BRAUSC. [dts/msh/PR FCS]