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Faculty of Humanities Udayana University Successfully Held the 18th SNBI: Highlighting Opportunities for Native Language Revitalization in the Digital Age
On Friday, February 20, 2026, the Doctoral and Magister's Program in Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities Udayana University held the 18th SNBI with the theme “Native language as a Pillar of National Identity: Challenges and Opportunities in the Era of Digital Modernization.” The seminar was held at the Widya Sabha Mandala Auditorium, IB Mantra Building, 3rd Floor, Faculty of Humanities Udayana and conducted hybrid. It was officially opened by the Vice Rector I for Academic Affairs of Udayana University, Prof. Ir. I Nengah Sujaya, M.Agr.Sc., Ph.D.. and attended by the Head of the Bali Provincial Language Center, the Chair of the Association of Local Language Researchers, the Head of the Center for Language and Literature Development and Conservation, all study program coordinators within the Faculty of Humanities, lecturers, and presenters.
In her report, the Chairperson of the Organizing Committee, Ni Nyoman Tri Gitayani, S.S., stated that this year's theme was chosen to respond to the urgency of preserving the dignity and existence of mother tongues amidst the onslaught of digitalization. The seminar recorded high enthusiasm, involving 120 presenters from various domestic and foreign universities.
Following the committee chairperson's remarks, Elis Setiati, S.Pd., M.Hum., as the Head of the Bali Province Language Center, expressed her appreciation for the implementation of the 18th SNBI. Coinciding with International Mother Language Day, she hoped that the 18th SNBI would not only serve as a room for academic discussion but also manifest concrete actions, consultations, and strategic ideas for the preservation of regional languages in Indonesia.
Concerns regarding the future of mother tongues were also voiced by the Chairman of the Central Association of Local Language Educators, Prof. Dr. I Made Budiarsa, M.A. He highlighted the massive early teaching of foreign languages and emphasized that local languages must be restored to their rightful place as the primary foundation in children's early communication.
The Dean of Faculty of Humanities, Prof. I Nyoman Aryawibawa, S.S., M.A., Ph.D. warned against the threat of losing collective cultural memory due to language extinction. Although Bali and Indonesia possess strong legal foundations for language protection, the barrage of foreign-language digital content remains a formidable challenge for the younger generation.
Representative of the Rector of Udayana University, the Vice Rector I for Academic Affairs, Prof. Ir. I Nengah Sujaya, M.Agr.Sc., Ph.D., officially opened the event. He encouraged the Faculty of Humanities as the vanguard of cultural preservation, to continuously oversee revitalization strategies to ensure that ancestral heritage remains relevant across ages. The opening session was subsequently followed by the signing of an Implementation Arrangement between the Magister Study Program in Linguistics at Faculty of Humanities Udayana University and the Bali Province Language Center.
The seminar materials were delivered by a keynote speaker and various experts, including Dr. Dora Amalia from the Agency for Language and Literature Development and Cultivation as the keynote speaker, along with Prof. Dr. Dra. Ni Wayan Sartini, M.Hum. from Airlangga University, Prof. Dr. Maria Arina Luardini, M.A. from the University of Palangka Raya, and Prof. Dr. Ni Luh Nyoman Seri Malini, S.S., M.Hum. from Udayana University as speakers.
The Head of the Agency for Language and Literature Development and Cultivation, Dr. Dora Amalia, serving as the keynote speaker, affirmed the role of the mother tongue as a fundamental instrument for character education. She urged that the digital era should not be viewed solely as a threat, but rather optimized as an opportunity for revitalization through the utilization of Artificial Intelligence (AI), educational applications, and digital curriculum integration.
The presentation by Prof. Dr. Dra. Ni Wayan Sartini, M.Hum. explained that amidst the dominance of global languages and the shift of the younger generation's interest towards the digital space, mother tongues are threatened by a narrowing domain of use and the disruption of intergenerational transmission. The challenge in Bali is increasingly complex because regional languages must compete with Indonesian and English, which hold higher economic value in the tourism sector. However, the digital era also offers opportunities for revitalization through the production of creative content, the digitalization of oral literature, and cross-sectoral collaboration.
Regarding technological intervention, Prof. Dr. Maria Arina Luardini, M.A. from the University of Palangka Raya emphasized the need to integrate cultural preservation into education. According to her, the use of artificial intelligence can become a robust preservation tool if balanced with appropriate academic guidance and the implementation of the Regional Language Revitalization program.
Concluding the material presentation session, Prof. Dr. Ni Luh Nyoman Seri Malini, S.S., M.Hum. from Udayana University analogized the mother tongue as an emotional "umbilical cord" for the diaspora community in Bali. She expressed optimism that technological innovations such as regional script Unicode and the presence of virtual community platforms are capable of bringing about a more dynamic, modern, and competitive transformation in preservation.
In her closing remarks, the Coordinator of the Magister Study Program in Linguistics, Prof. Dr. Made Sri Satyawati, S.S., M.Hum., reflected on the 18-years journey of organizing the SNBI. She explained that the forum, originally designed to train magister's students to present papers publicly, has now evolved into a national meeting event that successfully facilitates strategic collaboration among linguistics and literature experts. Her remarks simultaneously closed the main session before the event proceeded to the parallel paper presentations.
UDAYANA UNIVERSITY