Ministry of Culture Launches GALA Indonesia Bercerita 2027

The Ministry of Culture held the peak event of the 2026 Gala Cerita Rakyat Indonesia in Jakarta on Wednesday (24/6). The event served as an appreciation platform for winners of a storytelling competition entered by thousands of participants from various regions, as well as the launch moment for GALA Indonesia Bercerita 2027. During the peak night, awards were presented for the best works in six categories: children, teenagers, parents, educators, general, and inclusive. The awards were handed over directly by Minister of Culture Fadli Zon. The 2026 Gala Cerita Rakyat Indonesia gathered 1,737 works from 2,797 participants originating from 34 provinces. The programme ran from 20 April to 20 May 2026, inviting the public to document and share folk tales through videos recorded using mobile phones. Fadli said the Gala Cerita Rakyat Indonesia provides a space to appreciate the public’s work while nurturing the nation’s identity through the preservation of oral traditions. ‘This activity is a momentum to appreciate works, nurture the identity of the Indonesian nation, and preserve oral traditions as objects of cultural advancement,’ Fadli stated. According to him, folk tales are not merely cultural heritage. They can also serve as a medium to instil life values, build character, and strengthen the identity of the younger generation. ‘I think when they grow up, we will have a more complete, more resilient generation, and that is why we start with Gala Cerita Indonesia,’ he said. Through the 2026 Gala Cerita Rakyat Indonesia, people from various age groups were invited to rediscover folk tales from their respective regions. Participants came from children, teenagers, parents, educators, the general public, and inclusive groups. Various folk tales submitted in video form became part of the effort to document oral traditions. With a digital approach, these stories are not only recorded but also reintroduced to the wider public. Fadli conveyed that the Ministry of Culture is also preparing an Indonesia bercerita movement to revive folk tales and preserve oral traditions. ‘Later this year, we will create an Indonesia bercerita movement, and it will continue into next year as a movement,’ he said during a press conference in Jakarta on Wednesday. The movement includes storytelling workshops and an incubation programme to produce a new generation of storytellers. ‘So that storytelling also becomes a tradition,’ Fadli said. He emphasised that oral tradition is part of the object of cultural advancement. Its forms are diverse, including performing arts like wayang, which also contain the power of storytelling. ‘Because this is essentially part of the object of cultural advancement of oral tradition, it takes various forms, starting from wayang, which can also be said to be part of oral tradition, although it has already become our intangible cultural heritage,’ he explained. Closing the series of the 2026 Gala Cerita Rakyat Indonesia, the Ministry of Culture proclaimed GALA Indonesia Bercerita 2027 as a national cultural and story-based nurturing movement. The movement aims to revive storytelling culture as a means of character building, cultural preservation, and strengthening intergenerational relationships. Its implementation will involve families, schools, universities, communities, cultural activists, media, and the government. GALA Indonesia Bercerita 2027 will focus on strengthening culture through the preservation of folk tales and oral traditions. This movement also encourages storytelling culture within families, strengthens the use of stories as a medium of learning, and involves the younger generation as cultural heirs. Expert Staff to the Minister of Culture Neno Warisman said the preservation efforts will be carried out, among others, through incubation programmes in regions such as Sumenep, Madiun, Pontianak, and Makassar. Neno referred to the Gala Cerita Rakyat Indonesia as the opening programme of the movement to strengthen storytelling culture. The activity will be held again in 2027 with a focus on reviving folk tales, encouraging storytelling culture within families, and using stories as a supporting tool for learning. Through GALA Indonesia Bercerita 2027, the Ministry of Culture hopes that storytelling culture will once again become part of people’s daily lives. In this way, Indonesian folk tales are not only documented but also continue to live, develop, and be passed on to future generations.