The below is a letter from AIYA President Nicholas Mark, announcing the publication of the AIYA Annual and wishing you all a fantastic festive season.

Dear AIYA Members, friends and followers,

The extended AIYA team has had an incredibly busy year and it is a privilege to see the growth and success of our various activities and initiatives.

Amid the constant stream of social media updates from AIYA’s various chapters and initiatives, it is easy to miss some of the fantastic things going on and the variety of innovative ways that Australian and Indonesian youth are working together to strengthen the ties between our two countries and to provide opportunities to learn about both countries’ history, cultures and current affairs.

This inaugural edition of the AIYA Annual (click the image or the link to download) provides an opportunity to showcase the diverse range of engaging activities and initiatives that you may have missed during the year. You will find updates from our Chapters around Australia and Indonesia, which have been involved in everything from batik competitions and traditional dance, to debates and career champion speaker sessions.

The past 12 months have seen many AIYA achievements. To name a few:

  • We ran the second NAILA program, which reached a growing audience and introduced new competition categories.
  • We launched our Jawa Barat Chapter.
  • We conducted the 2016 Members Survey and recently released the 2016 Survey Report.
  • We introduced an online membership platform.
  • We grew our fantastic team of communications officers, who have boosted AIYA’s social media presence and built up the AIYA Blog – which has now published over 500 posts!

The AIYA team is dedicated to improving cultural understanding between the people of Australia and Indonesia and it is an honour to be part of such a passionate and driven group of people. The Chapter Presidents and their committees continue to impress with their wide range of activities, and none of it would be possible without the commitment of these wonderful volunteers.

I would like to extend my gratitude and congratulations to all those involved with AIYA in 2016, with a special mention to the Chief Editor of the AIYA Annual, Iona Main, and the publication’s brilliant designer, Hafizah Juzril.

Selamat membaca and we wish you a sehat dan seru festive season. We look forward to seeing you in 2017!

Salam semangat,

Nicholas Mark

AIYA National Executive Committee 2016. Photo: AIYA National