VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

National Peer Learning Meeting in 2024 held by National Library in Bali. (Photo : Perpusnas) - 

VOInews, Bali : The National Library of the Republic of Indonesia (Perpusnas RI) is holding a National Peer Learning Meeting in 2024. The event will last for three days, from 6 to 8 November 2024, taking place in Bali.

Indonesia's challenges in the future will be faced with the complexity of global development and change. Therefore, Indonesia's development concept will depend on economic growth supported by human capital skills.

The Indonesian nation will experience the peak of the demographic bonus in 2045. The demographic bonus is a condition where the productive age population is greater than the non-productive age population. This condition really must be maximized to avoid a spike in unemployment and low community productivity.

“Currently we need to design the demographic bonus as a big benefit. "And the existence of libraries clearly has a very strong correlation in building human capital," said Deputy for Library Resource Development Adin Bondar when opening the National Peer Learning Meeting in Sanur, Bali, Thursday (7/11/2024).

The library is an educational instrument for everyone. Its existence, apart from providing knowledge and information services to readers, increasing the love of reading, must also have a significant impact on reconstructing human resources based on reading behavior so as to help create a literate society.

"A literate society is a society that is knowledgeable, innovative and creative," added Adin.

In 2016, the World Economic Forum (Word Economy Forum) warned long ago that a period of disruption would occur. The development of technology and communication has resulted in many jobs being taken over by automation and machines. This means that human existence begins to be reduced.

So, this is where interpersonal and analytical skills become important. Humans should not only understand knowledge but also analyze, evaluate, and even create new ideas.

The National Library is grateful that the initiation of the Social Inclusion Based Library Transformation (TPBIS) program has so far received appreciation from many parties because it has been proven to provide social and welfare impacts. In fact, in several regions, the TPBIS program has been replicated. They believe that TPBIS can be a strategic instrument in controlling inflation, reducing poverty and stunting.

"The occurrence of extreme poverty and stunting is due to poverty of information and knowledge so that people do not have skills and creativity," added Adin

In the international arena, the TPBIS program has also received a positive response. A number of countries at the Colombo Plan forum in August 2024 specifically visited and learned directly about good practices from TPBIS.

Currently, the National Library continues to encourage improvements in the quality of library services by building reading rooms as study spaces and developing 10 thousand village/district libraries and community reading parks through the assistance of quality reading materials.

Expansion of library services was also carried out by targeting mobile library fleets, building digital reading corners (Pocadi), and reading points that can be accessed online (QR Code) containing reading material sources for various subjects, as well as strengthening the TPBIS model.

Previously, the Head of the Center for Public and Special Library Development, Nani Suryani, said that the National Library had previously held similar meetings at the regional level online involving 600 village/sub-district libraries receiving TPBIS 2024 benefits from 143 districts/cities and 34 provinces, as well as Expert Trainers.

"Today is the peak activity where partners are invited to share stories, strategies and good practices, as well as broader insights from the material presenters," explained Nani.

At this peak moment, no less than 700 participants had the opportunity to attend directly representing institutions/groups from districts/cities in each province. The remaining thousands of participants took part online.

A number of sources involved include the Director of Religion, Education and Culture of the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas Didik Darmanto, University of Indonesia Sociologist Paulus Wirutomo, Philosophy Lecturer at STF Driyarkara Jakarta Agustinus Setyo Wibowo, Head of the Purwakarta Regency Archives and Library Service Asep Supriatna, Agus Munawar Literacy activist , Program Assistant Team Leader Erlyn Sulistyaningsih, and MSME practitioners.

It is hoped that the National Peer Learning Meeting activities can become a forum for generating new ideas, good practice activities that can be carried out collaboratively and be more adaptive in facing global changes//VOI

Australian Deputy Ambassador to Indonesia Gita Kamath visited Manokwari, West Papua Province and Sorong, Southwest Papua Province on 27-31 October 2024. (Photo : Australian Embassy) - 

VOInews, Papua : Deputy Ambassador Kamath, together with the Australian Consul- General based in Makassar, Todd Dias, met the Acting Governor of West Papua Province, Drs. Ali Baham Temongmere in Manokwari to discuss how Australia and Indonesia are working together for better development planning.

“Just two weeks ago I was in Aceh and now I am here on my second visit to Sorong and my first to Manokwari, meeting with local government and development partners,” said Deputy Ambassador Kamath. “It has been a pleasure to see firsthand the work we are doing here in partnership with Indonesia.”

The delegation met the Rector of Papua University, academics, and students to talk about Australian scholarships, exchange programs and research opportunities. She also hosted dinners for Australian alumni in Sorong and Manokwari and met Fandy Dawenan, recipient of the 2024 for Promoting Women’s Empowerment and Social Inclusion.

In Sorong, Deputy Ambassador Kamath visited a primary school to observe the impacts of Australian support for early grade learning through UNICEF. The delegation then travelled to Malaumkarta village to meet with researchers and locals working on integrating local knowledge into climate change adaptation and resilience.

Australian Deputy Ambassador to Indonesia Gita Kamath visited Manokwari, West Papua Province and Sorong, Southwest Papua Province on 27-31 October 2024.

Deputy Ambassador Kamath, together with the Australian Consul- General based in Makassar, Todd Dias, met the Acting Governor of West Papua Province, Drs. Ali Baham Temongmere in Manokwari to discuss how Australia and Indonesia are working together for better development planning.

“Just two weeks ago I was in Aceh and now I am here on my second visit to Sorong and my first to Manokwari, meeting with local government and development partners,” said Deputy Ambassador Kamath. “It has been a pleasure to see firsthand the work we are doing here in partnership with Indonesia.”

The delegation met the Rector of Papua University, academics, and students to talk about Australian scholarships, exchange programs and research opportunities.

She also hosted dinners for Australian alumni in Sorong and Manokwari and met Fandy Dawenan, recipient of the 2024 for Promoting Women’s Empowerment and Social Inclusion.

In Sorong, Deputy Ambassador Kamath visited a primary school to observe the impacts of Australian support for early grade learning through UNICEF.

The delegation then travelled to Malaumkarta village to meet with researchers and locals working on integrating local knowledge into climate change adaptation and resilience//VOI

Indonesian Reading Ambassador explains the importance of books in the Indonesian Reading Ambassador's literacy safari event in Bangka Belitung on Thursday October 31st 2024. (Photo : Perpusnas) - 

VOInews, Bangka Belitung : Books can provoke new thoughts and ideas so that people can continue to innovate. The Empowered Reading Ambassadors with Books program invites new writers to document all regional potential in book form so that it can become shared knowledge.

"In addition to adding intellectual products in the form of reading materials, the works of new writers with rich regional cultural content can also be published and disseminated by the National Library," said National Library Main Librarian Nelwaty at the Indonesian Reading Ambassador's literacy safari activity in Pangkalpinang City, Thursday (31/ 10/2024).

Indonesia still faces the problem of an adequate collection of reading materials for its population and unequal access to them. This is of course a shared responsibility. So, it is time for both central and regional governments to synergize and collaborate to meet these needs.

“The National Library cannot work alone. "We hope that regions can replicate similar programs by empowering the role of literacy mothers and regional reading ambassadors," said Nelwaty.

UNESCO requires that the amount of reading material available in society be twice as large as the population. Meanwhile, the current conditions in Indonesia based on the results of the National Library's Community Literacy Development Index (IPLM) study in 2023 are still at a ratio of 1: 11. This means that one book is read by 11 people.

This condition is further exacerbated by the results of research by a national economic institution which states that the majority of Indonesian people who have completed their education are not yet able to understand the content of reading materials that can be useful in their daily lives, including in work matters.

"In fact, a country is called advanced if its population has a reading culture," said the Head of the Development and Development Division of the Babel Library, Abu Hapas.

Local wisdom is a source of strength when you want to write local cultural content, cultural heritage, local advice and traditions. In this way, the community can be involved in preserving and maintaining the authenticity of the region and enriching knowledge.

"Local wisdom is a characteristic of ethics and cultural values ​​in local communities that is passed down from generation to generation," said writer Rusmin Sopian.

Meanwhile, one of the teams from the Pangkalpinang City literacy drive, Rico Ariputa, explained that currently the development of local content is targeting and focusing on the younger generation.

He admitted that his party is currently intensifying efforts to save regional languages ​​by implementing local content in teaching and learning activities in schools.

"We have designed a number of good practices for developing literacy, such as building reading habits from an early age, providing quality reading books, fostering a love of regional languages ​​and providing a literacy-friendly environment," explained Rico//VOI

Deputy Head of UNDP Indonesia Representative, Sujala Pant handing over the youth co:lab module to Deputy for youth empowerment of Youth and Sport Ministry, Dr. Raden Isnanta on Thursday October 31st 2024 in Jakarta. (Photo : NK-VOI) - 

VOInews, Jakarta : In the 7th year of the Youth Colab program launched by UNDP in collaboration with Bapenas, the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture and supported by the Citi Foundation and the British Council, handed over the module to the Indonesian Ministry of Youth and Sports in Jakarta on Thursday 31 October 2024.

Deputy Head of UNDP Indonesia Representative, Sujala Pant said that the handing over of this module was important for the sustainability of the program.

"Today is particularly important because we've been doing UNDP together with Ministry of youth and Bapenas and Ministry of culture affairs and human development and offcourse with the support of Citi foundation. We have been working on this project for seven years. So it's a commendation of some very important work. And the handing over of the modul is an important part of Sustainability. So even when this youth colab come to a close, the modul will still be exist, the ministry youth and sport affairs continue to have these tools and resources that they can continue to bring to different community and different young people accross the country", Sujala said. 

The Ministry of Youth and Sports will later integrate the Youth Co:Lab Module on Youth Social Entrepreneurship, which includes material on Digital Marketing, Strategic Finance, and Impact Measurement and Management, into national programs, including the Entrepreneurship Lecturer Facilitator Training Program (ToF), to strengthen the ecosystem youth entrepreneurship throughout Indonesia//NK-VOI