Australia-Indonesia youth partnership grows

Young Australians and Indonesians met in Jakarta today to explore how they can help enrich the people-to-people relationship between Australia and Indonesia.

The 60 young people with an interest in the bilateral relationship attended the Australia Indonesia Youth Dialogue at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Greg Moriarty said the day-long dialogue played an important role in enriching and broadening the Australia-Indonesia relationship.

“The youth dialogue provides an opportunity to exchange views, share experiences and reflect together on intercultural relations based on participants’ recent experience in Indonesia or in Australia,” Mr Moriarty said.

“The dialogue provides an opportunity to develop practical ideas for strengthening people-to-people links between Australia and Indonesia and enables these young people to discuss how they can contribute to the growth of the Australia-Indonesia relationship – both as individuals and as a group.

“It is important that our nations share personal connections that can become the building blocks of future cooperation,” he said.

The attendees comprised of participants in this year’s Australia Indonesia Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP), representatives from the Australia Indonesia Youth Association, and university students from Australia currently on work placements in Jakarta as part of the Australian Consortium for In-Country Indonesian Studies (ACICIS) program.

“Much work is already being done across many areas of the bilateral relationship, including in education, media, civil society, interfaith and arts and culture. It’s important that these young people have the chance to be heard and are encouraged to continue their engagement with the other country,” said Mr Moriarty.

This is the second time the Australia Indonesia Youth Dialogue has been held. The event is funded by the Australia Indonesia Institute, which is this year celebrating its 25th anniversary.

“As we mark 25 years of the Australia Indonesia Institute, it is a great time to reflect on all that has been done to deepen mutual understanding and broaden connections between our two nation and to plan how we will build on these successes,” Mr Moriarty said.

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