Jakarta Governor Officially Opens 2019 Indonesia International Book Fair

Jakarta, MINA – Jakarta Governor, Anies Baswedan officially opened the 39th Indonesia International Book Fair (IIBF) in 2019 on Wednesday, September 4 at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) Senayan.

“Good afternoon, good luck to all of us, very grateful that IIBF has reached its 39th, for an activity that is long enough. But for the effort to advance the route literacy, it is still longer, it takes more than 39 years to move the literacy in Indonesia, “he said while giving a speech.

IIBF is an annual event organized by Indonesian Publisher Association (IKAPI) since 1980 which bears the name of Indonesia Book Fair (IBF), then in 2014, the event was transformed into going international or called IIBF.

“We are very grateful that the work of our IKAPI friends is consistent in maintaining this activity, Lord willing, in the years come to the consistency will bear fruit in increasing the literacy ability of Indonesian people,” he said.

This year’s IIBF, which lasted for five days, began Wednesday-Sunday (4-8 September 2019) with the theme “Empowering Creative People in a Creative Way” that empowers creative people creatively as later making films whose stories are taken from books.

In addition, Anies told during his 2015 Minister of Education and Culture that he had set a program for all students called 15 minutes of reading before starting teaching and learning activities. The aim is to grow and improve literacy in reading.

According to Anies, so far the literacy movement has only become a government program, for this reason, he hopes that it will become a joint movement going forward.

“We hope that in the future this literacy will become a movement, not just a government program. It means that the government is opening up, opening its budgetary arrangements, so that its budget can facilitate the growth of community activities for literacy activities. Because literacy activities now mostly run alone,” he explained.

“Let us together encourage the literacy movement. It is not only the task of the government but our duty together,” he added.

After opening the event, Anies was accompanied by General Chair of IKAPI, Rosidayati Rozalina, Chair of the 2019 IIBF Committee Djadja Subagdja, and Deputy Head of Indonesian Creative Economy Agency, Ricky Joseph Pesik toured the book exhibition while greeting IIBF participants both from domestic and abroad. (TL/Sj/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)