VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

A number of foreign tourists learn to make batik at Mahkota Batik Laweyan in Solo, Central Java, on May 5, 2024. ANTARAFOTO/Maulana Surya/nym

VOINews, Jakarta:  Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim has invited the public to support the internationalization of the Indonesian language.

He made this call at the Festival Handai Indonesia (FHI) in Bali on Friday, noting the growing interest among foreigners in learning Indonesian.

"I urge the public to support and continue our efforts to internationalize the Indonesian language. We are committed to advancing the esteemed Indonesian civilization on the global stage," he said, referring to the Indonesian Language Courses for Foreign Speakers (BIPA) program.

As quoted by Antara News Agency on Friday (30/8), the program, initiated by his ministry and carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, aims to promote the language internationally.

FHI 2024 attracted participants from 78 countries, despite BIPA institutions being present in only 55 countries.

"The establishment of FHI since 2020 has been a strategic move to encourage foreign speakers to engage more enthusiastically with our language. I am proud to witness the growing global interest in studying Indonesian over the past five years," the minister conveyed.

He further noted that there are currently more than 173 thousand foreign speakers learning Indonesian at 543 institutions offering BIPA.

A series of efforts to internationalize Indonesian have also yielded results with the inclusion of Indonesian as one of the 10 official languages at the UNESCO General Assembly.

"This is the only Southeast Asian language (represented at the assembly). This recognition is a crucial moment for Indonesian to evolve into a global language," Makarim said.

According to him, Bahasa Indonesia has the potential to become a global language, bridging people across the world and serving as a language of science and technology, while also adapting to the changes brought by time.

Director of Finance and Risk Management (Dirkeu and MR) of Perum LKBN ANTARA Nina Kurnia Dewi speaks at the National Seminar of the Jakarta University Alumni Doctoral Association (IKADA UNJ) entitled ‘Transformational Leadership in Welcoming Indonesia Emas 2045’ in Jakarta, Saturday (31/8/2024). (Photo by: ANTARA/Tri Meilani Ameliya)

VOI News, Jakarta: Gorontalo provincial government, Indonesia is holding the Whale Shark Festival 2024 in Botubarani Tourism Village, Bone Bolango regency, on Saturday in commemoration of International Whale Shark Day celebrated every August 30.

As quoted by Antara News Agency on Saturday (31/8), the festival features a variety of activities, including a micro, small, and medium enterprises bazaar, a kids' coloring competition, fish grilling, and the handover of fish aggregating devices to the host village.

In the government's statement cited in Gorontalo, Head of the Tourism Office of Gorontalo, Ariyanto Husain, pointed out that the festival, being held for the first time, also aims to boost the province's tourism sector.

"Whale sharks in Botubarani Village have been the icon of special interest tourism in Gorontalo Province. We are holding a festival this year in an attempt to promote the village's appeal apart from activities related to whale sharks," he conveyed.

He then pointed to limited activities carried out in the Botubarani waters, as the area is designated as a conservation zone.

Husain further  remarked that the provincial government had been encouraging residents to make the most of the region's tourism appeal while focusing on environmental sustainability.

"Hopefully, we will be able to continue to promote this festival and make improvements in its subsequent editions in the following years," he  explained.

Meanwhile, speaking on behalf of Gorontalo Acting Governor Rudy Salahuddin, an official from the Gorontalo Regional Secretariat, Yosef Koton, expressed hope that the province would continue to bear witness to the festival in the years to come.

He also underlined the need for all relevant stakeholders to work creatively and make innovations to bring progress to Gorontalo's tourism sector.

Citing data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the tourism sector has contributed only 2.4 percent to the province's regional gross domestic product.

"Bearing that in mind, we must work together. It is vital that we develop our whale shark tourism the way East Nusa Tenggara's Labuan Bajo, North Sulawesi's Likupang, and other tourism destinations are promoted," he stressed.

A worker measures one of the twin giant panda babies at the Berlin Zoo in Berlin, Germany (22 August 2024). ANTARA/Xinhua/HO-Berlin Zoo/aa.