Season’s Greetings from AIYA! 2017 was a big year at AIYA – check out highlights in our fifth year of operations and the semangat spirit from the team with a mission to connect, inform and inspire young Australians and Indonesians.

In the news

  • Earlier this week, a powerful earthquake that struck the Indonesian island of Java has killed at least three people and caused damage to hundreds of buildings.

  • Is Australian business missing out on opportunities in the rapidly-expanding Indonesian fintech market? Australia-Indonesia Centre speaks to Indonesian fintech experts about fintech innovation opportunities in Australia and Indonesia

  • Islamic leaders have objected to the Indonesian Constitutional Court’s decision to allow citizens to identify as followers of indigenous faiths on ID cards. Azis Anwar Fachrudin argues that their position is at odds with Indonesian law.

  • Speaking of Islamic leaders, Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab is Indonesia’s most prominent ‘Habib’. Ahmad Syarif Syechbubakr traces the origins of the Habib in Indonesia and examines their influence over contemporary Jakarta politics.

  • Maria Farida Indrati is Indonesia’s first and only female constitutional justice. As her term is up next year, this could be a setback for women’s rights in a country where they’re being challenged in the face of growing religious conservatism.

  • Indonesia’s Constitutional Court narrowly rejected a petition asking it to criminalize all sex outside marriage, in a blow to religious conservatives who have been gaining influence in the secular, Muslim-majority country. Read more at the New York Times here and an analysis of the ruling by Hendri Yulius here.

  • Meet iRob, a chatbot by The Indigenous Education Foundation that aims to save Mentawai Tribe of Indonesia.

On the blog

Opportunities

  • Check out the applications for Hamer Scholarships next year! The scholarships offer the opportunity for language study and cultural engagement with dynamic markets such as Indonesia. The scholarships offer the opportunity for language study and cultural engagement with dynamic markets such as Indonesia.
  • Learning a language? Get Indonesian & English language help with UniBRIDGE Project.

Like what we do? Learn more about what AIYA membership can offer and sign up as a member today.