Faculty of Humanities Unud together with PANDI Holds a Webinar Symposium on the Digitization of Balinese Script

The Faculty of Cultural Sciences in collaboration with the Indonesian Internet Domain Name Manager (PANDI) held a Bali Script Digitalization Symposium Webinar with the theme "Digital Humanities Balinese Script for Digital Culture", which took place via Zoom Meeting, Thursday (02/09/2021). This webinar is held in order to respond to globalization and modernization, in which the community must actually practice, maintain, and continue local cultural values ​​such as the Nusantara script so that they can be preserved and used on digital platforms. Until now, there have been several Nusantara scripts that have been digitized on digital platforms such as: Balinese, Batak, Bugis, Javanese, Makasar, Rejang, and Sundanese. This webinar activity lasted for two days (02-03/09/2021) which included webinars, workshops, and focus group discussions.

Also attending the Webinar Symposium on the Digitization of Balinese Literacy, the Rector of Udayana University, Prof. Dr. Ir. I Nyoman Gde Antara, M.Eng, IPU., Governor of Bali I Wayan Koster, Chairman of PANDI, Yudho Giri Sucahyo, Advisor for Communication and Information – UNESCO, Dr. Ming Kuok Lim, Member of the House of Representatives Commission VIII, namely I Komang Suheri.

Rector of Udayana University, Prof. Dr. Ir. I Nyoman Gde Antara, M.Eng, IPU in his remarks as well as officially opening said that this webinar is a form of collaboration between Udayana University through the Faculty of Cultural Sciences with PANDI in a series of programs to register Balinese script as one of the scripts that can be used in the digital realm. The Rector of Udayana University is grateful that the Bali Provincial Government has taken serious action by making Regional Regulation No. 1 of 2018 and Pergub No. 80 of 2020 which regulates the use of Balinese script, so that legally, Balinese script has a strong place. The Rector hopes that this webinar event will run well and Udayana University is ready to establish various forms of scientific development cooperation by cooperating with various partners.

The Governor of Bali was also present to give a speech, in remarks from the Governor of Bali I Wayan Koster said the existence of Balinese script in the order of Balinese cultural life has a very large role, so that efforts to preserve development activities are absolutely carried out. The governor also hopes that the Balinese people can maintain the existence of the Balinese script and the Bali provincial government strongly supports the digitization of the Balinese script into Internet Domain Names. Meanwhile, the Indonesian Internet Domain Name Manager (PANDI) Yudho Giri Sucahyo said that it was time for us to strive to establish a standardization of the Balinese script, so that it would be more stable in adopting the Balinese script to be realized in existing digital devices. The chairman of PANDI also said that this event could result in good collaboration on the development of Balinese script and hopefully the existing website content will also be enlivened by Nusantara script content.