VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Kartini Beach is a beach tourism attraction located in Bulu Village, Jepara, Central Java. This beach is located 2.5 km west of the pavilion of the Jepara Regent's Office. This area with an area of 3.5 hectares is a strategic one, because it is also a sea transportation route to the Karimunjawa National Marine Park tourism attraction. According to the local people, the name Kartini comes from the beginning of the Dutch colonization on which at that time, Jepara was led by a regent named Sosrokartono one of his daughters was named Kartini. Kartini is a national hero who fought for the emancipation of Indonesian women.  From this history, the local government then decided to name Kartini beach for this tourism destination.

Kartini Beach has many attractions. Every corner of this tourism destination is very instagramable, making tourists want to capture the beauty on the beach. At the beach, visitors can also just sit in the Gazebo, breathe the fresh air of the sea breeze while enjoying food and drinks. At Kartini Beach, tourists can also enjoy the beauty of the sunrise and sunset. Those who want to spend the night with friends can also set up a tent on the beach.  Kartini Beach also has Kura-kura Ocean Park which is a favorite on this beach.  Tourists can explore and discover  various information about underwater habitats in Indonesia. In addition to the giant turtle statue that is interesting to photograph, Kura-Kura Ocean Park has two floors that can be a means of educating children to get to know the various habitats that exist under the sea.

The location of Jepara Kartini beach can be reached approximately 10 minutes by motor vehicles from the downtown of Jepara. It can be visited every day, even on Fridays for free. The best time to visit Kartini beach is in the morning and afternoon.

Photo credit: kemlu.go.id

Indonesian Ambassador to Norway, Teuku Faizasyah pointed out that  the Spice Up Oslo 2024 Indonesian Festival held in Oslo City,  May 25 was to introduce Indonesian cuisine and culture to the people there.  As quoted by Antara in Jakarta on Tuesday, in his remarks at the festival, he mentioned that this festival is to introduce Indonesian cuisine and culture, and  to strengthen relations among the people of the two nations. He also emphasized the festival also symbolizes the spirit of friendship of both countries which celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations in 2025.

Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor of Oslo, Julianne Ofstad hopes that through the festival, the people of Oslo can get to know more about Indonesia.  The Indonesia Spice Up Oslo 2024 Festival was organized by the Indonesian Embassy in Oslo in collaboration with the Indonesian community in Norway.  The festival was held at Youngstorget field,  one of the activity centers in the middle of Oslo City and was attended by more than 3 thousand Norwegians and the Indonesian community. The theme of the festival was taken to introduce Indonesia's culinary diversity, culture and art to the Norwegian people and the international community in Oslo.  The theme is also part of the global campaign Indonesia Spice up The World to promote Indonesia's culinary wealth to the world.  Through the festival, Indonesia introduces culinary richness from various regions in Indonesia, such as rendang,  satay,  Padang satay, Balinese mixed rice,  ice cincau and dozens of other menus.

The festival also featured Indonesian dance performances presented by dancers trained by the Jakarta Regional Government as well as the talents of the Indonesian diaspora and community in Norway.  Some of the dances performed included the Rhythm of Batavia and Kembang Nandak Jakarta, Saman Dance from Aceh, Sekar Jagad and Tenun Dance from Bali.  Moreover, there was also pencak silat and line dance with Eastern Indonesian music.

Welcome back to “Mari Berbahasa Indonesia” or Let’s Speak Bahasa Indonesia, which introduces Indonesian vocabulary and guides you to speak in Indonesian language. Mari Berbahasa Indonesia or Let’s Speak Bahasa Indonesia is a collaboration between Voice of Indonesia and the Language Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research & Technology. Today’s topic is“Di Baubau” (2x) which means “In Baubau.”

Here is a conversation entitled “Why?”(2x) which means “Mengapa?”. Chris, a vlogger from Australia, was talking to a tenun (woven cloth) craftsman in Baubau. Chris asked why many women in Baubau are very skilled in making tenun or woven cloth.

Chris (P)   : Mengapa banyak perempuan di sini pandai menenun?

Perajin(W): Menenun menjadi tradisi bagi perempuan Buton. Kami

         percaya menenun akan membawa kebaikan bagi keluarga.

Here are some vocabulary and expressions related to today’s topic. “Why”(2x) which means “Mengapa?”

In this conversation, there is the expression “Mengapa banyak perempuan di sini pandai menenun?”(2x)which means “Why are many women here skilled inweaving?”. In the expression, there is the wordwhy(2x) which means “why”, is used to ask for the reason or explanation about something. The phrase “Bagaimana ceritanya?”is actually asking about the story behind something.

Other examples.

Here is another example of using mengapa (2x) which means “why”.

Mengapa masyarakat Buton gemar makan ikan?  which means Why do the people of Buton like to eat fish?

Mengapa harga kain tenun Kamohu mahal?  which means Why is Kamohu tenun cloth expensive?

Kamohu is woven cloth from Buton Island, Southeast Sulawesi. Kamohu is an Intagible Cultural Heritage from Indonesia. On the other hand, there are many variations of woven cloth across Indonesia such as Terfo from Papua, Pandai Sikek from West Sumatera, Ulos from North Sumatra, and Endek from Bali.

Indonesia is hosting the 10th World Water Forum, the world's largest international water forum to be held on May 18-25, 2024 in Bali. During the 10th WWF event, delegates will visit the Jatiluwih tourist village.

The village will be decorated with manypenjor.Penjorare tall, curved bamboo stalks decorated with specially shaped young coconut leaves. In addition, delegates will also be welcomed with a traditional Balinese dance, the Rejang Dance, accompanied by tumbuk lesung traditional music.

Rejang dance is a traditional dance of the Balinese people. It is thought to have existed since the pre-Hindu era. This dance is performed as a sacred offering to welcome the arrival of the gods who descend to Earth.

Among the Balinese Hindu community, this Rejang Dance is always performed at various traditional and religious ceremonies held at the temple. It is also often performed to welcome guests. As one of the cultural heritages, this dance is also believed to have important values and spiritual meanings, so it is also believed to be a sacred dance and performed with full devotion.

This Rejang dance is usually performed by a number of female dancers in groups or in mass. In general, the movements of this Rejang Dance are very simple, because this dance focuses more on the spiritual value in it.

This Rejang Dance movement is usually dominated by ngembat and ngelikas movements or left and right movements while stepping forward slowly. Every movement in this dance is usually done with a tempo that tends to be slowly adjusted to the musical accompaniment.

This Rejang Dance performance is usually accompanied by Balinese gamelan music. The clothes of Rejang dancers are usually traditional Balinese clothes dominated by yellow and white colors equipped with a yellow shawl and flower crown.