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

VOInews.id: New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters on Monday called for the release of a New Zealander pilot, Phillip Mehrtens kidnapped a year ago by Papua separatists in Indonesia, as reported by AFP. Phillip was working for Indonesian airline Susi Air when he was snatched by rebels at Paro Airport in Nduga Regency, Highland Papua on February 7 last year.

VOInews, Jakarta: The fifth debate for the 2024 Indonesian presidential and vice presidential candidates was held by the General Election Commission (KPU) at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) in Central Jakarta on Sunday (04/02/2024). This was the last of the debate series held by the KPU.