SEMARANG, 2024 – The Directorate of Research and Community Service at Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY) organized a workshop on strengthening culture-based literacy and numeracy resilience for vocational high school principals from the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY), Central Java, and Bali. The initiative was funded through the Community Service Program under the Community Partnership Empowerment scheme, led by Prof. Dr. Siti Irene Astuti Dwiningrum, M.Si.

The workshop was held on October 17–18, 2024, at Novotel Hotel Semarang, bringing together vocational high school principals from Yogyakarta, Central Java, and Bali. The event was also attended by the Head of the Vocational High School Development Division, a Junior Policy Analyst, and a Curriculum Coordinator from the Semarang City Education, Youth, and Sports Office.

The workshop began with introductory remarks from the community service team leader, followed by an official opening by the Junior Policy Analyst of the Semarang City Education, Youth, and Sports Office. The program continued with a presentation on resilience delivered by Prof. Dr. Siti Irene Astuti Dwiningrum, M.Si.

During her presentation, Prof. Siti Irene emphasized that resilience is an essential quality teachers should possess when delivering instructional materials in schools. Strengthening resilience is expected to help address literacy and numeracy challenges among vocational high school students while preparing them to cope more effectively with various academic demands and learning difficulties. She also highlighted the importance of innovative teaching approaches that incorporate cultural elements as valuable learning resources to strengthen students' literacy and numeracy resilience.

The workshop also introduced the "River of Life" method, a reflective approach designed to help individuals identify their personal strengths and weaknesses through experiential and meaningful learning. The method aims to help individuals overcome their limitations, develop their potential, and become more resilient.

Furthermore, Indonesia's rich cultural diversity provides a valuable foundation for motivating teachers to design creative and culturally relevant mathematics instruction that strengthens vocational high school students' literacy and numeracy resilience.

Through this workshop, vocational high school principals are expected to develop greater awareness of the importance of integrating cultural approaches into classroom instruction to strengthen literacy and numeracy resilience. Such approaches are anticipated to encourage more creative and effective teaching and learning practices.