Balikpapan, E Kalimantan (ANTARA) - UNESCO has proposed the inclusion of Bahasa Indonesia in the official languages of the United Nations (UN), head of the East Kalimantan Language Agency, Halimi Hadibrata, informed here on Monday.

"On May 25, 2023, UNESCO proposed the use of Bahasa Indonesia in the UN. If agreed in the November 2023 session, the Indonesian language will officially become an international language along with other languages," Hadibrata said.

According to him, Bahasa Indonesia is ready to go global.

At an educational event held to strengthen literacy among the younger generation, Hadibrata said that Bahasa Indonesia becoming an official UN language will strengthen the nation's image.

Not only will it be the nation's unifier domestically, but also have a positive impact at the international level, he added.

"Our language will become an international language, and laws related to it and the idea of Pancasila will be translated into international languages, including discussion and so on," Hadibrata explained.

This global breakthrough must be appreciated, especially by the Indonesian people, by continuing to maintain and preserve the language by speaking in everyday life, he said.

The breakthrough aligns with the goal set at the Bahasa Indonesia Congress five years ago to make the Indonesian language an international language by 2045, he informed.

"With the efforts made by the language agency, this (internationalization) effort will be brought to the UN session this year; this hard work deserves appreciation," he added.

The 11th Indonesian Language Congress held in Jakarta from October 28 to 31, 2018, had generated 22 recommendations.

One of the recommendations was the internationalization of the Indonesian language.

In this case, the government has been urged to regulate the use of foreign languages as the language of instruction at schools and strengthen literary studies to improve the quality of education and literacy by utilizing digital devices and maximizing information technology use.

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Translator: Arumanto, Kenzu
Editor: Sri Haryati
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