Aspire to Become a “Duta Bahasa”? Try These Strategies!
I dedicate this writing for many young people out there who aspire to be a part of a prestigious community which the focus is to serve people by educating them regarding language and literacy issues.
YES! becoming a part and being called as “Duta Bahasa” (Language Ambassador in English) is indeed a “prestige”, but once you get the title, it demands you a life-time contribution.
As some provinces in Indonesia has started opening the selection process of Duta Bahasa Provinsi (Provincial Level Language Ambassador), I think it’s worth to share my personal story about how I finally got the title as The First Winner of Duta Bahasa Provinsi, and later on, I was also fortunate to win at the national level back in 2020.
This writing will be divided into three parts: (1) What exactly Duta Bahasa is, (2) My tips on how to do the competition, and (3) My personal take away as a veteran of Duta Bahasa.
In a most brief way, Duta Bahasa is a title given to young people (age 18–25) who have been making real contributions in language and literacy world and have commitment to continue the legacy. Each year, they were selected through a formal selection process hosted by the Government Language Agency under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology. The selection process goes into two levels, provincial and national level. The winner in provincial level has the right to represent the province in the national selection process.
OK, that explanation might be quite technical. But, speaking of the role itself, a Duta Bahasa is expected to become the partner of the Government Language Agency in campaigning the “Trigatra Bangun Bahasa” (the core language use principal in Indonesia), especially but not exclusive to their peers which are other youth. Trigatra Bangun Bahasa consist of three core principals in language use: (1) To prioritize the use of Bahasa Indonesia, (2) To preserve the local languages, and (3) To obtain skills in using foreign language.
Sounds idealistic, doesn’t it? somehow it does. But, in today’s globalized world, the challenge of preserving our own identity is getting bigger and vivid. Social phenomena, such as identity crisis among young generation, is real and does demand, if it’s not one, maybe some breakthroughs. Being aware of the richness of language that Indonesia has could be a reminder of who we are as a nation and strengthen our belief about how important it is for us to dedicate ourselves to build this country better.
OK, so, how do Duta Bahasa voice out the campaign? It can be done via various channels, actually. A Duta Bahasa is (ideally) having the liberty to choose what channels they prefer to bring up the campaign to the public. In regards to that, the Language Agency itself regularly allocates budget for three compulsory programs that need to be executed by Duta Bahasa in each province, namely Abdi Bahasa (a program focusing on improving people’s literacy), Jaga Bahasa (a program focusing on optimizing the use of Bahasa Indonesia in public space), and Niaga Bahasa (a program focusing on promoting language as a commodity that can generate economics benefit for people).
In my experience of executing Jaga Bahasa project, since the budget is huge, it did come with huge responsibility too. The project demanded all Duta Bahasa working on it to liaise with many stakeholders and it was taking months, even more than a semester, to finally wrap up the project.
How, guys? Still interested in joining the squad? Like what I’ve delivered earlier that becoming a Duta Bahasa is a privilege, but it will also demand you real work in order to cope with the title. Is it hard, Bar? Sometimes, but along the way, when you find your reason of why you’re doing it, you’ll find it enjoyable and worth it!
OK, now, let’s move on to the tips section! Just for your information, these are just tips coming from my very personal experience. If someday you found that yours isn’t quite the same, I dare you to create one specific writing about it to share what yours look like!
- Know Your Why
I think “know our why” when we start doing something is essential. Your “why” is the foundation of your motivation. If your motivation is personal and really growing from the bottom of your heart, it’ll also become a shield that protect you from any threat out there, such as procrastination, demotivation, underperformance, etc. In other words, your why will somehow determine the level of your perseverance in order to reach a certain goal.
The process of getting the title of “Duta Bahasa” isn’t easy (but, I don’t say it tough since it’s really subjective, peace!), but the days when you have to contribute once you get the title is a lot more challenging. And, at that time, your “why” will be so much challenged.
Starting from now on, whether you’re still on your way of registering or, even, you’re now in the middle of the selection process, kindly revisit your “why”.
You may ask “Why should I do this? or “Why am I doing this?”. Once you know and you think that you must go for it, good luck for the process!
2. Know Better the Institution
As a future collaboration partner of the Language Agency, it’s also essential to gain understanding about the nitty-gritty of this institution so thus you can solve your personal conundrum “What can I assist them with?”.
To know better about this institution, it indeed can’t be done in only one night. But, it doesn’t mean that there’s no way to see a progress. When I was just a participant during the provincial level selection or, in other word, “stranger”, my way to know better about Language Agency is by reading and, in some extent, summarizing all information that I could find about it in the internet. There’re a lot of information already published in the internet so the most critical part is whether you want to search it or not.
Once I got the mandate as the winner of Duta Bahasa Provinsi, the opportunity to get better exposure regarding the institution was also getting bigger. I started knowing not only the official things about it, but more than that, I also started knowing the people behind the institution, their working culture, etc.
One thing that worth to share here is that most people in the Language Agency that I know is prefer to the quality of your brain, rather than your physical appearance. Do you get it, right? And, this is what making the process of selecting a Duta Bahasa is quite different compared to other ambassador-based selections. You’re really seen based on your true capacity, not only by something given.
3. Understand Your S-W-O-T
Once you know some qualities expected from a Duta Bahasa, kindly asses how much you’re fit in with the criteria. When you’re assessing yourself, you may find that you already have some expected qualities in you in which it become your strength and some other qualities that you don’t have yet which make it become your weakness.
The formula is: be confident with your strength and try your best to make up your weakness. Thus, for some of us, it does demand us with a lot of preparation before the real assessment day by the judges.
If you find yourself having difficulty in gaining high score in the UKBI (standardized test for knowing the ability in using Bahasa Indonesia), book your time to learn and do many try outs. If you see yourself quite shy in performing in front of many people, book your time to learn how to do a good public speaking or how to perform an art. Or, if you find yourself not really confident with other expected quality, my message is not to see it as your limit, but dare yourself to go beyond it so you acquire something new that might be beneficial for your future.
After all, I personally belief when you’re investing your time in something positive, it will only guide you to be a better you. Same as when you’re participating in the selection process of Duta Bahasa, getting the title or not, it’s something usual since it’s a competition anyway. But, the opportunity to go one or two or more steps further from our previous self is open to all.
More than that, having a good awareness regarding your opportunity and threat also can contribute to your success. Opportunity is everything comes from external side that can make yourself stronger. On the other side, threat is everything comes from external side that can challenge yourself and that’s why you need to have a good management of it. I remember that the biggest threat back in 2020 was Covid. It made other fellow participants and I had to think harder regarding the product and program that we need to make for the selection requirement. It’s highly possible that you have different threat, so be ready for it!
4. Create Unconventional Product/Program
One of the uniqueness during the selection process of Duta Bahasa is every finalist should create a product or program and execute it in during the given time (most of the time, it’s less than a month). We call it “Krida”. The product or program criteria is quite simple: to create something related to language and literacy. However, the process of inventing a product or a program could be tough.
It’s because there have been many products and programs created by our seniors. To think a new one, it does becoming a challenge.
More than that, the Language Agency itself has already created many products and programs. As partner, Duta Bahasa is expected to create something that’s not re-doing the works of the institution, but helping to grow what have been started.
So, the ability of problem solving and thinking creatively are indeed important to be trained by all future Duta Bahasa.
A pro tip: many people from the institution tend to have more preference on product or program which embedded the role of modern technology in it. So, let’s say you create a mobile app that can make people becoming smarter in using Bahasa Indonesia by only accessing it, that’s gonna be a big-big invention!
5. Be Yourself
Last but not least is don’t forget to always be yourself. Once again, the selection process is tough, but the days you’ll spend once you get the title could be tougher. You’ll deal a lot with expectation from your surrounding regarding your ability in language and literacy.
For that matter, I think to become yourself is enough to counter many types of challenges that you’ll face. You know that during the selection process, it’s highly possible that you’ll meet with other participants who have longer journey in the field than yours. Or, maybe, somebody who are smarter or more friendly than you.
One thing to remember is that other people’s qualities are none of your business. They have those qualities because they might be have been through a process that we never know.
The most important thing to focus on is only your very own self. I would say that once you’ve been ready with yourself: you’ve been aware with your why, you’ve been taking care of your preparation, you’ve been connecting good to God, you’re already becoming a winner.
To wrap up, I think it’s not an exaggeration to say that Duta Bahasa has been a home for me for the part three years. Looking back in 2020, I was only a stranger who knew that I want to contribute, but today, I’ve been grateful to be what I am now. I have a very good time in Duta Bahasa.
So, I think it’s my time now to give back through my role as the chair of the Duta Bahasa DKI Jakarta Association. I want many more Duta Bahasa in the province to also see this association as their home that’s not only can make them warm, but can also grow them professionally. I want them to have good take away from that can support them to contribute better to wider society.
