Dear AIYA members, followers and friends,

Selamat tahun baru dan selamat Hari Australia! Thank you to everyone for your ongoing support of AIYA throughout 2015. This letter provides an update on some of AIYA’s achievements over the past year.

Amongst the ups and downs of the Australia-Indonesia bilateral relationship in 2015, AIYA continued to strive towards strengthening people-to-people links between young Australians and Indonesians via our various events and initiatives. 2015 saw a ‘new guard’ of executives move into roles within the AIYA Executive Committee, and we are committed to continue to build and strengthen AIYA in 2016.

Notably, last year saw the 3rd annual Conference of Australian and Indonesian Youth (CAUSINDY) take place in Darwin. Delegates gained increased exposure to the opportunities that exist in northern Australia, as well as to the fascinating history of the relationship between indigenous Australians and Indonesians. In addition, the incredible success of the inaugural National Australia Indonesia Language Awards (NAILA) and the positive response from applicants and supporters are a testament to the passion for Bahasa Indonesia that exists within the organisational committee and amongst AIYA members. Bahasa Indonesia is the gateway through which Australians can obtain a deeper understanding of Indonesia, and we believe that NAILA goes a long way to promoting the value of those language skills.

AIYA now has a chapter-level presence in every state and territory of Australia as well as in Jakarta, Yogyakarta and Nusa Tenggara Timur. I am now very proud to announce that over the coming weeks and months, our latest chapter will be launching in West Java! This represents our increased focus on expanding our reach and networks across new parts of Indonesia. Stay tuned for more details shortly.

We have also now rolled out an online membership portal, and our communications team in particular have done a fantastic job of curating diverse and relevant material for our readership on the AIYA blog and weekly AIYA links mail out (which you can sign up for here).

I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce AIYA’s esteemed Advisory Board. AIYA is mentored by the brightest minds on the Australia-Indonesia relationship, and we are very fortunate to be able to rely on their support and advice as we grow the organisation and develop new partnerships.

Throughout 2016, AIYA will continue to deliver on our aim to ‘inform, connect and inspire’ young people across Australia and Indonesia to engage in the bilateral relationship and to seek new and exciting opportunities in the Australia-Indonesia space. Our chapters will provide a range of social, cultural, education and career-oriented events, kicking off with AIYA WA’s hosting of the musicians from Jalanan in Fremantle as part of the Fringe World Festival. We will also be launching a new website, and our flagship initiatives will see a bigger and broader NAILA, as well as another fantastic Indonesia-bound CAUSINDY.

In light of the recent bombing incidents in Jakarta, AIYA has an increasingly important role to play in sharing the good news of Indonesia with Australians and to encourage increased cooperation and mutual understanding. The incredible resilience of the Indonesian people has shone through in the aftermath of the violent incidents, particularly with the prevalence of social media campaigns and action from civil society, as well as the positive response from President Joko Widodo.

If you have any questions about AIYA and our plans for 2016, please let me know via email at [email protected].

Salam semangat,

Nicholas Mark

President – AIYA National

Indonesia is a country well known for its ability to embrace different religions. Clarissa Tanurahardja writes about the beauty of religious pluralism and why it is something to celebrate.

Borobudur Temple located in Central Java is the world’s largest Buddhist temple. Photo: http://www.kiostix.com/

In Indonesia, the constitution ensures that each of its citizens has the freedom of worship, according to his or her own belief or religion. It recognises six religions: Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism.

Personally, I believe each religion is good and by learning each life lesson from different religions it makes me appreciate the diverse way of people in honoring God. I love Indonesia’s philosophy of “Unity in Diversity” (Bhinneka Tunggal Ika) and the beauty of pluralism that it teaches.

Although the majority of Indonesians are Muslims, we can see the influence of European and Dutch colonialism through the presence of Christianity in Indonesia, around 23 million people are Christians.

Growing up as Catholic in Indonesia, I love the principles of Christmas spirit to share happiness through caring with others as your own family, and I believe in saying that Pope Francis said, “Choose the ‘more humble’ purchase . Certainly, possessions, money, and power can give a momentary thrill, the illusion of being happy, but they end up possessing us and making us always want to have more, never satisfied. ‘Put on Christ’ in your life, place your trust in him, and you will never be disappointed.”

Santo Josef Cathedral located in South Pontianak is the largest Catholic Church in Indonesia. Photo: Tim Flicker

After the fall of Suharto, Indonesia’s second President, between 1998 and 2004, Indonesia encountered numerous incidents of violence, which were labeled as “religious conflicts”. Despite that, these conflicts couldn’t be categorised as religious only because the impact of Suharto’s fall in New Order era had caused strong competition for social, political, and economic power within the region and also amongst group that share same religion. However, nowadays in Indonesia, most Muslims and Christians in Indonesia live in social harmony.

Besides Islam and Christianity, Hinduism is the third largest religion in Indonesia, which is comprised of four million people. The majority of the Indonesia’s Hindu society resides on the island of Bali.

Another important religion in Indonesia is Buddhism, which is the second oldest religion in Indonesia, which arrived in the 6^th century during the period of trading on the silk road amongst Indonesia and India. The Borobudur temple, which is the largest and the oldest Buddhist temple in the world is located in Central Java and categorised as UNESCO World Heritage site.

In conclusion, Indonesia has evolved and moving positively towards religious pluralism, despite many challenges in the past. As Mr. Joko Widodo said in his speech during Christmas celebration in 2015, “Christmas reminds us to bring fundamental changes in living as Indonesian society. We need Indonesian citizens who are independent, dedicated in implementing the good values of religions, having good manners, and having high level of tolerance and open-mindedness between one another.”

Australia Indonesia Association (AIA) has initiated a national program of annual awards to recognise and honour Australians and Indonesians who have made significant contributions to the greater understanding and friendship between Indonesians and Australians. 

We are excited to announce that under the Business category, Bede Moore, the co-founder of CAUSINDY (Conference of Australian and Indonesian Youth) is a deserving finalist. CAUSINDY has now been running for three years, and during that period Bede has raised more than $250k in funding to enable 90 young leaders to travel to Canberra (2013), Jakarta (2014) and Darwin (2015) to engage with senior leaders and discuss key issues in the relationship.

Bede has also co-founded Lazada Indonesia, which is now the largest eCommerce company in the country. With his wife he has since founded their own company, Paraplou Group. Bede and Susie have managed to boot-strap a successful start-up, build a team of 60 people, raise $1.7m in one of the biggest tech deals in Indonesia last year.

Semoga sukses, Bede!

We will find out who the winners are at the Awards Presentation Night on 12 March 2016.

Eligibility criteria includes:

• A member of the main production staff (Director, Producer, or Actor) must be Indonesian
• The film incorporates Indonesian language or culture
• Must contain Indonesian dialogue or narration
• English subtitles must be included in the film
• Running time maximum 20 minutes, including title and credits

Please click here for T&C’s and more information.

With the entry submissions free of charge – what are you waiting for?

We are proud to announce that AIYA members will be able to receive discounted tickets to the Film Festival, which will be running from 14th-23rd April! Further details to come soon.

The National Australia Indonesia Language Awards (NAILA) celebrated its inaugural year with an Awards Ceremony and Networking Weekend in Melbourne on 20 – 21 November. Allens hosted the Awards Ceremony on Friday 20 November, with Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen showing of his Bahasa Indonesia in his welcoming remarks, and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Paul Grigson sending their congratulations to all participants via video message.

Photo: Kuntoro Windu

NAILA, an AIYA initiative, aims to reward and foster the development of Indonesian language learning in Australia at all levels through a national speech competition. In its inaugural year, NAILA received over seventy entries across all awards categories – Primary, Junior, Middle School, Senior, Tertiary, Executive and Wild Card – from all over Australia. Entries ranged from “Introduce yourself to a new Indonesian friend” (Primary), to discussions on Indonesian culture and the benefits of learning Indonesian language (Senior), to original songs and an introduction to Balinese dance (Wild Card). Videos of the inaugural awardees will be uploaded to the NAILA website soon.

Photo: Kuntoro Windu

As Indonesian language learning continues to decline in Australia, NAILA hopes to incentivize language learning and reward high-level proficiency to encourage deeper communication, respect and understanding between our two nations.

Speaking at the Awards Ceremony, Chris Bowen warned that it would be an “irreversible national scandal” if Australia allowed Indonesian studies to cease in this country. The federal shadow treasurer spoke on the “paradox of proximity” putting forth the question: “Can any one name me two countries, anywhere in the world, so close geographically and so different culturally?” Australia and Indonesia are close in proximity, yet so divergent culturally. The study of Indonesian language, Bowen argued, is an important part of improving the bilateral relationship and achieving greater understanding between our two countries. Paul Grigson, Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, echoed this sentiment in a video message: “nothing is more important for cultural understanding than language.”

Dr Dwi Noverini Djenar, Chair of the Department of Indonesian Studies at The University of Sydney, spoke on her experiences as a NAILA judge and how she was blown away with the quality of the entries. Dr Djenar also highlighted the significance of Indonesian language study, but also the importance of having fun and enjoying the language.

Photo: Kuntoro Windu

The Awards Ceremony was concluded with remarks from Foreign Minister Julie Bishop: initiatives such as NAILA “will lead to a better understanding of our place in the world and develop new perspectives, new insights, new skills and new ideas that will build Australia’s productivity and our prosperity.”

Photo: Kuntoro Windu

On Saturday 21 November awardees met with Andre Omer Siregar, Indonesian Consul in the Northern Territory and one of the NAILA judges, who flew down from Darwin to meet with the award holders. He highlighted the importance of cultural exchange and people-to-people links.

This was followed by lunch at the Indonesian Consulate in Melbourne and a poetry reading with the Jembatan Poetry Society. NAILA participants had the opportunity to absorb readings and presentations by expert performers as well as share their own Indonesian language skills, including musical performances by NAILA Executive Awardee John Cheong Holdaway (performing Iwan Fal’s “Bento”) and a traditional Balinese dance performance and lesson by Wild Card Awardee, Jane Ahlstrand.

Photo: Kuntoro Windu

The weekend concluded with a dinner for the awardees, their families and the NAILA team.

Congratulations to all the participants of the inaugural National Australia Indonesia Language Awards!

Photo: Kuntoro Windu

NAILA is supported by The Australia-Indonesia Centre (Gold Sponsor), The Australia-Indonesia Institute, Allens, Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne, The University of Sydney’s Sydney Southeast Asia Centre, Cladtek, La Trobe University, Deakin University, The Asia Education Foundation, The Australian Consortium for ‘In-Country’ Indonesian Studies (ACICIS) and Asialink.