Muhammadiyah University of North Sumatra (UMSU) is believed to be the place for the National Seminar “Role of Universities to Build Village Resilience”.
This seminar activity is one of a series of events to commemorate the Disaster Risk Reduction Month which this year is held in North Sumatra, lasting from 21 to 25 October in the Sumatra Astaka Sport Center area, Williem Iskandar, Medan.
The seminar was attended by members of PP Muhammadiyah Hajrianto Y Tohari, Chair of the Disaster Management Agency PP Muhamadiyah Budi setiawan, Director of BNPB Lilik Kurniawan and Chancellor UMSU Dr. Agussani MAP, lecturers and students from various universities in Medan.
In his opening remarks, UMSU Chancellor Dr. Agussani MAP said that cooperation between disaster management institutions and universities should continue. He asserted, UMSU as an educational institution at the Muhammadiyah tertiary institution was ready to help the formation of teams in areas that were suspected of being disaster-prone. “UMSU has had experience in the tsunami disaster management process in Aceh a few years ago,” he said.
Meanwhile the PP Muhammadiyah member Hajriyanto Y Tohari in his presentation emphasized that now it is time for Muhammadiyah to have strong human and infrastructure resources in the face of the threat of disaster.
“If all this time Muhammadiyah already has an MDMC team and a hospital team that is ready to face various disasters in the country, in the future it is hoped that Muhammadiyah can have a strong educational institution in the face of disasters,” he said
While the Director of Community Empowerment BNPB Lilik Kurniawan said in his presentation, that the warning month of disaster risk reduction aims to reduce the disaster risk index in districts and cities. “This time we take the theme of solidarity actions for NTB and Central Sulawesi through partnerships between government, communities and business institutions,” he said.
He further explained that Indonesia’s geographical position in the ring of fire in the world disaster map requires the Indonesian nation to be prepared and responsible in facing disaster. “The successive disaster that befell this nation must be a valuable lesson, so that the Indonesian nation is better prepared,” he said.
