Media Release
8 February 2018
Young Indonesians and Australians are returning home with new friendships, language skills and cultural insights following this year’s Australia Indonesia Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP).
Eighteen Indonesians aged 21 to 25 undertook a two-month program of work placements and homestays in Sydney and the Hunter region of New South Wales.
They then joined their 18 Australian counterparts in Indonesia and stayed with local families in Bengkulu and the village of Babakan Baru in Rejang Lebong Regency, where they undertook community development projects.
Australian Chargé d'Affaires Allaster Cox said the AIYEP program provided valuable opportunities for young people from Indonesia and Australia to learn about each other’s culture and way of life.
“The Australia-Indonesia relationship is reinforced by the real friendships and insights derived from people-to-people and cultural exchanges like AIYEP,” Mr Cox said.
This is the second time AIYEP has been held in Bengkulu Province. The first time was in 1997.
Now in its 36th year, AIYEP is an annual program promoting people-to-people links between young Indonesians and Australians and is managed by the Australia-Indonesia Institute and the Indonesian Ministry of Youth and Sport.