Media Release
3 November 2022
This week marks another great milestone for the Australia-Indonesia BRIDGE (Building Relationships through Intercultural Dialogue and Growing Engagement) School Partnerships program, with 40 teachers from 29 education institutions across 13 Indonesian provinces heading to Australia for training to become BRIDGE teachers.
The Australia-Indonesia BRIDGE School Partnerships program is a school partnership program funded by the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and implemented by the Asia Education Foundation (AEF). The program aims to create sustained, collaborative partnerships between Indonesian and Australian schools and to provide access to new educational knowledge and skills for Indonesian and Australian educators.
“It’s great to see ambitious Indonesian teachers heading to Australia to share experiences and skills with their Australian counterparts,” said Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Penny Williams.
Upon arriving in Sydney, the teachers will continue their journey to their respective Australian school partners which are located across seven states and territories. They will spend time with their partner teachers and experience living in an Australian household through the homestay component of the program.
Ibu Nurwahidah, from SMA Negeri 1 Atambua said, "I hope we can connect and learn together as intended by BRIDGE and build friendship between our two schools, two countries, Australia and Indonesia. I believe our teachers and students will respect each other and build mutual understanding about our respective cultures."
Since 2008, the Australia-Indonesia BRIDGE School Partnerships program has established 210 partnerships (195 schools over 18 provinces in Indonesia and 195 schools over all states and territories in Australia) involving more than 840 teachers.
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