Semarang Regency, Central Java, October 12, 2026 - At the 2026 Central Java Provincial Mother Language Festival (FTBI), students demonstrated their Javanese language skills by eliciting laughter, weaving mysteries, and even voicing their opposition to bullying. Ricky Wahyu Ramadan, Jaya Krishna, and Nafisha Aurelia Putri Aldrin demonstrated this through the work they brought to the event. For them, their regional languages are not just lessons or inherited from their parents, but a space to express ideas, convey messages, and demonstrate their abilities.
Ricky, a junior high school student from Magelang City, participating in the solo comedy category ( ndhagel ijen) , wanted to introduce his hometown to children from various regions in Central Java. He told the story of Kaliangkrik, a region beneath Mount Sumbing, and a vegetable known locally as wit onclang .
He wrote the material himself, under the supervision of his coach. The challenge wasn't just finding the material, but also managing intonation and creating surprises to get the audience laughing. Ricky realized that a good joke won't necessarily work if the delivery isn't engaging. "If you want to make the audience laugh, you have to be excited ," he said. He hopes his participation will bring good name to the school and enhance his achievements, which will help him continue his education at high school.
Meanwhile, Jaya Krishna, a student at SMP Negeri 4 Magelang, chose to tell stories through short stories in Javanese. He won first place at the district level with his work, " Wewadi ," which tells the mystery of money found but unknown to its owner. Through this work, he wanted to convey the message of not taking money that doesn't belong to you.
Jaya developed a story from the starting words provided by the committee. He arranged the plot and conflict into a three-page story. The most difficult part, he said, was actually building the conflict so the story wouldn't lose its direction. His writing habit has been developing since elementary school. During practice, Jaya revealed his habit of determining the title first, developing the plot, and then developing the story fully. Another challenge was choosing the right Javanese vocabulary. For Jaya, writing in Javanese requires precision so that word choice is in accordance with the rules of the language. He also wants to change the perception that Javanese is old-fashioned and boring. "Let's help preserve Javanese culture. Because it is also passed down from generation to generation, so we must preserve it so it remains intact," said Jaya.
Javanese also serves as a medium for Nafisha Aurelia Putri Aldrin, a seventh-grade student at SMP Negeri 1 Kota Magelang, to discuss a topic close to the lives of teenagers: bullying. In her speech, she explains the meaning of bullying and then encourages her audience to help prevent it. She even incorporates a macapat song into her speech. Nafisha expressed pride in using Javanese to convey her message. Her school environment also supports the practice of using regional languages, which designates Tuesdays for English and Thursdays for Javanese. She believes that regional languages remain relevant for conveying messages as long as the audience understands the language used.
Behind the participants' work are the teachers who helped them through the training process. Mukhtarus Shihah, a guidance counselor and mentor from SMP Negeri 1 Jepara, said that preparing for the competition requires adjustments to the student's learning schedule. When practice overlaps with lessons, teachers need to manage their time so that preparations can proceed without neglecting classroom learning. According to him, one of the biggest challenges is guiding participants in writing and reading Javanese script. This skill requires perseverance and the guidance of teachers who are proficient in Javanese. However, the process can also unlock previously unseen potential in children.
He recounted the experience of a student named Umar, known for his quiet personality and initially unimpressive learning style. After undergoing mentoring, Umar managed to win first place at the provincial level at a previous festival. This experience served as a reminder that a child's abilities aren't always immediately apparent, but can develop with the right opportunities and guidance. "Mother tongue is number one," Mukhtarus said, emphasizing the importance of preserving regional languages amidst the diverse languages that are increasingly familiar to children.
At the opening of the 2026 FTBI, the Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Abdul Mu'ti, praised the children's creativity in activities like FTBI. He stated that preserving regional languages is part of efforts to preserve culture and national identity. "Preserving regional languages is part of maintaining our Indonesian identity," he said.
The Head of the Central Java Language Center, Dwi Laily Sukmawati, expressed her gratitude to Ngudi Waluyo University (UNW) and the Semarang Regency Government for their support and collaboration, which ensured the successful implementation of the 2026 Central Java Provincial Language Center (FTBI). This demonstrates that the regional language protection program is a shared responsibility of various stakeholders. "Therefore, the Central Java Provincial Language Center presented certificates of appreciation to 35 district/city governments for their support and commitment to preserving the Javanese language in Central Java. The Central Java Provincial Language Center continues to innovate in efforts to preserve regional languages by collaborating with all stakeholders, educational institutions, and communities in digital regional language services, including the digital dictionary of the Javanese Cultural Terms List (Sibaja) and the Regional Language Adaptive Learning System (SABDA) application," Laily said.
Laily added that the FTBI participants are an extraordinary generation of future leaders in preserving the Javanese language. They are not ashamed to speak Javanese. "We should appreciate their pride in using their mother tongue and continue to encourage it through this FTBI event," she emphasized.
The 2026 Central Java Provincial FTBI took place on October 9–11, 2026, involving 560 participants from 35 districts/cities, consisting of 490 elementary and junior high school students, 245 students each, and 70 chaperones. The students were the first winners of the district/city level festival who continued the competition to the provincial level. Organized by the Central Java Provincial Language Center, the festival competed in seven categories: writing and reading Javanese script, storytelling, speech or sesorah , writing short stories , reading geguritan , nembang macapat , and stand-up comedy or ndhagel ijen . This FTBI was the culmination of the regional language protection program, preceded by coordination meetings with local governments, meetings on the preparation of teaching materials with experts, teacher training, learning dissemination, and tiered festivals.
From the FTBI stage, Javanese appears in many forms: as a source of laughter, a story full of riddles, and an invitation to prevent bullying. The participants' experiences demonstrate that regional languages don't have to be isolated from children's worlds. In fact, when they are given the space to use them in their own way, the language finds new life. (Writer: Rona Uly; Editor: Central Java Language Center Team, Seno; Photographer: Irfan)
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