VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Penny Williams with alumni of ILLA Program - 

Voinews, Jakarta - The Australian Embassy in Indonesia, together with the Indonesian Embassy in Australia, launched the Indonesian Language Learning Ambassadors (ILLA) pilot program on 7 February.

The program, announced by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indonesian President Joko Widodo in July 2023, matches Indonesian Australia Awards university scholars with Australian schools for language and cross-cultural learning opportunities.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Wednesday (07/02/24), through the ILLA program, Australian school students have the opportunity to learn about Indonesian culture and enhance their Indonesian language skills.

Indonesian scholars in Australia have the opportunity to engage with Australian school students and teachers, developing their leadership skills and building connections with the local community. 

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Penny Williams PSM said, "The ILLA program is a terrific way to promote Indonesian language-learning in Australian schools, by building connections between Indonesian scholars and Australian school students. It is these sorts of personal connections that underpin the strong relationship between the people of Australia and Indonesia”. 

The initial ILLA pilot will place ten Indonesian Australia Awards scholars in six schools. The program will expand later in 2024 to match scholars with Australian universities, to support Indonesian language and culture learning. A previous version of ILLA ran from 2017 until 2019//VOI

The Talkshow on the commamoration on World read alound day - 

Voinews, Jakarta - The momentum of World Read Aloud Day or World Read Aloud Day which is celebrated every February 7 is used as the starting point for the "Come on, Read Aloud" campaign which is part of the Indonesia Reading Movement owned by the National Library of the Republic of Indonesia (Perpusnas).

This was also marked by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the National Library and the Indonesian Reading Ambassador.

Acting Director of the National Library, E. Aminudin Azis, said that the task of the National Library is not only to foster a love of reading culture but also to improve people's literacy skills.

Reading habits cannot be built suddenly. It must be trained from an early age. Children's interest in reading is high but the availability of books does not meet expectations.

“We must immediately prepare quality reading books for children. "Reading that suits their wishes," he added in Jakarta, Wednesday, (7/2/2024).

However, when children are not yet able to read, the task of reading is taken over by parents, teachers and the community. This is what needs to be sharpened to them so that the quality books that have been provided can be utilized. Reading activities can be done at any time when the child shows interest.

"Parents should not get into the habit of giving devices when their children are fussy so they can calm down again. Don't get used to it because it could be a disaster in the future. Provide books as a solution. "Encourage children to think critically," said the Acting Director of National Library.

Today is the beginning of the Indonesia Reading Movement. Reading culture cannot be measured in just one or two months but will be visible when humans are adults. It can be seen from his habit of filling his free time.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Wednesday (07/02/24), one of the founders of Reading Bugs, the Read Aloud community, Roosie Setiawan, explained that there are several things you must pay attention to when reading aloud. It starts by introducing the book title, author and inviting children to read the picture illustrations in the book title, then read the book in a structured manner.

When it comes to practice, Roosie gives tips. First, choose a book that suits your child's reading needs and stage. Second, move your finger under the word and point to the picture in the pre-reading stage. Third, make sure there is interaction with the child when reading.

“Parents must read the book first before reading to their children. "Understand how and do it all in a fun way," said Roosie.

Reading aloud can help parents deal with children who are late in speaking (speech delay). Apart from parents, teachers also have an important role through reading aloud so that children's interest in reading and literacy increases, which can make children think critically.

Meanwhile, Child Psychologist, Grace Euginia, added that the benefits of reading aloud to children, apart from helping children's growth and development, are also able to make children's emotions better and closer to their parents (bonding).

This reading aloud can be started from the third semester of the tri-content. This is because the development of a child's hearing organs is perfect so that when the child is born he already knows the voice of his parents. This also makes it easier for parents to calm their children when they experience a tantrum because the parents' voices are familiar.

"One of the reasons why children are late in speaking is environmental factors that provide less stimulation. "This can be overcome by reading aloud in the hope of increasing children's vocabulary," said Grace.

Read Aloud Day has been on the world agenda since 2010. Read Aloud is an activity to foster a reading culture through family units, education, society and a love of literacy from an early age.

The key to creating a generation that has good literacy is to collaborate with various parties so that we are able to model various things that increase interest in reading. This is because a child is a great imitator//VOI

Deputy of Economic Affairs of the Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti presenting her remarks at the 2023 Indonesia Economic Report launch event in Jakarta, Wednesday (January 31, 2024). ANTARA/Martha Herlinawati Simanjuntak/nbl - 

Voinews, Jakarta - The Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) projected that Indonesia's economy in 2024 would grow better than in 2023 despite the trend of slowdown in the global economy.

"Several international agencies have stated that Indonesia's economy, amidst the ongoing global economic slowdown, is projected to grow stronger than in 2023," the ministry's Deputy of Economic Affairs, Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, stated during the 2023 Indonesia Economic Report's launch agenda here, Wednesday (January 31).

The Indonesian government targets the national economy in 2024 to grow by 5.3 percent, higher than the 2023 economic growth projection set at 5.1 percent.

She affirmed that Indonesia has a solid foundation to develop a stronger economy in 2024 despite uncertainty looming over the global economy and its divergence that is expected to continue in the upcoming years.

The official pointed out that the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) also forecast Indonesia's economy in 2024 to grow better than last year.

"This is a positive sign that the global community believed that Indonesia can recover and maintain its economic growth in the five-percent range, returning to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic growth level," Amalia noted.

Meanwhile, Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) Perry Warjiyo highlighted the need to remain vigilant while being optimistic in 2024 as well as to enhance synergy between economic policies and efforts to strengthen national economic resilience in 2024.

The central bank projected Indonesia's economy in 2024 to grow by 4.7 to 5.5 percent, provided that internal and external economic stability are preserved.

Warjiyo is also optimistic that inflation would be manageable to the expected target of 2.5 percent, give or take one percent; banking credit would grow by 10-12 percent; and the exchange rate of the rupiah would improve in 2024//ANT-VOI

FILE PHOTO: An illuminated Google logo is seen inside an office building in Zurich, Switzerland December 5, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo - 

LONDON : Technology giant Google has signed its largest ever power purchase agreement (PPA) with offshore wind projects off the coast of the Netherlands as part of efforts to green its power supply and hit climate targets, it said on Thursday.

Renewable power project developers are increasingly tying their electricity output to long-term PPAs to provide revenue security, while corporate buyers are keen to lock in supply and ensure they meet targets for sourcing clean power.

Under its largest offshore wind PPA to date, Google has agreed to take 478 megawatts (MW) of power from two new wind farms developed by Crosswind & Ecowende Consortia, joint ventures between energy companies Shell and Dutch utility Eneco.

It also announced smaller renewable PPAs in Italy, Poland and Belgium but did not disclose any financial details of the deals.

"Our ambition to operate on carbon-free energy around the clock by 2030 requires clean energy solutions in every grid where we operate," said Matt Brittin, President of Google in EMEA

Many companies with similar goals currently work on an annual basis, matching PPAs or purchases of renewable energy certificates with their yearly electricity use.

Google, however, is seeking to match each hour of electricity used with an hour of clean power production, something proponents of the method say better reflects companies' actual energy use//CNA-VOI