Sahabat AIYA Bede Moore, Karina Akib and Sheila Hie were participants in this year’s Australia-Indonesia Youth Dialogue, held this week in Jakarta.

The Jakarta Globe has a brief wrap-up, including an interview with WA chapter president Natrisha Barnett, who took part as part of the delegation from the Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange program:

“We lived in low-socioeconomic areas, facilitated a community development program, engaged with local businesses and organizations as part of a work placement, and lived with Indonesian families to develop a stronger understanding of the culture,” said Natrisha [Barnett], a participant from Perth, Western Australia.

[Barnett] said that each participant had grown as a result of their experiences adapting to their new surroundings and living and working in a cross-cultural environment.

Radio Australia also reported on the story in Indonesian, with a particular emphasis on the participant’s backgrounds and experiences:

Para pemuda ini juga berbagi pengalamannya selama program pertukaran berlangsung.

Shannon Bergman, mahasiswa dari kota Brisbane, negara bagian Queensland, yang pernah tinggal selama dua bulan di daerah terpencil Waduk Sumo di Jogja dan Jawa Tengah, dalam program pertukaran menyatakan dialog ini bakal berguna untuk membangun persahabatan dan masa depan kedua negara.

Shannon yang mengaku baru pertama kali keluar negeri dan berkunjung ke Indonesia juga menyatakan dialog mendalam sangat diperlukan termasuk mengenalkan soal Australia termasuk mengenalkan bahasa Inggris.

“Waktu tinggal di Waduk Sumo saya sempat mengajak bergabung anak-anak di sana dalam sebuah klub berbahasa inggris dan kita bisa bernyanyi dan berbicara tentang kebudayaan yang sangat berbeda,” katanya.