From February 5 through 7, 2024, eleven high school students and their Fulbright English Teaching Assistants (ETAs) were gathered in Jakarta for the National WORDS Storytelling and Storybook Competition. The competition, held at @america, and the series of activities ETAs and participants do during the week have always been the program’s highlight. It allows the students and ETAs to meet and bond over shared interests and unique experiences. The eleven storybooks the students produce will be printed by AMINEF to be given to them and donated to their respective schools to add English language resources for the students.

WORDS is a national English language competition that brings together one student from each ETA host school. It followed the format of a storytelling and storybook competition centered on a given theme; for this year, it was Dreams. Participant students were allowed to share their dreams about their future, home country, or world.

Before joining the national competition, each participant student had entered and won at their local competition at their school, an exciting event organized by their ETA and the English teachers. It took weeks for the ETAs to recruit students, host brainstorming meetings or workshops, assist with story creation, and provide performance feedback to their students. Despite all the challenges, ETAs found that the local WORDS competition at their school was spectacular and memorable.

Each student represented their school well. The storybooks they create are beautifully illustrated; the stories and performances on stage were diverse and unique, captivating the audience. The judges needed longer to decide the winners because all the student participants were amazing and talented. Many participants’ friends, family members, and teachers watched the competition from their hometowns through the @america live streaming platform.

The four judges were Melarissa Sjarief, a screenwriter and Fulbright master’s degree program alumna; Genie Nguyen, a Public Engagement assistant at the US Embassy Jakarta; Ahmad Fuadi, writer, novelist, social entrepreneur, and Fulbright master’s degree program alumnus; and Douglas Ramage, founding managing director of BowerGroupAsia and AMINEF Board of Manager.

Five participants were recognized at the national competition for notable performances. Balqis Khairunnisa from SMAN 4 Banjarbaru was awarded overall winner; Diva Eca Akadita Kaban from SMAN 1 Matauli Pandan Sibolga was awarded best storybook; Elshadai Boham from SMKN 3 Manado was awarded best use of theme; Muhammad Rafiqi Al-Farabiand from SMAN 3 Banjarbaru was granted best use of English. Lily Kamila Talita from SMKN 3 Banjarmasin received special recognition from the judges as having the best illustration.

Diva, who won best storybook, said, “This competition is perfect, and hopefully it continues” – a sentiment echoed by overall winner Balqis, who thought the event exceeded her expectations.

A day after the competition, students and ETAs had a cultural day visiting museums around Jakarta. They visited Monas Observation Deck and Kota Tua, the Bank of Indonesia Museum, and the Fatahillah Museum. Although many students wished the number of days for the programming was more than three, they also admitted that their time with their new friends and ETAs was well-spent.