Mesra Hotel, 30th–31st October 2019 — On Wednesday morning, 30th October 2019. The snaky queue appeared in front of the main door of Ballroom, the Mesra Hotel, Samarinda. Students, undergraduates, teachers, and communities were seen in a neat and tidy queue since 7 o’clock. Cheerful faces showed high enthusiasm. 350 participants were ready to take part in the East Kalimantan Literacy Event. The event was initiated by the East Kalimantan Language Office. This event was the peak of 2019 literacy activities in East Kalimantan and North Kalimantan.
Dra. Effy Susanti, Head of Culture, Office of Education and Culture of East Kalimantan, opened the event. Thus, some speakers explained their thoughts on literacy. They were: the stretching of Literacy in East Kalimantan was delivered by Dr. Sitti Aminah, staff for Culture, Office of Education and Culture of East Kalimantan. Literacy as a National Civilization Marker was conveyed by Anang Santosa, M. Hum., Head of East Kalimantan Language Office. Ulfatin Ch., A writer from Yogyakarta, was asked to spread inspiration on writing literary works by theme Writing is Fun.
On the second day, participants involved in writing classes of language and literature works. Writing classes consist of Essay, Short Stories, Poetry, Old Literature, and News and Features Writing. Each class was taught by teachers/practitioners in their fields, namely Ainunl Muaiyanah Sulaiman (Malaysia), Syafril Teha Noer (Samarinda), Syahidatul Munirah (Malaysia), Anis A. Azam (Malaysia), Ulfatin Ch. (Yogyakarta), Shantined (Semarang), Moh. Ali Sadli (Tenggarong), Asri Husin (Malaysia), Anis Sagena (Samarinda), R. Toto Sugiharto (Yogyakarta), and Achmad Shahab (Samarinda). The workpapers, which were gained from participants, will be an object for supporting reading materials enrichment on local wisdom based.
High interest in literacy in East Kalimantan was showed by the enthusiasm of participants who went on to participate until the activity ended. Literacy Salute.
Translated by Muhammad Erwin Darma