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nanda Ripanli, who is visually impaired, recited poetry during the 2018 Children’s Reading Day 2018 at the Jakarta Public Library in Cikini, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday.

The two-day event, which ended on Thursday, saw 287 invited schoolchildren, from kindergartens up to high schools across Jakarta, compete in eight events, such as poetry recitals, English debates, quatrain battles and coloring competitions. It was organized by the Jakarta Library and Archives Agency to encourage young Jakarta residents to read more books.

It was not Ananda’s first time reading poetry in public as he often participates in poetry-reading competitions and storytelling events because of his love of reading. His father, Pantono, thinks family is the main factor in developing a child’s reading interest.

“Parents have to put more focus on their kids’ reading interests. At least once a day, they can tell stories to their kids because that is what I do with Ananda” Pantono said.

Unfortunately not all parents are aware of the importance of parents’ role in developing children’s reading like Pantono.

Another participant Febriyani Hidayati from state junior high school SMP 133 in Thousand Islands regency said many parents in the regency were too busy catching fish or doing other work to make ends meet.

“I think parents have to start to pay more attention in order to improve their children’s reading interests, while children have to minimize using their gadgets,” said Faelasufah Susanto Putri, Febriyani’s peer.

According to the organizer Ari Imansyah, the event was held to promote libraries and reading as well as a form of appreciation for all literature lovers in the city.

Ari said the program reaffirmed the city’s commitment to become Indonesia’s leading “literacy province”, which was declared by former governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama in 2016. The declaration, came against the backdrop of the results of the 2015 Program of International Student Assessment (PISA) report that ranked Indonesia 62nd out of 74 countries.

PISA focuses on core school subjects such as science, reading and mathematics to assess the extent to which students who are getting near the end of their compulsory education “have acquired key knowledge and skills that are essential for full participation in modern societies”.

Governor Anies Baswedan, who attended the opening of the competition on Wednesday concurred with Febriyani on the important role of parents in promoting literacy.

“Our homes should encourage children to read, but how can that happen if parents themselves don’t read? So parents, please start reading more often and in front of your children,” Anies said.

He issued Gubernatorial Regulation No. 76/2018 mandating schools to send students to libraries, last month.

While sharing the same view on the important role of parents in influencing their children to read, Riswati Oktavia, headmaster of Tombo Ati Islamic preschool in East Jakarta, particularly pointed out that parents should also limit their children’s playtime on electronic devices, arguing they are a distraction.

In a bid to encourage reading, her school practices the 15-minute compulsory morning reading session as required by the 2015 Education and Culture Ministry regulation, issued by Anies when he was education minister.

Riswati said her school would also comply with the 2018 gubernatorial regulation by bringing all pupils to a library once a month as of Tuesday. (nor)