Youth Exchange Participants Arrive in Indonesia

Young people from Australian and Indonesia will this week experience cross-cultural living and working in communities in Yogyakarta and Kulon Progo as the Indonesian component of the 2012 Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP) begins.

Indonesian participants have just returned home from Australia from a two-month home stay and work placement program in Melbourne and Benalla in the state of Victoria.

Australia’s Chargé d’Affaires to Indonesia, Dr David Engel said AIYEP, created new people-to-people links between the two nations.

“This great program will increase the cultural understanding of these young Australians and Indonesians and build lifelong friendships,” Dr Engel said.

The participants will live with host families in the village of Sermo, where they will develop and implement a community development project. They hope to organise interactive cultural performances, lessons and sporting activities with local school children. They will also live with families in Yogyakarta and undertake work placements.

Baskoro Hasantyo Nurpratomo from Yogyakarta and Mellissa Ulfa Rachma Andayani from Central Java enjoyed the first stage of the youth exchange program in Australia.

“It was a fantastic experience. We lived an Australia life. It’s not about who you are or where you are. It’s about how you make the best of every single moment,” Mellissa said.

“It is lovely to see how wonderful Australian society functions and how the Australian Government provides public services for their people,” Baskoro said.

One of the Australian participants, Tarryn Chapman, said she was grateful for the opportunity to improve her Indonesian and to further understand Indonesia.

“I was very excited by the ‘money-can’t-buy’ experiences that AIYEP offers. Host families, work placements and the community development program are all exciting parts of the program, but sharing all of these things with 35 new friends is truly what makes this program so special,” Tarryn said.

The Australia Indonesia Youth Exchange Program is in its 30th year. It is a joint initiative of the Australia-Indonesia Institute and the Indonesian Ministry of Youth and Sport.

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