VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

World Children's Book Day is commemorated every April 2. This commemoration is aimed at fostering the habit of reading and cultivating interest in reading.

In regard to the reading interest, several studies show that the reading interest in Indonesian people is quite low. However, research conducted by Global English Editing in 2018 about the country that spends time reading, the result is quite disappointing. The study shows that Indonesia ranks 16th, better than Argentina, Germany and Canada. The country with the highest reading interest is India with time spent reading above 10 hours per week. Meanwhile, Indonesia is above 6 hours per week. However, this is not the final achievement; there must be ongoing efforts to maintain and even enhance reading interest.

This enhancement in reading interest is, of course, inseparable from the role of the government, the private sector and the community. Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud) of the Republic of Indonesia, for example, continues to optimize the culture of literacy.

Since 2016, the Ministry of Education and Culture has intensified the National Literacy Movement (GLN). In terms of budget, no less than Rp10 trillion is allocated for the development of book literacy. Law No.3 / 2017 concerning the Bookkeeping System states that educational books in Indonesia must be of high quality, affordable and evenly distributed. Thus, as an effort to support the National Literacy Movement (GLN), the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Indonesian Publishers Association (IKAPI) signed a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday (2/04) in a bid to improve the function and role of books in education and culture in Indonesia.

The National Literacy Movement is an effort to strengthen the synergy between the main units of the agents of the literacy movement by gathering all potential and expanding public involvement in developing and cultivating literacy in Indonesia. This movement is carried out thoroughly and simultaneously, from the family sphere to schools and communities in all regions of Indonesia.

Improving national literacy needs to be framed in an integrated national movement. The literacy movement is the responsibility of not only the government, but also all stakeholders, including the business world, universities, social organizations, literacy activists, parents, and society. Therefore, public involvement in every literacy activity is very important to ensure the positive impact of the movement to increase national competitiveness.