National Children's Day And Efforts To Preserve Culture Through Traditional Games

Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Arifah Fauzi (left) together with children commemorated the 2025 National Children's Day at the West Java Province level, in Bandung, West Java. (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Commemoration of National Children's Day (HAN) 2025 is an important momentum to instill love for the nation's culture from an early age.

One of the cultural conservation efforts raised in this commemoration is to introduce traditional games to children as cultural heritage full of value and meaning.

Through typical regional games, children are not only invited to have fun, but also taught the importance of cooperation, togetherness, and respecting diversity.

Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA), Arifatul Choiri Fauzi, said that HAN 2025 is expected to bring a new nuance in introducing local culture to the younger generation.

In his remarks at the HAN commemoration at the West Java Province level which was held in Bandung through the activities of the West Java (Ulinpiade) Kaulinan Barudak, he emphasized the importance of traditional games as social learning media.

"Children who love their mothers, apart from being fun, traditional games can strengthen social ties that may begin to be eroded by an individualist lifestyle. Through games that uphold sportsmanship and cooperation, children learn about brotherhood without distinguishing ethnic, racial, or religious backgrounds," he said as quoted by ANTARA.

According to him, traditional games are not only a means of entertainment, but also form a child's character from an early age by instilling values of togetherness and solidarity.

In the HAN series of events, children were also invited to participate in other activities such as healthy gymnastics, singing national and regional songs, displaying traditional arts, and listening to stories of heroes from various regions.

This event is the result of a collaboration between the West Java Provincial Government and a number of stakeholders, including the Indonesian Children's Company Association (APSAI).

One of the special achievements of this activity is the MURI record-breaking for the category "Playing Traditionally with Kebaya", which involves thousands of children and women wearing kebaya while playing Sundanese traditional games such as engklek, eggrang, congklak, and ucing sumput.

The kebaya is not just clothing, but a symbol of Indonesian women's identity, history and civilization. It reflects the spirit of equality and the active role of women in social life. Through this activity, the younger generation is invited to love not only culture, but also make it part of their daily lives, "concluded Minister Arifatul.