Belajar Bahasa Inggris

South Kalimantan's largest English competition celebrates Banjarmasin City's 499th anniversary

Thousands of Banjarmasin students have demonstrated their best abilities in the Banjarmasin Student English Fest (BSEF) 2025, the largest English festival in South Kalimantan. From approximately 6,000 participants, 30 best finalists were ultimately selected to compete in the Grand Final of Banjarmasin Student English Fest 2025, held at the Himalaya Ballroom, Banjarmasin International Hotel, on Tuesday (September 23), coinciding with the commemoration of Banjarmasin City's 499th anniversary and as part of the 2025 Mayor's Cup series.

This event was initiated by LearningRoom by PT. 8 Elements, a digital learning platform with a simple dream: to make learning English easy, fun, and relevant for Indonesian children. To date, more than 80,000 students across various regions have benefited from LearningRoom in enhancing their foreign language skills. The collaboration with the Banjarmasin City Government through the Education Department further reinforces the shared direction—a commitment to producing a generation of students who are intelligent, adaptive, and ready to face global challenges.

Government Support and Educational Vision

In his remarks, Mayor Muhammad Yamin HR appreciated the participants' high enthusiasm. "I appreciate activities that educate children in Banjarmasin City, especially since this was conducted without APBD (Regional Budget) support. The participants' enthusiasm is extraordinary; even students from remote areas can compete with their English language skills," he stated.

According to Yamin, this festival is a concrete implementation of the City Government's priority program to improve foreign language proficiency among youth. He hopes this activity can produce an excellent generation, not only at the local level but also nationally and globally.

The Head of Banjarmasin City Education Department, Ryan Utama, emphasized the same point. "Banjarmasin Student English Fest 2025 is a tangible manifestation of the Mayor's vision. Our focus is not only on presenting competitions but also on increasing teachers' capacity to make learning more interactive while providing creative space for both students and supervising teachers," he explained.

Digital Education Collaboration

This festival also serves as an important momentum for digital education transformation in Banjarmasin. At the Grand Final, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Banjarmasin City Government and PT. 8 Elements to expand access to digital-based English learning through LearningRoom.

The Director of PT. 8 Elements, Joerg Tente, described this step as visionary. "Banjarmasin Student English Fest 2025 demonstrates that English learning can be fun, competitive, and relevant to the world of children and teenagers. We are proud to support the local government in producing a young generation ready to face global challenges," he said.

Grand Final Program

The culmination of Banjarmasin Student English Fest 2025 took place festively with finalist performances in three main categories: Creative Works Competition, English Debate, and English Quiz Competition. Each educational level (elementary, junior high, and senior high school) showcased their creativity and best abilities, ranging from drama and poetry to critical idea exchanges in English.

The atmosphere became even more lively with support from teachers and supporters, complemented by a financial literacy session from Bank Indonesia and various creative interactions with participants. At the climax, the winners were announced and received awards directly from local government officials and organizers, accompanied by special appreciation for the best supervising teachers and supporters.

Toward a Global Generation

With full support from the Banjarmasin City Government and the participation of thousands of students since the beginning of the festival series, BSEF 2025 is not just a competition but also a symbol of the region's seriousness in preparing a superior young generation that is proficient in foreign languages and adaptive to digital technology.

This festival is expected to become a model for sustainable regional education collaboration while inspiring other cities in Indonesia to develop similar programs.

***

Join the Adventure and Learn English at

HAPPY STUDENTS, PEACEFUL TEACHERS

FOR CONTACT AND COOPERATION INFO, CLICK HERE