The 2013 National WORDS Competition was the culmination of a collaborative process involving Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETA),
selected placement sites throughout Indonesia, and Indonesian high school students. An estimated 700+ students took the opportunity to enter voluntary local competitions hosted by each ETA in which they were asked to respond to the prompt, “What can the youth of Indonesia teach the world?”

Winners were selected at each of the 49 schools that hosted competitions, and these students were invited to come to Jakarta to share their presentations at the 2013 National WORDS Competition. This took place March 15-17, 2013. The students were excited to receive a welcome from Ambassador Scot Marciel, and eight finalists were recognized by a panel of distinguished guest judges composed of Public Diplomacy Counselor Don Q. Washington, Ancora Foundation CEO Atria Rai, Fulbright Senior Scholar Dr. Abigail Cohn, and Bandung Institute of Technology Professor Emeritus/ AMINEF Board of Managers Chair Dr. Bana Kartasasmita.

As they left the competition venue to return to their homes throughout Indonesia, the Facebook group for student participants lit up with messages such as this one from Faqih Rahmat Sarmadhan from SMA+ Negeri 17 Palembang:
“Friday was our first meeting, today is our last meeting. We shared laughters, we shared joy, we shared everything. We may not going to see each other again, but I’m 100% sure that the memories we shared, will last forever. This isn’t about competing with each other, it’s not about winning, but it’s all about friendship, togetherness, and love. It’s about knowing that on different side of Indonesia, there are different personalities, cultures, and ideas. BUT those differences made the last few days, even more beautiful. Good bye, AMINEF WORDS competition 2013. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME. Thank you :)”

The 8 finalists were:
Winner of Best Overall Category : Nabila Ernada, SMAN 1 Samarinda (Kalimantan)
Runner Up : Farly Andhareshi, SMAN 10 Fajar Harapan, Banda Aceh (Sumatra)
Winner of Best Use of Theme Category : Henny Angkasa, SMA Sutomo 1 Medan (Sumatra)
Runner Up : Setiya Maharani, SMA Muhammadiyah 2 Genteng (Java)
Winner of Most Creative Category : Citra Atrina Sari, MAN Insan Cendekia, Gorontalo (Sulawesi)
Runner Up : Diah Anggraini, Madrasah Aliyah Matholi’ul Anwar (Java)
Winner of Best Use of English Category : Berry Samusamu, SMAN 5 Ambon (Maluku)
Runner Up : Abdul Latif, SMA Al Ashriyyah Nurul Iman (Java)