VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Head of Indonesian Library, Syarif Bando take pictures with other participants in Belarusia - 

The National Library of the Republic of Indonesia (Perpusnas) participated in the X International Conference with the theme Libraries as a Cultural Phenomenon.

This activity took place at the Belarusian National Library for two days, Thursday-Friday (19-20/10/2023).
Head of the National Library of Belarus, Vadzim Hihin opened the conference dedicated to commemorating the Year of Peace and Creation.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus, Roman Golovchenko, in his speech expressed his hope that all participants present could work well and communicate professionally.

For ten years, the conference has been the official discussion platform in Belarus for discussing issues and trends in the library community.

At the plenary session, all heads and authoritative specialists of the largest libraries, archives, museums, publishing houses, research organizations and educational institutions, manufacturers of software, hardware, information products and industrial equipment for libraries discussed the national identity as well as international cooperation of libraries.

Cultural diplomacy acts as an opportunity for peace in conditions of geopolitical confrontation, the influence of external factors on the acquisition of libraries and the provision of services.

The Director of the National Library, Muhammad Syarif Bando, during the coffee break session, gave a testimony: according to him, the theme raised at the X International Conference was the inevitability of the presence of the digital era in carrying out digital transformation of library services to all users, especially the millennial generation.

Furthermore, the Head of the National Library added that Indonesia had carried out a digital transformation program for the library and produced 5 (five) digital library products, namely iPusnas, e-Resources, Khastara, BintangPusnas, and creative content produced by National Library librarians.

The Director of the National Library, Muhammad Syarif Bando, at the gala dinner expressed his appreciation for the invitation given and said that library management in Indonesia consists of collection management by 10%, knowledge management by 20%, and knowledge transfer by 70%.

"Currently, what is a national program and has full support from the Indonesian government is Library Transformation Based on Social Inclusion (TPBIS). "This program makes the library a center for community activities that have an impact on independence and welfare," he said.

According to a release received by Voice of Indonesia on Tuesday, this conference was organized in collaboration with the Belarusian Library with the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Belarus, the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus and the National Library of Belarus with the support of interstate funds for humanitarian cooperation of member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States or CIS (Commonwealth Independent States) and the Belarusian Library Association.

The participants who attended came from various countries including Russia, Indonesia, Armenia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Activities held on the first day included breakout sessions, exhibitions of publishing products, electronic information resources and services, discussion forums with the theme Digital Transformation of Library Activities and Trend Formation: Innovative Activities of Regional Libraries.

On the second day, two discussion sessions were held entitled Project Initiatives and Socio-Cultural Practices of Cultural and Educational Institutions, as well as Scientific and Organizational Support for Library Activities.

On the same occasion, a memorandum of understanding was also signed between the National Library and the National Library of Belarus.

Also part of the conference was the opening of the exhibition Treasures of Books of the Kuteinsky Monastery, dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Holy Epiphany Kuteinsky Monastery//VOI

VOINews, Jakarta - The medal achievements of Indonesian athletes at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games (APG) are running according to the target, Minister of Youth and Sports Dito Ariotedjo has said.

"The progress is in accordance with what was initially planned. No one has missed the target yet, so we still hope that (the medal achievement) will increase. Let's continue to support and pray for them," he observed at Xiaoshan Sports Center Gymnasium on Tuesday.

As of Tuesday afternoon local time, the Indonesian contingent was seventh in the standings with three gold, four silver, and five bronze medals.

On the second day of the games, sprinter Ni Made Arianti Putri won gold in the women's 100m T12 at Huanglong Sports Center Stadium.

Putri clocked a record of 12.52 seconds, finishing 0.16 seconds ahead of Indian sprinter Simran and 0.26 seconds ahead of home sprinter Yaqin Shen.

In the same sport, sprinter Eko Saputra won a silver medal in the men's 100m T12 with a record time of 11.22 seconds.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Indonesian powerlifter Ni Nengah Widiasih won the first medal for Indonesia in para powerlifting in the 45kg class.

Overall, Indonesia is aiming to finish in the top 10 at the games with a goal of 19 gold, 23 silver, and 25 bronze medals.

Minister Ariotedjo said the Indonesian athletes have fought hard and strived to reach the set target at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Para Games.

He also expressed the hope that every medal gained would boost the spirits of other athletes who will compete in the following days.

"Every medal is an 'injection of enthusiasm' and motivation for other athletes. We still have a long way to go, and I hope (the medals) can be a positive spur for athletes who will compete in the Asian Para Games," he said. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesian runner Ni Made Arianti Putri bagged gold in the women's 100-meter T12 race at the 2022 Asian Para Games at Huanglong Sports Center Stadium, Hangzhou, China, on Tuesday.

Putri emerged as the fastest sprinter in the race with a record of 12.52 seconds. She finished ahead of India's Simran and China's Yaqin Shen, who finished 0.16 seconds and 0.26 seconds behind her, respectively.

"It is a surprise because initially, she was only targeting to win a bronze medal, but instead, she was able to win a gold medal," coach of the Indonesian para athletics team, Slamet Widodo, said in an official statement released by the National Paralympic Committee of Indonesia.

Putri's is the second gold for Indonesia in para athletics after Saptoyogo Purnomo won the men's 400-meter T37 race earlier on Monday.

In addition, the Indonesian para athletics team bagged a silver medal on Tuesday. The medal was won by Eko Saputra in the men's 100-meter T12 race with a record of 11.22 seconds.

"The silver medal that Saputra won was in accordance with what was targeted for him," Widodo said.

Saputra admitted that he was surprised at his achievement.

"My initial target is (to bag) a bronze medal; the target was quite hard because my opponents were also very tough. But I was optimistic and am grateful to be able to get a silver medal," he said.

Meanwhile, Iran's Mehrdad Moradi took the gold medal with a record of 11.17 seconds, while Japan's Daiki Ishyama bagged the bronze medal with a record of 11.36 seconds.

With the medals that the Indonesian para-athletics team contributed on Tuesday, the Indonesian contingent is currently ranking 7th in the Asian Para Games, with 3 golds, 4 silvers, and 5 bronzes.

On Tuesday, Indonesian lifter Ni Nengah Widiasih also won silver in the women's 45kg class powerlifting event.

The Indonesian contingent is targeting to finish in the top 10 at the Para Games with 19 gold, 23 silver, and 25 bronze medals. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Sri Lanka's cabinet approved issuing free tourist visas to visitors from seven countries including China, India and Russia, a statement issued by the media ministry said on Tuesday, to boost tourism and help revive its crisis-hit economy.

Tourists from China, India, Russia, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia will be issued free visas till March 31, 2024 under a pilot programme, the statement detailing cabinet decisions said.

The scheme is part of attempts by Sri Lanka to boost tourism recovery and hit a target of five million arrivals by 2026, the statement added.

The country of 22 million people, famed for its beaches, ancient temples and aromatic tea, saw its tourism industry pummelled first by the COVID-19 pandemic and then by a severe financial crisis last year that saw mass scale protests and shortages of essentials such as fuel.

But the tourism industry is seeing a turnaround in 2023 with Sri Lanka clocking a million arrivals by September, for the first time since 2019. The island is expecting to close the year at 1.5 million arrivals.

India is the largest source of tourists with 200,310 arrivals, followed by Russia with 132,300, latest data from the Sri Lanka Development Authority showed.

Sri Lanka earned $1.3 billion from tourism in the first eight months of 2023, up from $833 million dollars during the same period last year, according to the central bank. (Reuters)