Banten 2026 Nusantara Voice Storytelling Festival Boosting Creative Economy and Cultural Literacy

JAKARTA - The Banten 2026 Nusantara People's Voice Storytelling Festival is considered not only an event to preserve culture, but also opens up space for creative economic growth based on literacy and regional creative industries.

The event, which was held by Navaswara at the Banten Governor's Palace, the Banten Provincial Government Center Area (KP3B), Serang City, was attended by more than 500 participants from elementary school to the general category. The festival carries the theme "Bringing the Banten Legend to Life, Inspiring the Future".

Governor Andra Soni said the culture of speech has strategic value in building the character of the younger generation while strengthening regional identity in the midst of the development of the national creative industry.

"Through this Nusantara Sound Festival, we not only listen to past stories, but also instill moral and ethical values to future leaders," said Andra Soni.

The chairman of the Nusantara Voice organizing committee and Navaswara's Managing Director, Cahaya Manthovani, said that the enthusiasm of participants this year increased significantly compared to the first implementation in 2025 in Jakarta.

According to him, this festival shows that folklore still has a strong appeal if it is packaged creatively and adapted to digital platforms, including social media.

"We see the quality of storytelling is very extraordinary. Participants not only memorize the script, but also prepare costumes and properties in detail," he said.

This event also received support from various large corporations and institutions, ranging from Bank Negara Indonesia, PT PLN (Persero), PT Astra International Tbk, to Bank Indonesia.

The cross-sector collaboration is considered to show the increasing attention of the business world to the development of creative economy based on local culture.

In the future, Navaswara plans to expand the implementation of Suara Nusantara to other provinces in order to strengthen the cultural literacy ecosystem as well as create new spaces for regional creative talents.