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UNESCO, Indonesia and the Global Digital Library collaborate to support learning based on 31 local languages
Following the success of the first translation workshop held from 29 May to 2 June 2023 in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, during which 250 children鈥檚 storybooks and 30 math games were translated into Bahasa Indonesia, UNESCO proposed extending this effort by organizing a follow-up workshop to translate these materials into 30 additional local languages spoken across Indonesia, including minority and endangered languages such as , or . There are 718 languages in use in Indonesia but most do not have substantial online presence apart from the official national language, Bahasa Indonesia.
The workshop brought together 46 translators, resulting in the translation of 297 books in 31 languages within a week. This effort aligns with UNESCO's commitment to fostering inclusive and equitable learning opportunities for every child, and particularly promoting mother language education, as an estimated 40% of school-children do not receive tuition on their native tongue, leading to lower learning outcomes. The translated resources are expected to play a pivotal role in enriching educational experiences, ensuring access to culturally relevant and age-appropriate digital learning materials for children across Indonesia.
The translated books and math games are openly licensed and freely available on the and are being added on the . Furthermore, the workshop aligns with the "High-Quality Reading Books for Indonesian Literacy" programme, launched in 2022 by the Ministry of Education, which resulted in the printing and distribution of 15.4 million books across 20,000 schools.
Prof. E. Aminuddin Aziz, Head of the Agency for Language Development and Cultivation, expressed the significance of the workshop in his opening remarks, stating, "This workshop aims to expand children's access to literature in their mother tongue, thereby supporting children's literacy development in regional languages."
Since its launch in 2020, UNESCO's Translate a Story initiative has supported the translation of around 2,000 books into more than 50 languages. In 2023 alone, UNESCO facilitated the translation of around 300 books and 30 math games into 31 languages of Indonesia and is working with Ghana on the translation of over 200 books into 12 local languages of Ghana.
This collaborative effort aims to boost opportunities for learning using digital technologies and through the pioneering framework of UNESCO鈥檚 2019 Recommendation on Open Educational Resources. Furthermore, it contributes to following up on the direction agreed upon at the 2022 , convened by the United Nations Secretary-General, Ant贸nio Guterres to 鈥溾.
