One of Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) academics has made another achievement. A lecturer of Faculty of Law Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR), Jani Purnawanty, has obtained 2022 Southeast Asia Journalist-Scientist Hub Impact Seed Funding (ISF) Grant from the Pulitzer Center.
Impact Seed Funding (ISF) is the inaugural program organized by the Pulitzer Center that aims to disseminate journalism works by Rainforest Investigations Network and Rainforest Journalism Fund through synergy between journalists and academics.
Designing MOOC scheme for Education on Forest Issues
Jani proposed a project entitled Education on Community Involvement in Forest Issues using the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). The project will be realized through the creation of popular themed MOOCs,’ Carbon Trading and Forest Conservation’ and ‘Indigenous Peoples and Forest Conservation’.
“UNAIR, through the Directorate of Education Innovation and Development (DIPP), has long developed MOOCs, both subject-based MOOCs offered in study programs or popular theme-based MOOCs for the general public who are interested in studying an issue independently,” said Jani.
“Environmental issues such as forest conservation, carbon trading, and indigenous peoples living in forest areas are issues that are important for many people to understand. Broader public education can be carried out effectively through the MOOC scheme, which is designed to enrich and complement self-learning materials for the community,” she added.
Then, she said, the idea came up as a form of support for the Government of Indonesia, which had stated its commitment to implementing the Paris Agreement to show Indonesia’s seriousness in taking part in the global movement to save the Earth. One of the mechanisms to prevent Earth’s damage is reducing carbon emission levels and maintaining forest sustainability.
Furthermore, as Indonesian indigenous peoples live in forests and from forest products, the role of indigenous peoples in forest conservation is very strategic. When the government regulates and manages forests, the government must involve indigenous people because they have been the ones who, with their wisdom, have guarded and managed forests.
“One of the problems to be discussed in the MOOC’ Carbon Trading and Forest Conservation’ is related to the importance of increasing forest conservation in a carbon trading scheme. Meanwhile, the MOOC’ Indigenous Peoples and Forest Conservation’ will discuss the role of indigenous peoples in handling global warming and climate change issues,” she explained.
She also said that getting a grant award from a world-class institution such as the Pulitzer Center was a big achievement for her. However, the most important thing for her is that Universitas Airlangga, her alma mater, is recorded in the Pulitzer data. “It confirms UNAIR as a university with a global reputation. I am very grateful to the Director of DIPP UNAIR Prof Dr I Made Narsa SE MSi Ak CA, who has provided so much convenience and fully facilitated the implementation of this MOOC. When I asked for a recommendation, he gave it right away. It is very encouraging,” she said.