Indonesian Teachers Visit Australia to Build BRIDGE of Learning and Friendship

The Australian Embassy’s Minister Counsellor, Michael Bliss, will tonight host a reception to welcome back 29 Indonesian teachers who have just returned from a three-week visit to Australia. They are the second Indonesian group this year to have taken part in a new education initiative to build partnerships between Australian and Indonesian schools.

“I am confident the teachers have made the most of this unique opportunity to develop their professional skills and exchange knowledge and experiences with their Australian counterparts,” the Minister Counsellor said.

The ground-breaking BRIDGE Project - Building Relations through Intercultural Dialogue and Growing Engagement - was announced by the Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stephen Smith, during his visit to Indonesia in August 2008.

During the three-year project, ninety teachers from forty Indonesian schools will visit Australia to forge ongoing relationships between schools in both countries. The schools located in Bali, East Java, South Sulawesi, West Nusa Tenggara and West Kalimantan, include several funded through the Australia-Indonesia Partnership project to build 2000 junior secondary colleges in Indonesia.

Initiated by the Australia-Indonesia Institute (AII), the schools partnership project is funded by The Myer Foundation and the Australian Government, through AusAID. The Asia Education Foundation at University of Melbourne is delivering the program with Australian Education International and KangGURU Indonesia.

“The Institute is proud this initiative will strengthen intercultural and educational understanding between Australia and Indonesia, as the core mission of the Institute over the last two decades has been fostering friendship and understanding between our two nations,” said Professor Tim Lindsey, Chair of the AII Board.

Established in 1989 by the Australian Government to promote bilateral people-to-people links, the Institute has supported a large number of projects in education the arts, music, youth, civil society, inter-faith, Australian Studies, media and sport.

Media inquiries:
Sanchi Davis (Cultural Attache) mobile 0811 936 302