VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Bintang Puspayoga. (ANTARA/HO-Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection) - 

Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Bintang Puspayoga highlighted the challenges in implementing education for children with special needs or with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, I have witnessed how difficult it is for children to get optimal education, especially for children with disabilities," she said in a press release here on Sunday.

"They are special children who need special assistance as it is difficult for them to participate in online learning, especially for those who do not have adequate facilities," Puspayoga noted.

This condition, she said, requires parents and teachers to be more creative in educating children, especially children with disabilities.

She said that parents and teachers need to identify every uniqueness possessed by children with disabilities and develop it as well as possible.

Meanwhile, Yaswardi, Director of Teachers and Education Personnel for Secondary Education and Special Education of the Education Ministry, highlighted the importance of sincerity and compassion in assisting students with disabilities.

"Children with special needs really need love and cooperative learning patterns. They must be accompanied with empathy and compassion, both by their peers, parents, teachers, and other people," he said.

"Collaboration among these parties needs to be done to provide quality learning for children with special needs,” he added.

Yaswardi also said that the education for children with special needs must be adapted to the child's condition and technological developments//ANT

Acting Coordinator of Marketing for XX Papua National Sports Week Organizing Committee Karsudi (left) and Head of Division II of the committee Roy Letlora (right) at the event's theme song launching press conference on September 11, 2021. (ANTARA/Roy Rosa Bachtiar/uyu) - 

The XX Papua National Sports Week Organizing Committee (PB PON) has said that the security for athletes, participants, and staff will be maintained at the highest level.

The statement was delivered by the Head of Division II of the committee Roy Letlora, during a press conference here on Saturday.

"There is no more doubt, because the convening of XX Papua National Sports Week (PON) will not be delayed anymore. Even the President will certainly open it on October 2. All parties are committed to maintaining the security of the event," he said.

PB PON Papua, along with the joint security unit from the national military and police, has coordinated to provide protection for guests from outside Papua.

In addition to deploying more than 9,000 security personnel in four clusters, the committee has also prepared a special room equipped with sophisticated equipment to monitor the situation at the venues.

Persuasive attempts – such as having open discussion and recruiting the event’s volunteers from the local residents -- have been also carried out by the committee to reduce potential conflict from the areas around the venues.

"In the recruitment process, we also carried out background checks involving the State Intelligence Agency and the police. From around 17,000 volunteer candidates, about 70 of them did not pass the screening. It shows that the security level of the event has been quite good," Letlora continued.

Furthermore, he emphasized that the security aspect is vital in the national multi-sports event held every four years, since it also aims to maintain the dignity of the country.

Although it is a national level event, some 16 foreign delegates from the Asia Pacific region will also attend so they might observe how Indonesia conducts the event.

"The convening of PON this time is not only measured by how successful the sports agenda is, but also to show that our situation is really safe. Papua, as part of Indonesia, can also hold a huge event like this," the division head added//ANT

Brilliant National Library Award as an Appreciation for Society - 

As an institution in charge of the library sector, the National Library is obliged to give awards in accordance with the provisions stipulated in Law Number 43 concerning Libraries, article 51 (paragraph 6) which states that the government and local governments give awards to people who have succeeded in carrying out a reading habituation movement. .

Nugra Jasadharma Pustaloka is the highest award given by the National Library after seeing their progress and achievements with various assessments and considerations.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Sunday (12/09/21), The Head of the National Library Muhammad Syarif Bando stated that the National Library needed support and active participation from the community.

"So that the ideals of the state to educate the nation's children can be achieved together," said Syarif Bando. 

Nugra Jasadharma Pustaloka is given to public officials, community leaders, the public, mass media, and lifetime achievements that are considered successful in facilitating and encouraging the cultivation of a love of reading.

Appreciation and awards were also given to the preservation of ancient manuscripts, the best books (libraries) from the National Library collection, the best national high school library, the best village/kelurahan public library at the national level, the winner of the national SD/MI speaking competition, the highest data contributor for the browsing service repository. One-stop knowledge of Indonesia OneSearch, as well as the province with the highest reading interest rate and the highest Community Literacy Development Index in Indonesia in 2020.

The delivery of Nugra Jasadharma Pustaloka 2021 is packaged in an entertainment concept titled Gemilang National Library. The Gemilang National Library is an arena for the community to recognize the activities of the National Library which are inspiring, informative, communicative, and educative.

Gemilang National Library will be held on Tuesday, September 14, 2021, at 14.00-16.30 WIB.
For the first time, this year Gemilang National Library was held face-to-face and virtual or hybrid. What is special, Gemilang is held to coincide with Library Visit Day which is commemorated every September 14 and the Month of Love to Read.

Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian will be present to open the event. The Gemilang National Library will be carried out in a simple manner without compromising the essence, appreciating people who care about literacy and libraries with the appearance of Indonesian Reading Ambassador Gol A Gong and singer Cakra Khan.

The public can also watch via Zoom and the National Library of Indonesia's YouTube channel. More information can be accessed through the National Library's social media//VOI-NK

Acting Coordinator of Marketing for XX Papua National Sports Week Organizing Committee Karsudi (left) and Head of Division II of the committee Roy Letlora (right) at the event's theme song launching press conference on September 11, 2021. (ANTARA/Roy Rosa Bachtiar/uyu) - 

The XX Papua National Sports Week Organizing Committee (PB PON) launched an official song and video to enliven plans for the national event, which will be held in Papua from October 2-15, 2021.

"It brings a message of enthusiasm for the implementation of the National Sports Week (PON), which will be held for the first time in Papua. In the song, there is a spirit given from Papua to the event’s participants, as well as welcome for the athletes from all over the nation," Head of Division II of the committee Roy Letlora said at a press conference here on Saturday.

Before it was officially launched in Jakarta, the song -- sung by Vien Mangku and Qibah Mansawan -- had already been introduced in Papua to bring together the local community.

On the same occasion, the committee also revealed the long process of creating the song.

Before choosing it, the committee began by conducting a theme song contest in March 2021, which was registered by 24 contestants from both Papua and outside the region.

In the process, there were only 15 contestants who submitted their songs for the assessment stage.

After going through a long judging process by Papuan artists, the song by Hebat Fatahilah, entitled ‘Torang Bisa’ – literally meaning ‘We Can’ -- was chosen as the winner.

"It has a very deep meaning. Every lyric describes the spirit of Papua. Its location at the easternmost part of Indonesia making Papua the first region that welcomes the sunrise. It means that there will rise a spirit which will never run out. Through this song, we want Papua to be better known,” Acting Coordinator of Marketing for the committee Karsudi said.

The lyrics also tell about four things reflected in the spirit of the athletes in Papua -- maintaining national unity, instilling a spirit of sportsmanship, uniting differences, and unifying to become champions.

In addition, the song expresses the issue of equality, which becomes the concern of all Indonesian.

"We feel that we become one, so that Papua can rise from being left behind. We want all to be equal and free of the assumption that there is unequal welfare. All of them are described in the theme song," Roy Letlora added//ANT