The class of Indonesian for Foreign Speakers in the autumn semester of 2022 organized by the Indonesian Embassy in Bern is participated by 40 Swiss citizens.

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – For the fifth time since 2020, the Indonesian Embassy in Bern again holds a BIPA (Indonesian for Foreign Speakers) class in the autumn semester of 2022, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a written statement on Thursday.

In the opening ceremony on Monday (Sept. 5), the Indonesian Ambassador to Switzerland, Muliaman Hadad, appreciated the BIPA students, especially those who have studied Indonesian since 2020, and welcomed the current BIPA students into the family of friends of Indonesia in Switzerland.

“In the course of your classes in the months to come, I hope you will also be able to learn more about Indonesian culture, its people, its unique characteristics, and of course, the beauty of its language,” the ambassador said.

According to the Ambassador, along with the growing and strong economic relationship between Switzerland and Indonesia, language has become one of the cultural elements that binds relations between the two countries.

The interest in business in Indonesia has increased in Switzerland since the signing of the free trade agreement under the framework of Indonesia-EFTA (European Free Trade Association)-CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) or IE-CEPA and now business people are competing to learn Indonesian to understand business in in the archipelago better, he said.

In addition, the relationship between culture and education is also a motivating factor for local residents to learn Indonesian, he said.

“BIPA students in Switzerland have various motivations to learn Indonesian, including wanting to conduct research in Indonesia, wanting to be able to communicate with Indonesian-speaking families, wanting to travel around Indonesia, based on their love for Indonesia, some even argue that the Indonesian language provides peace, harmony and happiness," he added.

The implementation of the BIPA class has become the flagship program of cultural diplomacy at the Indonesian Embassy in Bern. This program is not only in line with the Indonesian government’s focus on introducing Indonesian culture to the international community, but also promoting the country as a whole, including in the socio-economic field.

The BIPA program of the Indonesian Embassy in Bern is also an achievement of the embassy that was able to support the success of the Indonesia-Switzerland trade agreement within the framework of the EFTA CEPA and the success of the political field in the form of the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA).

Attended by approximately 40 participants, the fifth BIPA class of the Indonesian Embassy in Bern will take place from Sept. 5 to Dec. 16, 2022. This year, the embassy holds five classes of BIPA, namely beginner class (BIPA-1) to middle class (BIPA-5).

The Indonesian Embassy in Bern has recorded a total of 250 BIPA students in Switzerland since 2020.

Reporting by Indonesia Window