Universitas Gadjah Mada
Faculty of Economics and Business

Having a prosperous economy is everyone's dream. Some people have to struggle hard to earn a living, open a business, and pursue education with the same goal, namely achieving economic prosperity. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same opportunities and paths. There are still many small people who need the help of others to boost their economy. Moreover, the presence of the Covid-19 pandemic has made the economy of some people slumped.

These issues created unrest among the public which led to the holding of the MD Research Forum (MD REFO) webinar on Thursday (23/12). This event is a form of responsibility of lecturers and researchers at FEB UGM to share about the research carried out and as community service. MD REFO itself is carried out online and periodically. At the 4th MD REFO, the theme of SONJO and the Creative Economy presented Prof. Catur Sugiyanto, MA, Ph.D., Head of the Department of Economics FEB UGM, as moderator and Rimawan Pradiptyo, M.Sc., Ph.D., Head of Doctoral Program in Economics FEB UGM, as resource persons who were the originators and initiators of SONJO (Jogja splice).

SONJO or Sambatan Jogja is a humanitarian movement that was formed on March 24, 2020, with the mission to help people who are vulnerable and at risk from the impact of the spread of Covid-19 in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. The principles applied are integrity, transparency, empathy, and synergy. SONJO utilizes WhatsApp groups as a means to mobilize resources, coordinate media, and communication. The goal is to be able to solve problems effectively and efficiently. In real practice, SONJO has created a virtual market to help run MSMEs, distribute humanitarian aid and medical equipment needs, as well as provide technical guidance to other areas.

In the webinar, Rimawan also explained the mobilization of the very diverse professional members of SONJO. 3 webinars were held, including SONJO Angkringan to solve problems faced by SONJO members, SONJO Migunani which discussed the abilities and experiences of SONJO members, and finally SONJO Solidarity Journey which contained sharing experiences and practices of SONJO and the success of Bantul to the world. International. In addition, SONJO has a work program consisting of 7 economic programs and 13 Health programs. Even though there is no financial assistance provided to SONJO, the planned work program can continue until it is successful.

Rimawan explained how SONJO works in that there is no blaming game so focus on finding the solutions needed. There is also a working principle of SONJO called fairness equilibria, namely the principle of helping fellow human beings who also want to be helped. The existence of long-term goals planned by SONJO means that small changes made every day can make big changes in the future.

At the end of the discussion, Rimawan explained the conditions due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The community is asked to get used to adapting to unexpected conditions. In addition, awareness of the pattern of the pandemic every time makes people understand so they are ready to create an innovation that can be useful in the future. Rimawan also advised the public not to be careless and continue to apply 3T, namely early examination (testing), tracing, and treatment.

Reportage: Merisa Anggraini