By Masayu Yulien Vinanda

Jakarta (22/04) In commemoration of Earth Day, WWF-Indonesia in collaboration with Gandaria City held Borneo Festival with the theme "Taking the Heart of Borneo Message to the City," for 4 days from Thursday (19/04) to Sunday (22/04) at Gandaria City, South Jakarta. The festival aims to introduce the natural and cultural richness of Borneo, especially Kalimantan, to the urban community in Jakarta.

Like the saying "if you don't know, you don't love", the event is expected to increase public awareness in efforts to preserve nature and culture in the land of Borneo, especially Kalimantan, which is currently being threatened by various environmental issues and development that is not pro-environment.

During the 4-day event, mall visitors were treated to a photo exhibition depicting the beauty of nature and culture in the heart of Borneo, cultural performances in the form of a variety of traditional dances and musical offerings typical of Kalimantan, a demonstration of traditional Dayak tattoos, and talk shows featuring a number of speakers from WWF who are active in activating conservation efforts and public awareness of environmental issues in the Borneo region. The event was held at the Mall of Borneo.

The vibrant costumes and the graceful body movements of the dancers were the attractions that drew the admiration of the visitors. One of them was the healing dance "Wadian Dadas Wadian Bawo" from Central Kalimantan. Other dances from Dayak Bahau and Dayak Kayaan of West Kalimantan and ""Kancit Letto"" from East Kalimantan also added to the excitement of the event.

At the peak of Borneo Festival which was held to coincide with Earth Day, Sunday (22/04), WWF-Indonesia and Gandaria City achieved a MURI record through the most book donations for conservation areas. Until yesterday, the number of books collected reached 3646 books. The book donations collected will be donated to 26 schools in Palangkaraya, Pontianak, and Samarinda, especially schools located around conservation areas.

Marketing Director of WWF-Indonesia, Devy Suradji, said that in addition to intensifying conservation efforts, environmental education is also one of the focuses in WWF's work program. .

"Thank you for your concern to donate books for the young generation around the conservation area. Community empowerment, especially the next generation around conservation areas, is important. They are the real guardians of nature. Our concern for their rich knowledge to manage natural resources sustainably is part of the conservation effort itself," Devy added.