Plenary Session of the 42nd General Conference of UNESCO on 20 November 2023 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. (Photo:kemlu.go.id) Jakarta (VNA) – Bahasa Indonesia was designated as an official language of the UNESCO General Conference during the plenary session of the 42nd session of the General Conference in Paris on November 20.
It is the 10th language recognised as an official language of the UNESCO General Conference, in addition to English, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, French, Spanish, Russian, Hindi, Italian, and Portuguese.
Indonesian Ambassador to France, Andorra, and Monaco Mohamad Oemar affirmed that the Indonesian language has been the nation's uniting force since pre-independence times, especially through the Youth Pledge in 1928, so it is able to connect various ethnicities in Indonesia.
The Antara News Agency quoted his statement as saying the recognition was marked by the adoption of Resolution 42 C/28 by consensus during the plenary session.
Oemar noted that more than 275 million people speak Bahasa Indonesia. The curriculum of the language has entered 52 countries, and currently at least 150 thousand foreign speakers actively use it.
He emphasised that the recognition will increase awareness of the Indonesian language and contribute to develop connectivity between nations, strengthen cooperation with UNESCO, and is part of Indonesia's commitment to cultural development at the global level.
The recognition of the language will have a positive impact on peace, harmony, and the achievement of sustainable development goals not only at the national level but also throughout the world, he affirmed.
The Indonesian government's effort to propose Indonesian as the conference's official language fulfills the mandate of Article 44, Paragraph 1 of Law Number 24 of 2009.
This proposal is also a de jure effort to make Indonesian the official language of an international institution./.
