VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

If you are in Yogyakarta, a trip to the beach is one of the right choices. Gunung Kidul, one of the districts in Yogyakarta, has a row of beautiful beaches that are interesting to visit. One of them is Siung Beach. This white sandy beach is quite famous in Yogyakarta, even abroad. Apart from its beauty, easy access makes many tourists visit Siung Beach.

Siung Beach is in Duwet Hamlet, Purwodadi Village, Tepus District, Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta Special Region. From the center of Yogja City, you will travel around 77 kilometers or around 2 to 3 hours. Arriving at Siung Beach, you will see many giant rocks scattered to the west and east of the beach.

Apart from being a characteristic feature of Siung Beach, the presence of coral rocks also has meaning in the origin of this beach's name. It is said that the shape of this giant rock resembles the teeth of a monkey or Siung Wanara. That's why it is called Siung Beach. Not only that, if you are lucky you can find several long-tailed monkeys around the beach but today they are difficult to find.

Among rock climbing lovers, Siung Beach has become a spot that must be conquered. Having around 250 rock climbing spots with different levels of difficulty, Siung Beach was also awarded "The Best Climbing Rocks Site in Yogyakarta".

So if you love rock climbing, you need to visit this beach. Besides being able to enjoy swimming and playing in the water, you can climb to the expanse of green grass called Pengilon Hill. Here, you can enjoy the view of Siung Beach from a height.

You can even see a group of other beaches in the Gunungkidul area, such as Wediombo Beach and Watu Lumbung Beach. Try to come in the morning to watch the beautiful sunrise panorama. If you want to spend the night, you can camp on the east coast. Siung Beach also provides adequate facilities, such as parking, toilets, places of worship, and several food stalls serving seafood and several typical Yogyakarta menus.

Indonesian Embassy in Canberra / held the Ambassador Goes to Campus activity at Deakin and Monash Universities/ Australia. on Friday (1/3)/ to promote education in Indonesia and explore collaboration between universities in the two countries// Ambassador  Siswo Pramono/ in a press release on Friday said/ the educational cooperation between Indonesia and Australia will accelerate the fulfillment of quality human resources needed/ who are ready to make a positive contribution to the economy and progress of the two countries// Apart from that/ both countries can carry out joint research in overcoming the impacts of climate change// According to him/ this is related to fact that Indonesia currently has a demographic bonus/ which must be utilized well/ and will only happen through quality education//

Meanwhile, Education Attache of the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra/ Mukhamad Najib/ explained/ this event was held to bring together the leadership of an  Indonesian  University, the University  of Lampung, Sumatra,  with the leadership of Deakin and Monash Universities// He hoped/ the three universities could get to know each other and could continue with concrete cooperation// He also highlighted the importance of universities in Australia to recognize the potential of universities in Indonesia which are located outside Java// On this occasion/ Chancellor of the University of Lampung/ Lusmeilia Afriani/ conveyed their campus profile and agenda in terms of internationalization// Meanwhile, the President of Deakin University/ Iain Martin/ said/ he was interested in building collaboration with universities in Indonesia/ especially in the field of research// He also highlighted the importance of establishing relationships between researchers with an interest in the same field// Currently, Monash University has a branch operating in Jakarta/ while Deakin will soon have a branch in Bandung/ West Java//

Next week, 11  March, Muslims around the world will carry out fasting during Ramadan, which means that they do not  eat or drink for approximately 12 hours everyday  for 30 days. Approaching the fasting month of Ramadan, residents of Ratmakan Village, Ngupasan sub-district, Gondomanan Special Region of Yogyakarta again held an Apem festival, "Ngapem Ruwahan, on Sunday morning (25/2/ 2024). There were three large Apems or food-like mountains (gunungan) at the festival.

Before the event started, all the residents of Ratmakan village paraded three mountains which  consist of two Apem mountains, sticky rice and kolak, and one mountain which  contains vegetables from the land. These three mountains are a symbol of gratitude and forgiving one  another among humans and approach themselves  to God Almighty. When parading the three gunungan, the residents of Ratmakan village who paraded the gunungan, wore traditional Javanese clothing with Gamelan music accompaniment which made the atmosphere of this festival even more festive and solemn.

Another purpose of holding the Apem festival is to bring about harmonization of religious, artistic and cultural elements in the community. But the most important message is actually to remind ones that the Muslims will soon enter the holy month of Ramadan. The lesson that can be learned from holding this Apem festival tradition   is  the sincerity to forgive one another. "Afwan" an Arabic word, which means sorry, then becomes Apem. This is all mental preparation before doing fasting in the month of Ramadan.

As a series of preparations for Indonesia's participation in the 2025 world exhibition,  the Design Inauguration Ceremony and Handover of the Location for the 2025 Indonesian Pavilion Exhibition was held at the Imperial Hotel Osaka in Japan on Wednesday (28/2). The activity was attended by  Minister of National Development Planning, Head of the National Development Planning Agency, Suharso Monoarfa, Indonesian Ambassador to Japan, Heri Akhmadi, Mayor of Osaka,  Hideyuki Yokoyama, Secretary-General of World Expo 2025 Osaka,  Hiroyuki Ishige,  Consul-General of Indonesia in Osaka  and Commissioners General of exhibiting countries.

In this five-year agenda, the Indonesian Pavilion takes the theme "Thriving in Harmony: Nature, Culture,  Future with the main focus being Indonesia's commitment to sustainable development, including the implementation of the green economy and blue economy for the Sustainable Development Goals -SDGs.

Moreover, Ambassador Heri Akhmad viewed that Indonesia's commitment to participate in the World Expo 2025 Osaka is an important milestone in the comprehensive strategic partnership between Indonesia and Japan, which was agreed in 2023.  Indonesia–Japan continues to contribute positively to regional and global peace, stability and prosperity, including in efforts to achieve the SDGs.  As the National Authority responsible for Indonesia's participation in the 2025 World Expo Osaka, Minister Suharso Monoarfa has said that Indonesia has implemented various strategies to materealize the SDGs. In the previous year,  the United Nations report stated  Indonesia is one of the countries that has achieved the most progressive in the SDGs among upper middle income countries.

Meanwhile, the World Expo 2025 will be held in Osaka from 13 April until 13 October 2025.  This agenda is the main platform for Indonesia and various countries to reaffirm their commitment to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.