Media Release
23 October 2023
Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Penny Williams PSM opened the panel discussion ‘Enduring Connections: Celebrating Australia-Indonesia Friendship’ on Saturday 21 October at Ubud Writers & Readers Festival 2023 (UWRF).
The panel featured an impressive line-up including Janet DeNeefe - founder and director of UWRF, Riri Riza – award winning film director, Elena Williams - board member Australia-Indonesia Institute and educator, Abdi Karya - internationally acclaimed artist, and Dr. Kirrilee Hughes - education consultant and researcher.
The audience enjoyed a lively discussion on what it means for Australia and Indonesia to be close neighbours and how both countries maintain strong ties. Touching on the long-shared history, including as far back as Makassan and Yolŋu peoples trading with each other and more recent examples such as New Colombo Plan students and Australia Award recipients, and demonstrating that people-to-people relationships are at the heart of our story.
Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Penny Williams PSM, said the festival is a wonderful example of strengthening mutual understanding between Australia and Indonesia.
“I am pleased the Australian Government continues to support UWRF as a cross-cultural platform to build inter-cultural understanding and long-term links between Australian and Indonesian literary communities,” she said.
This year’s marks the 20th anniversary of Ubud Writers & Readers Festival (UWRF). The festival continues to attract an array of Australian talent, including fiction and nonfiction authors, poets, arts managers, industry leaders and academics.
"For the last two decades, the festival has become a vessel to celebrate the quality and diversity of writers in both countries,” Ambassador Williams said.
The Australian Embassy in Jakarta and the Australian Consulate-General in Bali have been proud supporters of the festival since the inaugural event in 2004.
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Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kedubesaustralia/albums/72177720312124185/with/53278016632/