From Communication to Action: Realizing a Livable City at CORE UPJ 2024

Bintaro, South Tangerang 07/06/2024 - A livable city is everyone’s dream, especially amidst the increasingly complex hustle and bustle of urban life. In this context, communication becomes the key to building synergy and opening doors to new opportunities. This is the main focus of CORE (Communication In The Future), an annual seminar and conference that brings together academics, practitioners, and students to exchange ideas and thoughts about the future of communication in the urban era.

This event, attended by approximately 1100 people, features a theme that is both significant and forward-thinking. This year, CORE UPJ 2024 comes with the theme "Empowering Urban Synergy for Future Growth" and the tagline "Beyond Boundaries, Take The Opportunity". This theme is not only relevant but also visionary, encouraging public participation to strengthen synergy in urban studies and take advantage of various opportunities for better future growth.

The event, organized by the Event Management class of the UPJ Communication Science Study Program, features prominent speakers who will discuss important aspects of livable cities and communication in the urban era. Two seminars have been held as part of the CORE UPJ 2024 activities, namely the seminar titled “Urban Future: Environmental Quality and City Livability” (5/6/2024) and “The Role of AI in Urban Communities” (6/6/2024).

The first seminar was filled by Dr. Tria Patrianti, M.I.Kom., Air Natasha, BSc., CSMP., and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Edi Purwanto, S.E., M.M., M.M.T., M.H., emphasizing the appropriate synergy among urban communities to welcome a better future life.

"The utilization of communication channels is very important for leveraging campaigns that aim to synergize with stakeholders to collectively improve the quality of life," said Dr. Tria Patrianti.

Air Natasha discussed various innovations in renewable energy utilization: "In the future, people will live with new energy sources like electric cars today, and perhaps later they will switch to biogas as well," she said.

Meanwhile, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Edi Purwanto highlighted the importance of environmental capital for sustainable growth. According to him, “Good environmental management will become environmental capital. For example, in an area where the economy is good but access is limited, it is not impossible for people to migrate due to high costs.”

Not stopping there, the second seminar also invited equally competent speakers, such as Assoc. Prof. Faris Darari, Ph.D., Assoc. Prof. Dr. Geofakta Razali, and Dann Rizky, MBA. The speakers shared insights on the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in building communities in urban areas.

According to Assoc. Prof. Faris Darari, Ph.D., data and information circulating in public can be utilized for a city’s progress in various aspects. “People today trust data more to make decisions, and data can be obtained from various sources, such as the government, companies, social networks, or devices,” he said.

Meanwhile, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Geofakta Razali reminded that amid the current AI boom, urban communities also need to be cautious about privacy and mental health issues. “Double cross-checking the information we get today is crucial as a form of integrity,” he said regarding the risks of AI affecting someone's psychological condition.

On the other hand, Dann Rizky, MBA, a lecturer and content creator, added that reliance on technology is still common, but technology should be used wisely. “Just go with the flow; no matter how good we are at creating content, there will always be supporters and detractors, and sometimes it doesn’t meet our expectations,” said the academic known as the ‘Traveling Lecturer’.

With better quality of life and supportive technology, people now certainly have the hope of living decently in an area. With a good environmental quality, technological innovations that support urban life, and strong synergy among various city elements, this goal is not impossible to achieve. This aligns with the main theme of the CORE UPJ 2024 seminar series. It should be noted that active participation from the community is very much needed to support this synergy and seize the opportunities available.