Salam lestari,
November’s issue of YAD News comes to you with news about a series of activities to commemorate the 728th anniversary of Majapahit. This Kingdom was founded on the 15th month of Kartika, 1215 Çaka, or in today’s term: 12 November 1293. According to Kidung Harsa Wijaya, it was the day of the coronation of Raden Wijaya as the first king of the Majapahit Kingdom, with his full title being Nararya Sanggramawijaya Sri Maharaja Kertarajasa Jayawardhana. Since November 2014, YAD has always been commemorating the anniversary of Majapahit with various cultural activities with its conservation partners throughout the country.
The article about Majapahit Anniversary this year highlights various events held by YAD together with Mandala Majapahit (ManMa) in Trowulan, Gadjah Mada University, Hasanuddin University, and Udayana University, the Indonesian Heritage Trust (BPPI), and local communities in Trowulan. Most interesting is the main event; the virtual launch of the Majapahit Directory on November 12, 2021. The Majapahit Directory is a breakthrough led by YAD Cultural Division in the form of a digital platform that serves as for data center for research and documentation related to Majapahit. The establishment of this directory aims to fulfill the need of a place to integrate data on Majapahit that can be scientifically proven and widely accessible.
Another article of interest in this month’s issue is about environmental conservation activities carried out by YAD Environmental Division in both West Sumatra and East Kalimantan. There is also an article from the YAD Social Division about the inspirational figure of BaktiKita in October, who is a famous literacy activist from Ternate.
At the end of the newsletter, following the trend from the previous issue, we will also get an overview of YAD’s activities in the Education Division through the reports of Prof. Peter Carey, a history researcher and adjunct professor at University of Indonesia, who is a member of the YAD Board of Experts. It includes the historian’s writing in memory of the late Prof. Toeti Heraty Noerhadi-Roosseno, who has inspired us all as a philosopher and extraordinary figure of Indonesian culture.
We hope you can enjoy this wonderful issue.
Dr. Catrini Pratihari Kubontubuh