Inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. The 2024 Festival Handai Indonesia (FHI), organized by the Language Center of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology, encouraged foreigners to showcase their skills in Indonesian language and creative writing.

"FHI aims to offer opportunities for foreigners to improve their proficiency and creativity in Indonesian," said Iwa Lukmana, the Head of the Language Center, on Tuesday (27/8/2024).

Held from  25 to 31 August 2024 in Bali, FHI is open to foreigners who speak Indonesian and understand Indonesian culture. This annual event features 105 participants from 44 countries, selected through video and letter submissions.

“This year’s theme is 'Celebrate Friendship.' We want to foster international connections through language,” Iwa said, as quoted by antaranews.com..

The festival includes seven competitions: speech, storytelling, poetry, singing, traditional rhyme known as pantun, reporting, and letter writing. Judging will occur on 27 and 28 August 2024 with experts in Indonesian language and culture evaluating participants.

FHI 2024 serves not only as a competition but also as a platform for cultural exchange and strengthening international relations.

(mg/inp/pr/nm)