Education Ministry appreciates foreigners proficient in Indonesian
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Kemendikdasmen) has expressed appreciation to foreign nationals who are able to speak Indonesian and understand the civilisation, society and culture of Indonesia through the 2026 Handai Indonesia Festival.
Head of the Language Development and Fostering Agency (Badan Bahasa) at Kemendikdasmen, Hafidz Muksin, said the festival is a competitive form of appreciation so that Handai Indonesia participants, whether domiciled in Indonesia or abroad, have a platform and opportunity to demonstrate the results of their Indonesian language learning.
“The Handai Indonesia Festival is an appreciation event for Handai Indonesia, namely foreign nationals who are able to speak Indonesian and understand the civilisation, society and culture of Indonesia,” said Hafidz during the 2026 Handai Indonesia Appreciation event at Plaza Insan Berprestasi, Building A of Kemendikdasmen, Central Jakarta, on Friday afternoon.
He further explained that the 2026 Handai Indonesia Festival is the seventh edition since it was first held in 2020.
This year’s Handai Indonesia Festival, he said, features five types of competitions: storytelling, singing, pantun recitation, speech and poetry.
He said the assessment is carried out in stages, consisting of a preliminary round through online submission of works and a final round through live performances in Jakarta.
Hafidz mentioned that 542 people from 79 countries registered online.
Based on the staged assessment by the jury panel in the preliminary round, he continued, 25 finalists were selected from 21 countries: Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Botswana, the Philippines, Honduras, India, Italy, Japan, Germany, Canada, South Korea, Malaysia, Egypt, Nigeria, Palestine, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Thailand, Timor Leste and Uzbekistan.
“The number of participating countries in this year’s festival exceeds the number of countries that currently host BIPA programmes, which is 62 countries. This shows that the level of interest in the Indonesian language is growing and spreading across all continents,” said Hafidz.
Through the festival, the ministry presented awards to the best participants I, II and III from the five competition categories, as well as to representatives of the teaching team and participants of the Indonesian Language Class for Diplomats of Friendly Countries.
“We also express our appreciation to the embassies of friendly countries, BIPA programme organising institutions, the Association of Indonesian Language Teachers and Activists for Foreign Speakers (APPBIPA), teachers, and all stakeholders who continue to support the sustainability of this Indonesian language internationalisation programme,” said Hafidz.