Media Release
23 April 2018
More than 800 Indonesian graduates from Australian universities attended the Australian Embassy’s “Welcome Home” event for Australian Alumni in Jakarta on Saturday 21 April.
The Australian Embassy Gala Dinner is held annually to acknowledge alumni who have recently returned from studies in Australia. This year’s event fell on Kartini Day and so included a strong focus on women’s empowerment. It featured MCs Patricia Gouw and Ernest Prakasa and a musical performance by Raisa.
At the event, Australian Chargé d’Affaires to Indonesia, Mr Allaster Cox, presented the 2018 Australian Alumni Awards.
“The winners of the 2018 Alumni Awards are four exceptional individuals who have made outstanding achievements in their chosen fields. I’m particularly pleased to congratulate KPK Commissioner Mr Laode Syarif as our Australian Alumni of the Year”, Mr Cox said.
Mr Laode Syarif, a QUT and University of Sydney alumnus, has been a Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) Commissioner since December 2015. He is widely recognised for his contribution to anti-corruption, good governance and environmental law in Indonesia.
Other winners included Mr Andy Zain, a Monash alumnus, who won the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Award. For almost 20 years, Mr Zain has been an entrepreneur, executive and advisor and involved in setting up businesses for several high-growth startups including migme, Vuclip, Deezer, UC Browser, Cekaja, and Qerja. He is the Director of the Jakarta Founder Institute, the Chairman for MobileMonday Indonesia, and initiated Indonesia FinTech Association.
University of Western Australia alumna, Ms Hermina Manlea, won the Outstanding Young Alumni Award. She was the executive producer for an award-winning nationalist film called UNU – about the realities of living in border areas in Indonesia. UNU featured the popular inspiring song “Aku Cinta Negriku”.
Ms Alfonsa Horeng, who completed a fashion course at QUT, won the Promoting Women’s Empowerment Award. She is the Founder/President of Women Weaver’s Cooperatives – groups that use organic materials to preserve and develop Flores Ikat weaving. Her organisation has been credited with empowering 863 women weavers in 17 villages.
Mr Cox said: “I hope the winners’ success stories inspire our other talented alumni to continue to make significant contributions to their organisations, communities and country”.
Find out more about our 2018 Alumni Award Winners.
Media Enquiries:
Ian Gerard 021 25505290