Unesa.ac.id, SURABAYA–There are various efforts that can be done so that people with disabilities are empowered and independent. One of them can be by holding “Disability Podcast Classes” such as the one held by the State University of Surabaya (UNESA) in collaboration with Paberik Soeara Rakjat at Srikandi Hall, Faculty of Social and Legal Sciences (FISH), Ketintang Campus, and the 9th floor Rectorate Building Lidah wetan Surabaya. on 14-15 September 2022.
Dr. Sujarwanto, M.Pd., Vice Chancellor for Planning and Cooperation appreciated the activity. According to him, such activities need to be increased to build and foster a sense of togetherness and help and advance one another.
In addition, this event can foster empathy and collaboration. “This opportunity is a form of collaboration to organize unique and creative activities. Hopefully this can invite other parties to move towards holding disability-friendly activities and towards a more inclusive and digitally literate society,” he hoped.
Meanwhile, Dr. Wiwik Sri Utami, MP, Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs of FISH UNESA said that as a disability-friendly campus, UNESA continues to accommodate and facilitate all forms of positive activities for people with disabilities. One of them is through training activities to produce this podcast content.
This disability podcast class deserves support. Because the times have made everything digital. Social media is an integral part of all aspects of life. "So podcasts are one of the media to publish various creative ideas from, by and for friends with disabilities," said Wiwik.
The Head of the Center for Study and Disability Services (PSLD) UNESA, Prof. Dr. Budiyanto M.Pd., explained that the material discussed in this class is in accordance with the needs of friends with disabilities in the current era. "In this context, I hope that friends with disabilities can explore their abilities so that they are more creative and what is conveyed can be understood by many people," he said.
Then, CEO and Co Founder of Paberik Soeara Rakjat, Pradipta Nugrahanto explained that the purpose of this event was to create an inclusive and creative society in the digital space and become more digitally capable and able to produce positive content in the form of podcasts.
Podcast, is a new media that is on the rise. “Hopefully this class will produce a lot of audio content produced by anyone, including friends with disabilities. So that more and more diverse podcast content is produced. In addition, so that podcast creators do not dwell in certain cities, but can spread across various regions," he said.
Rizky Ardi Nugroho, the Paberik Soeara Rakjat and Podcaster team said that this podcast class was initially only intended for friends with visual impairments, but then received a pretty good response. So at the request of other disabled friends, we finally held a podcast class for all people with disabilities.
“We need to introduce friends with disabilities about podcasts. Most of the participants who attended had only received a little information. A message that we want to convey to friends with disabilities is that speaking skills can be used for various purposes, one of which is creating podcast content,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rifaldo Aristyo, a student of SLB Negeri Gedangan, Sidoarjo, one of the participants of the “Podcast Class with Disabilities” said that this activity provides new insights about the world of podcasts and tips for producing podcasts. The 12th grade student added that the participants also had the opportunity to take a closer look at the podcast production process.
At the end of the event, there was a podcast content creation session conducted by participants with disabilities. They are equipped with professional podcast tools such as podcast recording tables, microphones, headphones, and mixers. In that session, participants were given the opportunity to appear as a podcast creator to share their inspirational stories.
This activity also involved a number of parties, such as PSLD, Kece Media, Kominfo, Siber Kreasi, Spotify, and Anchor. This class was attended by 50 participants who came from various institutions and communities with disabilities such as Friends of Deaf Pasuruan to SLB Negeri Gedangan Sidoarjo. [HUMAS UNESA]
Author: Muhammad Ari Rifqi Mubarok
Editor: @zam Alasiah*