Media Release

18 December 2007

Seeking Outstanding Indonesian Alumni – Award Nominations Open

Nominations open today for the 2008 Australian Alumni Awards, the first of what will be an annual event to celebrate the outstanding talent and achievements of Indonesians who have studied in Australia.

Australia’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer, said the Awards recognised the significant contribution Indonesian alumni of Australian educational institutions made to their community on their return to Indonesia.

“The Australian Alumni Awards are an excellent way to celebrate their success,” Farmer said. “We are very proud of the more than 30,000 Indonesians who have studied in Australian schools, universities and vocational training colleges. Anyone can nominate an alumnus for one of these awards and I encourage people to submit nominations and help us reward some of Indonesia’s highest achievers.”

The Award winners will be announced at the inaugural Australian Alumni Awards Dinner in Jakarta on Saturday 16 February 2008. Nominations are now open for the seven awards categories:

• Australian Alumni Award for Entrepreneurship;
• Australian Alumni Award for Sustainable Economic and Social Development;
• Australian Alumni Award for Research and Innovation;
• Australian Alumni Award for Business Leadership;
• Australian Alumni Award for Culture and Arts;
• Australian Alumni Award for Creativity and Design; and
• Australian Alumni Award for Journalism and the Media.

Nominations for the awards can be made online by members of the public in Indonesia and Australia. Alumni do not have to be working in the particular discipline from which they graduated, but it is essential to display an on-going high level of achievement in the award category. Nominees must have studied in Australia for at least 12 months. More information on the awards and online nomination forms can be obtained from www.ozmate.org.

The Awards Dinner is open to Australian alumni who are OzMate members. For alumni who are not yet members of OzMate, they can sign up free via: www.ozmate.org.

Further information:
John Williams (Counsellor Public Affairs) Tel. (021) 2550 5290 mob. 0812 1053 989