Media Release
7 February 2024
The Australian Embassy in Indonesia, together with the Indonesian Embassy in Australia, launched the Indonesian Language Learning Ambassadors (ILLA) pilot program on 7 February.
The program, announced by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Indonesian President Joko Widodo in July 2023, matches Indonesian Australia Awards university scholars with Australian schools for language and cross-cultural learning opportunities.
Through the ILLA program, Australian school students have the opportunity to learn about Indonesian culture and enhance their Indonesian language skills. Indonesian scholars in Australia have the opportunity to engage with Australian school students and teachers, developing their leadership skills and building connections with the local community.
Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Penny Williams PSM said, "The ILLA program is a terrific way to promote Indonesian language-learning in Australian schools, by building connections between Indonesian scholars and Australian school students. It is these sorts of personal connections that underpin the strong relationship between the people of Australia and Indonesia”.
The initial ILLA pilot will place ten Indonesian Australia Awards scholars in six schools. The program will expand later in 2024 to match scholars with Australian universities, to support Indonesian language and culture learning. A previous version of ILLA ran from 2017 until 2019.
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