SURABAYA – May 16-17, 2024, Handaruan Institute, in its pioneering effort, successfully hosted the “Handaruan Youth Conference and Masterclass 2024”. With a focus on Global culture, HYCM 2024 aimed to provide a unique learning-sharing platform for students, expanding their knowledge about pop culture in the scientific field. The high interest in popular culture among young people made this theme particularly engaging. The conference saw the participation of about 20 esteemed panellists and nearly 150 attendees, primarily undergraduate students, who were privileged to be part of this enriching experience.
Handaruan Institute also invited Mr. Rizki Kurniawa, S.Ikom, as an expert speaker to begin the conference. Mr. Kurniawan is currently pursuing his master’s program in Communication Studies, majoring in Media and Culture Studies, at Gadjah Mada University, which makes this relevant to the topic.
Mr. Kurniawan began his presentation by highlighting three critical words: Capitalism, Globalisation, and Global Culture. These three words have made popular culture global and significantly impacted society (e.g., culture homogenization, commercial art, dehumanisation, manipulation, and little criticism of popular culture).
Popular culture serves as a means of escape from daily routines and stress, making it an essential part of our daily lives. As a result, popular culture is captivating and warrants further research to gain insight into the practices, products, ideas, values, and trends within popular culture, particularly Indonesian culture.
After an engaging presentation by Mr. Kurniawa, HYCM 2024 continued with presentations from each panelist in breakout rooms. The panelists were grouped based on three sub-topics: International and Local Pop-Culture, Pop-Culture Business Industry, and Pop-Culture Media and Communication. The presenters showed great enthusiasm and passion, demonstrating their interest in the topic. Many of them focused on K-pop and film in their presentations, as these subjects are popular among young people. Through the lens of popular culture, participants and fellow panelists could better understand the impact of popular culture on various aspects of society, such as the economy and communication.
The first day of HYCM 2024 was met with a wave of positive responses from the attendees. The survey results revealed a significant shift in the attendees’ perspective on popular culture, with many now seeing it as more than just entertainment. The media partners also expressed their appreciation, acknowledging the novelty and rarity of such a conference in Indonesia, further reinforcing the enlightening impact of the event.
“I gained a lot of discussion topics regarding popular culture that rarely or never pop into my mind. I also got a lot of insight from the presenters on various interesting and super GenZ-coded discussion topics.” -Attendee.
On Day 2, Handaruan Institute organized a Masterclass for panelists who took part on Day 1. The masterclass aims to guide the construction of a proper research methodology on pop culture issues and carefully select an academic journal for publication. Handaruan Institute invited Ms. Adiasri Putri Purbantina, Ph.D, director of Handaruan Institute and Head of Laboratory Labirn, as the mentor for this session.
During the session, panelists listened to the presentation and received feedback from the mentor. They were also allowed to raise questions to sharpen their understanding. Day 2 also received many good responses, and we expected a similar event to be held again.
Writer : Putri Nauli Sinaga
Editor : Maritza Ramadhani Raharjo
HANDARUAN INSTITUTE 
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