Darwin is the closest capital city of Australia to Indonesia. It is only a two-hour flight from Darwin to Bali and there has always been a strong connection between the people of the Northern Territory and Indonesia. This strong history is represented by the trade between the Makassar people with Aboriginal people in Arnhem Land all the way back before English settlement in Australia. It is therefore a duty of all Territorians to ensure a positive relationship between Indonesia and the Northern Territory.

AIYA NT President, Max Stretton, bringing the innovative discussions with the community involved.

We held our flagship event on 30 October 2018, Ideasfest-Indonesia, it was a great success with a solid attendance by the Darwin community and real discussion about some of the issues in the Indonesia-Australia relationship.

Attendees after the event networking and discussing some ideas from the presentations.

Ideasfest-Indonesia was an evening of presentations and activities on the relationship between Indonesia and Australia at the Charles Darwin University Waterfront Campus. Key speakers gave presentations on events, programs and ideas which involve our two countries and was for anyone who had an interest or looking to get involved in the bi-lateral relationship. There was also the opportunity for attendees to get involved with the discussion on potential ideas for the future.

Terry Mills MLA and Colin McDonald QC

The presenters at the event included, PPIA NT, Colin McDonald QC, Superintendent James Stokes from the AFP, Luke Bowen on behalf of the NT Government, Terry Mills MLA, Dr Stephen Miller from Charles Darwin University and Ibu Mila Tarigan, Second Secretary of Economic Affairs on behalf of the Indonesian Consulate in the NT. The general feedback from attendees was that these presentations were highly informative which we hope will lead to future projects to strengthen the relationship.

Ibu Mila Tarigan, Second Secretary of Economic Affairs

This event was a great opportunity for us as a chapter of AIYA to get our name further out there in the community. Some of the attendees at the event included esteemed members of the Darwin community and representatives on behalf of some of Darwin’s major companies. It is our hope that this will lead to further collaboration with other organisations in the NT in the future.

Luke Bowen from the NT Government Department of Trade, Business and Innovation

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Senator Luke Gosling MP and Professor David Low from Charles Darwin University who without their support this event wouldn’t have been possible.