UNAIR NEWS – Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) students won first place in the EDUFEST 2026 international essay contest, organized by Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) on Wednesday (September 9, 2026). The Ayanokoji team, consisting of Abdullah Muhammad Irsyad Syafiudin, Keysa Azka Najhan, and Qurrotul Ain from the Faculty of Humanities (FIB), earned the award with an essay titled “Reclaiming Soleram: A Board Game Model for Inclusive Body-Safety,” which addressed the issue of child grooming and developed a board game based on the traditional song Soleram as a medium for sex education and body safety for children.
Highlighting child grooming through local wisdom
Child grooming served as the team’s starting point in developing the essay. They then explored approaches that could help children understand sex education and body safety in ways closer to their everyday lives. Through that process, the team selected the traditional song Soleram as part of the educational material.
They brought the idea to life in the form of a board game that combines sex education with an introduction to a traditional song. Ain explained that the idea also connected to the competition’s subtheme on local wisdom for global education. Through play, they aimed to deliver material on sex education and body safety without making the topic feel too taboo for children.
Syafiudin noted that sex education for children remains a taboo topic in Indonesia. Yet cases of sexual abuse and violence against children are issues that demand attention.
“Sex education for children is quite a taboo subject in Indonesia, even though there have already been many cases of sexual abuse and violence against children. That’s why we packaged it in the form of a board game, to make it less taboo,” Syafiudin said. “The board game is also affordable and easy to carry around, and it reintroduces traditional songs to children,” he added.
Developing the idea in two weeks
The team spent about two weeks preparing the essay. The process involved gathering data on violence and sexual abuse against children, analyzing traditional songs suited to sex education, and designing the game’s concept and mechanics.
The greatest challenge came in designing a board game concept and mechanics that would suit children. The game had to be simple enough to be easily understood, while still incorporating elements of sex education and traditional song.
“[The greatest challenge] was creating the board game’s concept and mechanics, because it’s aimed at children, so we had to think the way they do. It couldn’t be too complex, but we also had to work in sex education elements and traditional song,” he said.
In search of the right concept, the team conducted research at a cafe with a wide selection of board games, where they gained insight into how to develop the game’s mechanics.
Author: Katara Joy Kurniawan
Editor: Ragil Kukuh Imanto
