Hundreds of pre-school and elementary school students participated in the annual Cultural Week that highlights the spirit of Sumpah Pemuda (Youth Pledge). Initiated by Jakarta Intercultural School (JIS) and taking place at the JIS Pondok Indah Elementary campus in South Jakarta, the event runs for one week until Oct. 31.

The festival aims to get students ranging from four to 12 years old acquainted with Indonesian culture through various activities. In addition to a flag-raising ceremony and a tortor dance workshop, it also offers workshops in lemper (steamed sticky rice with a beef or chicken filling) making, wayang golek (shadow puppet) and Rama-Shinta performing in drama classes, local folklore in a language class, traditional games like congklak (shell game), gasing (the spinning top) and bekel (knucklebones). There are also gamelan music performances and fun activities like bajaj (three-wheeled taxi) and delman (horse-drawn buggy) riding. Meanwhile, the last day will be a United Nations Day where the students will be parading national flags from 61 countries and tasting foods from various countries.

(Read also: Traditional music gets a spot at Pekan Raya Indonesia)

Students participate in a tortor dance workshop during Cultural Week.(Jakarta Intercultural School (JIS)/File)

“This year's Cultural Week will have more diverse activities than the previous year,” said JIS Pondok Indah Elementary School principal Elsa Donohue.

Meanwhile, JIS vice principal Nicholas Kent said the school highly appreciates the nation for always respecting history and culture from their predecessors, like the time when Indonesian youths fought for the country's independence. “The spirit of the youths at that time came from their diverse backgrounds, which is currently reflected at JIS, where the students and teachers come from different cultures and nations; all united in the land of Indonesia,” he said during the opening of Cultural Week on Monday. (kes)