Husnul Ermalena’s concern, a student of Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Universitas Indonesia (FMIPA UI), for things that tickle his mind, is manifested in research that is included in a national level competition. His research was motivated by the condition of a place which is a megalith site – included in the national cultural heritage.
Husnul Ermalena is a student of the Geography Study Program, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia (FMIPA UI), batch 2018. She won the award as Best Speaker at the National Seminar organized by the Department of Geography Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Halu Oleo University, last November, with her research entitled “The sensitivity of the place in the Gunung Padang Hamlet to the Historical Tourism of the Gunung Padang Site”.
The aim of this study, according to Husnul, was to analyze the sense of place in the Gunung Padang to the historical sights of the Gunung Padang Site. The Decree of the Minister of Education and Culture Number 023/M/2014 stipulates the Gunung Padang Site as a National Cultural Conservation.
According to Husnul, the decision has changed the sensitivity of the residents in Gunung Padang to make the Gunung Padang Site a historical tourist spot. To complete the research paper, he collected data through in-depth interviews with community members, and the surrounding community, and made observations in Gunung Padang.
Interview questions focused on aspects of tourist attractions, culture, accessibility, amenities (facilities), and the community’s economy. From the results of the study, he concluded that since the Gunung Padang Site was made a National Cultural Conservation, it changed the sensitivity of the speakers’ places to support the tourist sites of the Gunung Padang Site.
In geography, place sensitivity can be defined as a human perception of the characteristics of the environment in which they live. With the ministerial decree mentioned earlier, the local community took part in protecting the megalith site so that it was protected from damage.
Husnul said that the biggest challenge was when she had to finish the paper in a very short time. He only found out about the seminar at the deadline(4 November 2021).
At the peak of the seminar, apart from presenting research, there was a discussion session with the judges for 15 minutes. Presentations were made in rotation by all participants from all over Indonesia.
The experience of participating in the competition gave Husnul many benefits. “I learned to write a journal properly, practice time discipline, gain experience, increase self-confidence, and also increase relationships,” said Husnul, who won the competition last November.
He hopes that FMIPA UI students will not miss the opportunity, because the opportunity does not come twice. It’s the same as taking advantage of the opportunity to enter a competition, where the most important thing to gain is valuable experience.
The seminar themed “Geographical Challenges in the Era of Society 5.0” had six sub-themes, namely geography education, remote sensing, regional development and planning, tourism, disaster mitigation, and agricultural geography. In the competition, Husnul chose the theme of tourism which was related to geography because he analyzed the sensitivity of place (sense of place) included in human geography.
“The choice of the theme was motivated by the place being researched, namely the Megalith Gunung Padang site, where if it is used as a tourist spot it is still not good. Therefore, I want to see how the sense of place or the sensitivity of the place is. Have you applied the 4A theory (Chris Cooper’s theory about the 4 components that must be owned by tourist attractions, namely Attraction, Accessibility, Amenity, Ancilliary) as components that must be owned by historical tourist attractions of the Gunung Padang Megalithic Site, “said Husnul.
Writer: Annisa | Editor: Mariana Sumanti
