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Contest seeks to provide children with age-appropriate songs
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A songwriting contest for children's songs is currently being held in preparation for International Children's Day, which falls on Nov. 20, and to revive Indonesia’s struggling children’s music industry. (Shutterstock/File)
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songwriting contest for children's songs is currently being held in preparation for International Children's Day, which falls on Nov. 20, and to revive Indonesia’s struggling children’s music industry.
Initiated by the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry in collaboration with children's music label Hana Midori, Lomba Suara Anak Indonesia 2018 (the 2018 Indonesian Children's Voice Contest) aims to introduce new age-appropriate songs to the country’s children.
"Nowadays, it's rare for children to know and sing songs that are appropriate for their age. Many kids are singing adult songs with lyrics that are not educational," ministry representative Elvi Hendarni said during a recent press conference in Jakarta as quoted by kompas.com.
"Sadly, many parents just stand idly by or even feel proud to see their children following the current trend or trending topics in social media."
Elvi said the contest was part of the government's effort to provide more appropriate entertainment as well as musical education for Indonesia’s younger generation.
"Each child has a different developmental period that has to be fulfilled; provide them with an appropriate song for their age," she added.
Read also: The sound of music from an orphanage
Bens Leo, one of the juries of the competition who is also a music observer, said children's songs were often considered less important in Indonesia's music industry.
"Hopefully, this contest will give birth to popular singers and children's songs," he said.
The competition comprises two categories; one for child singers and the other for children's songs.
In the former, which is open to children aged 6 to 12, the committee is looking for talented children that can popularize Indonesian children's songs. Participants can join by uploading a two-minute video onto Instagram or YouTube using the hashtags #lombasuaraanakindonesia2018, #musikhanamidori, #kemenpppa and #sekolahramahanak.
For the songwriting contest, participants can send a recording of their song in the form of a CD or flash disk to the Hana Midori office in Jakarta or via e-mail to lombasuaraanakindonesia2018@gmail.com.
The contest officially started on Aug. 23 and will end with a final show in the Taman Mini Indonesia cultural park’s Garuda Theater, East Jakarta, on Nov. 25, featuring the top 10 finalists from both categories. (kes)
