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Indonesia

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4:00 PM-5:30 PM

Digital Discourses: Exploring the Current State of Indigenous Languages

Panel Discussion | Digital Discourses 2025: on the current state of Indigenous Languages in the digital world

  • Library of the Goethe-Institut Jakarta, Jakarta

  • Indonesian
  • Free of charge | With registration
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Digital Discourses: Exploring the Current State of Indigenous Languages © Goethe-Institut Indonesia / Each Other Company

Digital Discourses: Exploring the Current State of Indigenous Languages © Goethe-Institut Indonesia / Each Other Company

2025 marks the fourth year of the United Nations’ International Decade of Indigenous Languages, a global initiative to raise awareness about the preservation, revitalization, and promotion of Indigenous Languages. As the second most linguistically diverse country in the world—with over 700 spoken languages—Indonesia holds a critical position in this global movement.
 
Despite this richness, many Indigenous Languages in Indonesia are underrepresented and lack adequate resources. Limited knowledge production and digital presence often contribute to the social and economic marginalization of these language communities. 

In this opening seminar of Digital Discourses 2025, we will explore efforts to preserve Indigenous languages from three viewpoints: the government, academic researchers, and Indigenous communities themselves. Three diverse speakers will share their insights and knowledge on this important topic.

Biography

is an Indigenous language and culture activist from North Maluku. While working as an elementary school teacher, Ida is also involved in devising the local curriculum that formulate the Indigenous language subject in North Halmahera. Ida was also appointed as the Chief of Isam/Pagu Tribe in 2012 for her efforts in preserving the language and culture of the Isam/Pagu tribe that was near extinction.

is an independent researcher specialising in Indonesian modern literature and cultural studies. She focuses on research and artmaking, including visual arts and music. She has published her research in scientific journals and popular media and given talks on resistance against Indonesian political strains in literature, theatre, and film.

better known as Ita, is a staff member at the Center for Language Development and Cultivation, a part of the Agency for Language Development and Cultivation. Currently, she works at the Language and Literature Protection and Modernisation Department. She is experienced in teaching Indonesian for foreign speakers (BIPA) in Japan, Thailand, and the Embassy of Russia. She has also worked as part of the Indonesian Language Proficiency Test (UKBI) team.
 

is a lecturer of linguistics at the Indonesian Studies Programme, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia. He is actively involved in research that documents and revitalises endangered languages in East Indonesia, particularly Papuan and Austronesian languages. He also researches the typology of language, corpus linguistics and the use of language in social media.

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