World Bank reported that Indonesia is one of the countries with low reading interest. It is unfortunate considering that Indonesia as a large country has potential to be a developed country. Thus, it has to be concerned particularly by the young generation.
“Today, illiteracy refers not only to those who cannot read, but also to them who are not capable of capturing information,” said psychologist, Hary Setyowibowo, M.Psi. in a seminar titled “Creating A Bright Future through Reading,” on Monday (27/05) at Bale Santika, Unpad Jatinangor.
He, who is also a lecturer at Faculty of Psychology, Unpad, further said that to be able to keep updated with the latest information, one should be able to read. Thus, this skill has to be mastered, even at the early age.
Reading leads not only to knowledge, but to the more mature character as well. It is because that a text contains both positive and negative values in order to establish emotional and moral awareness from the very young age which is very important for character building.
“A child will be wiser through reading activity. They will be capable of distinguishing which one is appropriate or not for children at their age,” he added.
Hary continued by comparing people who read one kind of media with those who are exposed to various kinds of media that the latter would be more prudent and have diverse points of view. At the end of his presentation, he suggested the participants in the seminar to develop their reading skill as a life skill, so that Indonesia would not make it to the list of countries with low reading interest anymore.
Besides Hary, the speakers of the seminar were Dr. Jallaludin Rakhmat (a communication expert) and Indi (a novelist). The seminar held by the students of the Department of Communication Management, Faculty of Communication Unpad was a part of a series of activities for social campaign “Reborn (Reading Becomes Our Tradition)” on May 27-June 28, 2013.
The campaign, aimed for high schools students in Bandung, consists of a series of activities, such as Reading Campaign, seminar, and selection for Young Reading Ambassador. The candidates for the ambassadors, according to the coordinator Muhammad Reza Firdaus, will be selected through written test, debate, and interview to appoint two youngsters to participate in Reading Campaign for public.
