AIYA Links: 15 November

Congratulations to Indonesian Vice President Boediono, who was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Australian National University this week. Pak Boediono studied at the University of Western Australia and Monash University, and has long been a champion of close Australia-Indonesia ties.

In the news

• Vice President Boediono travelled to Australia this week, visiting Perth, Melbourne and Canberra (Jakarta Post).
• Boediono joined Prime Minister Tony Abbott in launching the new Australia-Indonesia Centre at Parliament House in Canberra.
• The Vice President also extended praise to AIYA during his visit. Terima kasih, Pak Boed!
• Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Hatta Rajasa, announced plans to open up of Rp380 trillion (A$35 billion ) of infrastructure projects to public-private partnerships (Jakarta Post).
• Indonesia’s central bank continues efforts to keep foreign capital in the country, hiking its benchmark interest rate to 7.5% (Wall Street Journal).
• Garuda Indonesia aspires to double its fleet by 2025 (Jakarta Globe) as demand for cheap flights continues to grow and grow (Financial Times/@benjaminbland)
• @BenjaminBland also reports on the Riady family’s efforts to break into Indonesia’s underdeveloped cinema market.
• TEMPO has a story on how farmers in Sumba are seeing benefits from diversifying their harvest (subscription required).

For your entertainment

• Watch the video of the CAUSINDY 2013 Political and Economic Update.
• The FT travel section went off the beaten track to showcase the beautiful island of Flores.
• Whiteboard Journal (@wjournal) has an interview one of Indonesia’s most celebrated architects, Andra Matin.
• We’re loving some of the music podcasts hosted by @wjournal. Here’s the first episode of ‘Irama Nusantara’, a collection of retro Indonesian pop music created by producer and writer David Tarigan.
• Take a look at the inaugural issue of the International Journal of Indonesian Studies, ‘a new online, inter-disciplinary journal dedicated to the publication and promotion of early career researchers from Indonesia’.

Events

• Get your free tickets for the official launch of AIYA Victoria, which will be held in Melbourne on 22 November.