Depok, July 3rd, 2023. A student of Faculty of Dentistry Universitas Indonesia (FKG UI), Muhammad Rifai Hasbi, won 1st place as the 2023 DKI Jakarta Language Ambassador, which was announced on Wednesday (28/6) at the Bharata People’s Puppet Theater Building, Central Jakarta. He excelled over 30 other finalists from various universities in Indonesia and was named the winner by the Head of the Language and Literature Development Center, Language Development and Guidance Agency, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia (Kemendikbudristek RI) Dr. Muh. Abdul Khak, M. Hum. After competing in DKI Jakarta (provincial level), he will compete again at the national level.
Previously, Rifai went through the assessment stage, which caught the attention of the jury thanks to his excellence in presenting creative and innovative products, which he named Language Trace (Telusur Bahasa). This innovation is a board game of educational series for regional languages in Indonesia, such as Javanese, Sundanese, Malay, Betawi, Batak and Bugis. Uniquely, this game brings together the popular games of monopoly and ludo containing challenge cards and penalty cards with Augmented Reality features . Currently, this innovative product has succeeded in reaching more than 450 young people in DKI Jakarta to learn regional languages.
“The use of regional languages in the daily life of the younger generation is increasingly being abandoned and very limited. The lack of local languages learning in schools also reduces the knowledge and use of everyday regional languages by the younger generation. Departing from this background, innovative products are created with a contemporary approach as a concrete manifestation of the contribution of young Indonesians in efforts to protect and preserve regional languages in Indonesia. I really hope that the benefits of this innovation can be extended to remote parts of the country, of course with the support of all parties, especially young people in the country,” said Rifai.
Another stage of the selection was an interview which was attended by 58 semifinalists. This assessment was focused on aspects of personality or psychology, linguistic and literary criteria, leadership and organization, public speaking, foreign language skills, criticality and innovation, attitude and appearance, as well as art and cultural performances. After a rigorous selection process involving 15 professional judges—practitioners and academics—, 30 finalists were selected to advance to the grand final round .
Dean of FKG UI, Dr. drg. Nia Ayu Ismaniati, MDSc., Sp.Ort(K)., expressed her pride for this achievement. “This success is proof that FKG UI students are not only excelling in the scientific field of dentistry, but also in other competency areas. I hope that by having Rifai appointed as the DKI Jakarta Language Ambassador 2023, he can become a role model for Indonesia’s younger generation to always preserve language in the form of literacy and education. Good luck at the national level, Rifai,” said Dr. drg. Nia.
