Rajapatni.com: Surabaya (1/9/24) – September 8 is celebrated as International Literacy Day. In Surabaya there will be a commemoration of that day. Through this Literacy Day, it is hoped that it will encourage the growth of mutual understanding and respect for diversity between ethnic groups and nations to create world peace.
Indonesia, in accordance with the contents of its Constitution, plays a role in creating world peace. This role is specifically stated in paragraph 4 of the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution. Namely, to participate in implementing world order, which is based on independence, eternal peace and social justice.
To help create world peace, Indonesia establishes international relations and participates in international organizations. Locally, a local organization in Surabaya, Puri Aksara Rajapatni, is also proving this through simple activities based on “think globally, act locally”. Namely, participating in interpreting the theme of International Literacy Day by establishing cooperative relationships with local and international organizations in Surabaya.
To commemorate International Literacy Day 2024, which will be held on 8-10 September 2024, ꦥꦸꦫꦶꦄꦏ꧀ꦱꦫꦫꦴꦗꦥꦠ꧀ꦤꦷ Puri Aksara Rajapatni together with Wisma German presents a solo painting exhibition by Wiji Utomo based on Javanese Script and a series of other activities, in the form of Cross Cultural Javanese and Japanese script , learning to write Javanese Script and Talkshow on the Advancement of Javanese Script.
These activities are designed in line with the theme raised by UNESCO “Literacy for mutual understanding and peace”.
It is recognized that a person’s ability to read and write is not really special, but understanding basic human rights is important. Literacy offers a gateway to limitless opportunity, has the power to break the cycle of poverty, and allows individuals to participate fully in society. Activities commemorating Literacy Day in Surabaya are a way to open up collaborative actions and participation to achieve fundamental human goals.
A series of meetings and preparations are being carried out by Puri Aksara Rajapatni together with related partners to welcome International Literacy Day on September 8 2024. On Saturday afternoon (31/8/24) Rajapatni together with partner DGPreneur JITC, which is a creative and innovative forum for internship students in the IT field, shared tasks for activities in commemoration of International Literacy Day at Wisma German labeled “Our Literacy”.
According to Thony, this activity must sustain because maintaining and preserving script is protecting the identity of a nation.
International Literacy Frame
It is no longer a secret that the European Peneleh Surabaya cemetery was the final resting place for Surabaya residents with different national backgrounds in the mid-19th to 20th centuries.
Now the Cemetery, which is under the Department of the Environmental (DLH) of the Surabaya City Government, can be accessed by the public without any complications. Moreover, the cemetery area, which was opened in 1847, has become a historical tourist attraction in the Peneleh neighborhood.
The existence of thousands of tombs spread across an area of 4.5 hectares has become increasingly exposed. This is thanks to the collaboration between the Surabaya (Indonesia) and Amsterdam (Netherland) communities in a joint project called Peneleh as a Living Library.
A researcher from Australia, Professor Kate McGregor from the University of Melbourne conducts research in Surabaya and Amsterdam with the title “Submerged Histories: Memory Activism in Indonesia and the Netherlands”.
The Surabaya Peneleh Cemetery, which has become an object of international cooperation between Surabaya and Amsterdam, has been used as a medium to open and increase the degree of understanding and mutual understanding so as to produce mutually beneficial cooperation (mutual cooperation).
The Peneleh Cemetery is also the object of Professor Kate’s research in looking at the activities of local communities who take part in caring for relics of the past, which have the potential to become capital for future development for both countries.
In the Peneleh Cemetery, many important and interesting stories from the two nations, are hidden. Through this project, apart from uncovering hidden traces of the past, the role of the communities of these two countries also becomes a historical record of the present in relation to the activities of the current generation for the future.
In the Cemetery area which home to various past nationalities in Surabaya, traditional characters from foreign nationalities are found. One of them is an Armenian citizen known as photographer Kurkdjian. Armenia is a country that still has its own script.
The Armenian script is a script that has been used to write the Armenian language since 405 or 406. Quoted from Wikipedia literature, this script was created by Saint Mesrop Mashtots, an Armenian linguist and church leader, and originally contained 36 letters. Two more letters, օ and ֆ, were added in the Middle Ages.
Until the 19th century, Classical Armenian served as a literary language. Since then, the Armenian script has been used to write the official dialects of East Armenian and West Armenian. The Armenian word for “alphabet” is այբուբեն aybuben (Armenian pronunciation: [ɑjbubɛn]), corresponding to the first two letters of the Armenian alphabet այբ ayb and բեն ben.
According to Kate, understanding letters opens a window to understanding a nation. In line with the theme of International Literacy Day 2024, literacy can create mutually beneficial understanding and peace “Literacy for mutual understanding and peace”. (PAR/nng)