YIPC YYK (Young Interfaith Peace Community Yogyakarta) held another SIPC (Student Interfaith Peace Camp) on November 11 - November 13, 2022. Like other activities on the YIPC calendar, this activity is nuanced with regard to interfaith harmony. This SIPC is for 3 days and 2 nights at Wijaya 2 hotel, Kaliurang. The first SIPC activity was held in 2012, and is still being held today.

Sontiar Junita S Marpaung, as the facilitator in this SIPC activity said, "The main cores in this activity are Peace Value and Interfaith Dialog". The participants were Islamic & Christian students, coming from UIN Sunan Kalijaga, Duta Wacana Christian University, Indonesian Evangelical Theological College, and Gadjah Mada University. Participants from different backgrounds, races, and ethnicities attended SIPC and engaged in a dialogue to get to know one another better.

During SIPC, the participants participated in a series of sessions, starting with an introduction session from the participants and facilitators, this session aims to build harmony and a peaceful atmosphere. Then continued with a session on making peace with oneself, with the help of facilitators who facilitated discussion space for the participants. Other sessions will follow, such as recognizing faith, overcoming prejudice, clarifying prejudice, making peace with God, and recognizing "A Common Word," written by religious leaders from around the world.

Several students of the Religious Studies Program of UIN Sunan Kalijaga also participated in this activity. Moreover, this year the Religious Studies Study Program collaborated with YIPC in the student internship program. "It was very exciting and memorable to participate in this SIPC, my first experience meeting and dialoguing directly with different brothers and sisters. Especially staying a few nights, so I know what it feels like to be woken up at dawn by Catholics". Said Fahril Akbar, a student of Religious Studies.

In one of the sessions of the event, there was a dialog about faith between participants. This session consisted of participants asking and answering questions about their faith. Muslim participants asked Christian participants, and vice versa. This was the most interesting session according to Ahmad Nanang Nurfadilah, a 2020 Religious Studies student who was one of the participants. "In this session I was able to know the real Christian, and eliminate prejudices against Christians. By recognizing each other's faith, not to switch faiths or religions, instead we can understand and dive further into our own faith and religion." He said.

"Tolerance is not just about theories, but concrete action," he said. The struggle between religious communities in Indonesia today has developed along with the rapid advancement of technology. Interfaith encounters such as in SIPC are a way to overcome conflicts that occur between religious communities, especially Muslims and Christians with a long history in Indonesia. The SIPC forum and other YIPC forums invite us to value differences as something to be celebrated, not regretted.

As Ahmad Salahuddin Mansur, one of the facilitators at SIPC, explained, "These forums are the initial encounter forums, before we can then unite in a common interest that needs to be fought for together." The values of peace as applied in SIPC are expected to change perceptions in society at large, especially among young people or students, in order to realize the hope of peace in Indonesia.

Reporter: Ahmad Nanang Nurfadilah

Editor: Muhsin Nuralim