Semarang – Commweek is an annual event organized by the Department of Communication Science Student Association (HMD) Undip Faculty of Social and Political Sciences from September to November 2020. This year, Commweek comes with the theme “The Social Redemption: the Greatest People for the Greatest Era” which brings a message to provides an opportunity for many people to make up for what happened recently with creativity and courage.

Meanwhile, the meaning of Commweek’s tagline “The Greatest People for the Greatest Era” itself means that the only thing that makes an era so great is its people. Commweek also invites all audiences to work together to create a better future.

Commweek 2020 held three competitions, namely Commcup and Communication which were routine programs in previous years, and Creative Idea Fest (CIF) which was only held this year. This event succeeded in holding hundreds of participants; such as Commcup with 114 participants, Communication with 57 participants, CIF online class with 157 participants, Opinion Writing with 7 participants, Creative Advertisement 2 finalists, and Public Relations Campaign 2 finalists.

Kanaya Az Zahrah as the chief executive explained that the purpose of holding the 2020 Commweek was to provide a forum for the audience to be able to channel their aspirations, hobbies, and interests. This is proven by the holding of three competitions in which audiences with an interest in sports can channel their hobbies at Commcup. Then Communication is a medium for music enthusiasts to show their talents and add experience. Finally, there is CIF which can accommodate an audience with more interest in academics.

For planning events in a pandemic situation, Kanaya admitted that he and the team had not considered the existence of Covid-19.

“Because this year’s Commweek committee members were formed in December 2019, before COVID-19 entered Indonesia, right. So we are not prepared there at all. Until finally studying online, now there I think about it again, ”said Kanaya when he got an interview.

As chairman of the Commweek, Kanaya felt that this event should be held with some adjustments to plans and targets. The process of designing the event took a very long time. The 4th semester he is currently dealing with is spent taking care of event design until he finally decides to organize Commweek 2020 online.

“During this pandemic, the target is quite broad and varies per agenda. For communication, the target is all over Indonesia. And for Creative Idea Fest, we don’t limit it, but for the competition, it’s only students. Meanwhile, the online class is open to the public. Then for Commcup also throughout Indonesia. So this year the target audience for Commweek is huge, ”Kanaya answered when asked who the target audience was in this event.

Kanaya also added that the wider Commweek target audience was a good side of the pandemic. By being held online, it is increasingly affordable for audiences from outside the region and broadens the audience scope for Commweek organizers.

In the face of a pandemic, organizers have felt several obstacles. However, according to Kanaya, the most obvious obstacles occur in the internal sphere, such as how he embraces his friends to protect the ecosystem of the Commweek implementation so that it can be as warm and fun as when it is held offline.

Moreover, event discussions can only be done by chatting and virtual meetings where the feeling of togetherness may be different.

“That’s the biggest obstacle, but as time goes by, we already know what kind of treatment is good, so it doesn’t break us apart and it doesn’t matter at the end,” Kanaya said.

At the end of the interview, Kanaya shared his hopes of holding the 2020 Commweek. He hoped that this event could expand the network and make the FISIP Undip Communication Science more known to the general public for its success in organizing events during the pandemic.

“We are just a major event, but it can be this big and can attract large crowds and the targets that have been achieved have already exceeded the initial target,” concluded Kanaya.

Author: Dinda Khansa Berlian