Ministry of Education and Culture Continues Government Assistance Program in the Field of Language and Literature for Communities

JAKARTA – The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) through the Language Development and Fostering Agency (Badan Bahasa), this year again distributed Government Assistance in the Field of Language and Literature.

Since 2023, the Language Agency has initiated a pioneering distribution of Government Assistance (Banpem) in the Field of Language and Literature: Strengthening Literary Communities. It is hoped that this provision of assistance can increase the role of the literary community as a party producing works and can become a driving force and strengthener in building literature in society, as well as developing literature and disseminating its work products.

Secretary General of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, Suharti, said that one of the mandates of the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, is that the state must be present in society. The Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, with its various programs, strives to provide educational services throughout the territory of the Republic of Indonesia so that the goal of educating the nation’s life can be achieved.

_{Secretary General of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Suharti}

“Through the Language Agency, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology has a flagship program, namely increasing public literacy, which is carried out, among other things, by providing Banpem to the Literary Community,” he said online at the opening of the Briefing for Prospective Recipients of Government Assistance in the Language and Literature Sector: Strengthening the Literary Community in 2024, Monday (24/6/2024).

Suharti added that Banpem’s facilitation was provided in order to encourage the development of literary communities, increase the role of literary communities as a means of learning literature, assist in the implementation and optimization of activities in the fields of language and literature, increase public appreciation of literature, encourage the number, quality, and distribution and publication of literary works.

In addition, award assistance is provided in order to provide appreciation to literary communities or individuals for their extraordinary performance in literary activities, including community empowerment as part of the literary ecosystem.

“Banpem is given to the literary community, both in the form of facilitation to empower the literary community and awards or appreciation to literary figures who have dedicated themselves to the world of literature, especially those who have been active for 40 years or more,” he said.

The efforts initiated by the Language Agency are expected to contribute to the development of literature to develop community literacy. “At the same time, it will become a sustainable program and expand its reach so that the literary community becomes a strategic partner of the Ministry of Education and Culture,” he said in conclusion.

On the same occasion, the Head of the Language Development and Fostering Agency E. Aminudin Aziz said that the Banpem program specifically for literary communities and writers had gone through a long process and could only be carried out last year. 2023 will be the first year for the Language Agency to provide Banpem facilities.

“This is our effort to facilitate literary communities. The Banpem program was designed together with the agreements in the Language Agency and in the literary community. We believe that the reach of the literary community is wider, reaching the 3T region, and we hope that this program can be accessed by much more people,” he explained.

Aminudin said that the provision of Banpem is a commitment of the Language Agency in helping to organize literary programs in the community. In addition, there is also government assistance for literacy communities. The provision of Banpem for the Literary Community also dispels the notion that the state does not care about literature.