Photo: Mongabay

Indonesia’s Lake Poso, an evolutionary ‘gem’ threatened by a dam. Opponents of the dam fear dredging for the project threatens both biodiversity and traditional fishing practices.

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In the news

  • Will 2020 be Indonesia’s third ‘Year of Living Dangerously? Doran gives an analysis as to why the pandemic will be a historical landmark in Indonesia. (The Diplomat)
  • The pandemic has separated families who live across various borders. Hear the story of migrant workers and international students stuck in Australia who are looking down the barrel of many months before seeing their families. (ABC Australia)
  • Jakarta has entered a lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19. The city has seen a sharp rise in burials within the last month, and fears are growing sharply over concerns of undetected cases as this Guardian article discusses. (The Guardian).  
  • On the back of the ratification of IA-CEPA, COVID-19 have tested Australia’s relations with Indonesia. The Australian government are set to make a decision on whether it should help its neighbor as Indonesia’s economy is faced to experience a sharp economic downturn. (The Canberra Times) 
  • It seems Kampung Kepuh in Java have employed an intriguing way to make sure that its people are heeding the isolation advice, with volunteers dressing as pocong, a ghostly figure, to patrol the streets at night. Serem ih! (BBC)
  • Learn more about Indonesian singer, Kai Mata. She is here to show some love to a community that is beset by persecution and discrimination. Read her story where she talks candidly about her experience growing up in the US, coming into Indonesia, being a musician and dealing with social media. (Magdalene) 

In the blog

  • Snakes at a Melbourne zoo are doing aqua-aerobics so they don’t get fat. The zoo’s installed what they believe to be the world’s first “hydro-gym.” Check it out here. 

Events

AIYA x  UniBRIDGE Online Language Exchange (‘FLEX’)

AIYA is proud to present a new online version of our classic Language Exchange program for its members – Flexible Language Exchange or FLEX. This program will be run in partnership with our friends from the UniBRIDGE Project, and it will start this Sunday (timetable below).

AIYA dengan bangga mempersembahkan versi online dari program Language Exchange untuk member kami, ‘Flexible Language Exchange’ atau ‘FLEX.’ Program ini akan dijalankan dengan mitra dan kawan kami, UniBRIDGE Project, dan akan dimulai hari Minggu ini (jadwal dibawah)

Sunday/Minggu – 1:00pm WIB / 2:00pm WITA  / 4:00pm AEST

Wednesday/Rabu – 4:00pm WIB / 5:00pm WITA / 7:00pm AEST

Thursday/Kamis – 7:00pm WIB / 8:00pm WITA / 10:00pm AEST

  • AIA Cocktails via Zoom, 18 April – The Australia Indonesia Association have booked a Zoom session for Saturday 18 April at 6:30pm (AEST). Enjoy your beer, wine, spirits, mocktails, whiskey Jawa or other beverage of choice. You may even have some Indonesian snacks. If you would like an invitation please book and they will send you the Zoom invitation. Spaces are limited! Ayo!
  • Online Scholarship Information Night, 23 April – Join AIYA Jawa Barat to find out what scholarship opportunities are available, including the New Colombo Plan and Australia Awards. The session will be on their instagram @aiya_jawa_barat – keep your eyes peeled for it!
  • Indomie Challenge – Unleash your inner creativity as we challenge you to make the fanciest, funkiest Indomie meal! AIYA ACT has challenged the community to enter the kitchen and funk up your indomie meals. Take a photo and post it on instagram, tag @aiya_national and @aiya_act and #AIYAindomiechallenge to see your indomie featured on our social media pages.
  • Martabak Vegemite – COVID-19 isolation has left you wondering what to do? Fear not, AIYA Victoria has got you covered for your entertainment! Every fortnight on Wednesday, AIYA Victoria will release a video on various topics. Check out this week’s!
  • Indonesia Project Global Seminar – ANU’s Indonesia Project are bringing you a weekly series of seminars right to your living room. Join in for live discussions or surf through the archives of previous seminars here. 
  • AIYA National have written a letter to AIYA members and supporters on the status of Covid-19 and its impact for AIYA events and the current status of travel restrictions for Australian and Indonesian citizens. Read it here – Bahasa Indonesia and English.

COVID-19 support

  • AIYA is aware that some of our members may be going through difficulties due to the circumstances of the pandemic. Please find a list of support packages that you may be eligible for.

Opportunities

  • Stay tuned! The ReelOzInd! 2020 Competition is now accepting entries until 1 August. The competition theme this year is energi/energy. Understandably, many filmmakers may be limited in some ways, but hopefully isolation can provide the perfect opportunity for your creativity to flourish! Find the Call for Submissions Trailer on YouTube here.
  • Do you want to be a leader in your field and join an inspiring network of changemakers? Apply today for the Australia Awards Postgraduate Scholarships (open to Indonesian nationals) and gain a world-class education and become a leader for development. Deadline has been extended until 30 June 2020.
  • Have you got some stories to share about Southeast Asia? The Sydney Southeast Asia Centre (SSEAC) want to hear your pitches – original contributions that haven’t been published in other media. Right now, they’re especially calling for authors living in SE Asia to submit their tales of life in times of coronavirus. Read more here.
  • ACICIS is inviting all of its alumni to join the all-new alumni platform. It is packed with new features such as alumni directory, jobs and opportunities page, events page, interest-group pages, as well as other exciting features that will be added regularly. To sign-up, please visit their alumni website here.
  • Inside Indonesia publishes original pieces on a wide range of political, social, environmental and cultural issues in Indonesia. They accept articles from a diverse range of people who have an interest in Indonesia. To find out how to contribute, click here.

Like what we do? Want to join or support your local chapter to contribute to our exciting activities? Sign up as an AIYA member today!