Cultural preservation is a community responsibility that must be shared together so that it does not become extinct in the future. Papua, as one of the provinces in Indonesia which is famous for its various cultures and the diversity of indigenous tribes that inhabit the entire Papua region, certainly has a culture that must be maintained and preserved. The process of keeping culture alive is certainly not easy, but to say it is difficult, it is actually not that difficult. One thing that is needed so that culture can continue to be sustainable is public awareness of the importance of literacy. With literacy, people can easily remember and record all their culture and archive it so that it can be shared with future generations in the future.
The Papua Province Library and Archives Service feels they have a duty to participate in the cultural preservation process in their own way, namely increasing literacy. The library certainly has books, one of which is a book in the children’s story genre. For this reason, a storytelling competition was held with a regional cultural theme originating from Papua. The culture inherent in society, especially Indigenous Papuans, is not only dances, songs, or special objects and food. However, there are folk tales that are told to children as a way for them to provide advice and instill good values ​​in children.
The regional culture storytelling competition was attended by children in Papua who were elementary school students. The stories shown must be stories that originate from the Papua region. In fact, to make it even more interesting, participants are allowed to use cultural attributes to become props that support the story so they can deepen it further. The aim of holding this competition is of course in line with the community’s efforts to preserve culture, namely folklore that has been circulating since ancient times. The Papua Province Library and Archives Service also has the opportunity to archive folklore that may not yet be in their collections.
The Papuan people welcomed the regional cultural storytelling competition. The Acting Mayor of Jayapura was also present to give a speech and convey messages to all the community to hold this event regularly. The Regional Government will also provide support, especially regarding competition venue facilities and also prizes for the winners who succeed in presenting authentic Papuan folklore with the most attractive appearance and straightforward storytelling. Apart from that, the Regional Government of Papua Province and its staff will also support the Library and Archives Service to continue to increase literacy from an early age, namely targeting children who are still in elementary school. The hope in the future is of course that children who take part in regional cultural storytelling competitions can remember and understand the contents of the stories they tell, especially about the good values ​​contained in the stories circulating in society.
