Former President Megawati Soekarnoputri and former Prime Minister Julia Gillard are prime examples of women who have held the most powerful positions in Indonesia and Australia.

This should represent progress in gender equality, but discrimination against women is still alive and well in both countries.

In the spirit of 2017 and the radical Women’s March movement, we think it is fitting to begin our series with a discussion about ‘Women and Power’.

Our guests, Fitri Bintang Timur and Jane Ahlstrand, will discuss the role of Australian and Indonesian women in defence and politics.

Fitri is a defence and security researcher that specialises in women's participation in UN peacekeeping operation. She works with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and heads her business, Astronaut Technology, a software company that eases recruitment processes in Asia. Fitri is a 2014 CAUSINDY delegate.

Jane Ahlstrand is a Balinese dancer who teaches dancing. She's also a PHD candidate at the University of Queensland working on her thesis about women in politics in Indonesia. Jane is a 2016 CAUSINDY delegate.

1. Women and Power with Fitri Bintang Timur & Jane Ahlstrand

Australia and Indonesia relations began way back, as early as the 1600s with extensive interactions between Indigenous Australians and Macassan people from Eastern part of Indonesia.

From then on a deep cultural ancestral connection between Macassan people and the Yolngu indigenous community has grown. 

This can be seen today in Yirrkala batik whose motive was initially created by Aboriginal Australian artist, Naw-u-rapu Wu-nung-murra.

In this episode we will explore how the beautiful colours and patterns of batik are a strong link between our two countries.

Our guests, Wayan Jarrah Sastrawan and Marlisa Soepeno, will discuss Indonesian and Australian Batiks that share deep connection. 

Jarrah is a Balinese-Australian and lecturer at the University of Sydney. His research interests include the traditional historiography of Southeast Asia, as well as the 20th century history, modern literature and regional popular music of Indonesia.

Marlisa is is an Indonesian diplomat and an interpreter for President Jokowi. She is a collector of traditional hand-woven fabrics. 

Both Marlisa and Jarrah are 2015 CAUSINDY alumni.

2. The Batik Link with Marlisa Soepeno & Jarrah Sastrawan

Our climate is rapidly changing and though we may feel our individual environmental footprints are insignificant, the choices we make in our day-to-day life collectively contribute to climate change.

One way we can attempt to reduce our carbon footprint is by living more sustainably and this involves changing the way we get around, consume energy and eat. 

Environmental activists in Australia, Indonesia and around the world are in a race to promote sustainable living as a means to combat climate change.

In this episode our guests Lia Zakiyyah and Stephanie Arrowsmith will talk about the importance of young people as drivers of change and how Australia and Indonesia can collaborate to promote sustainability.

Lia is serving as a communication specialist for the President’s Special Envoy on Climate Change. She has been involved in various initiatives in national and regional level, both as organiser or speaker, mainly related to environment, climate change, and entrepreneurship.

Stephanie is co-founder of Impact Hub Jakarta, a coworking community and innovation hub for purpose-driven startups and partner at VSS - Vision Strategy Storytelling, a consultancy focused on crafting and sharing powerful stories of visionary companies.

Both Lia and Stephanie are CAUSINDY 2016 alumni.

3. Sustainable Living with Lia Zakiyyah & Stephanie Arrowsmith

In the midst of globalisation and the digital era, the ability to write and to speak a second language has become an unwritten requirement for anyone who seeks to have global competency.

The thing is creative writing and foreign language learning are not popular subjects among students, the future generation of the world, including of Indonesia and Australia.

How can Australian and Indonesian students grasp the significance of writing and foreign language learning? 

This time, we present to you an episode on teaching future leaders the importance of creative writing and foreign language learning.

Our guests, Aqmarina Andira and Rebecca Gregory, will discuss the importance of the two subjects for young people in the respective countries and also share their joint literacy project. 

Aqmarina is a founder of Rumah Cerita, a volunteer community that conducts creative writing workshop for children and teenagers in Jakarta.

Rebecca Gregory is an Indonesian language teacher who teaches primary school students in the outskirt of Melbourne. She speaks several languages and fell in love with Indonesia since quite young age. Both Aqmarina and Rebecca are 2015 CAUSINDY alumni.

4. Creative Language Learning with Rebecca Gregory & Aqmarina Andria

The scale and pace of innovation in Australia and Indonesia often clashes with regulation. 

Healthy competition can be beneficial to the ecosystem but growth can also pose a risk to consumers if not regulated properly. 

Jeff Garzik - one of Bitcoin’s most respected developers - said, rigid regulation will only be a “catalyst for change that creates a new different world.”

In this episode, Jared Heath & Aditya Tumakaka, who have experience working as lawyers in both Australia and Indonesia, talking about striking the right balance between innovation and regulation.

Jared is a Partner at Corrs Chambers Westgarth with a wealth of government advisory experience.

Adit is a corporate lawyer and Juris Doctor graduate from University of Melbourne.

Jared and Adit are CAUSINDY 2014 delegates.

5. Regulation and Innovation with Jared Heath & Aditya Tumakaka

There is no doubt that Indonesia, with over 17,000 islands stretched across a vast archipelago, is a complex country. And not far away is Australia, a large continent equally rich in natural resources. But they say there are no two neighbours in the world as different as Australia and Indonesia and we’d like to help bridge the gap. 

Join international affairs enthusiasts Nurina Savitri and Samantha Yap to chat about a diverse range of topics that shape the politics, culture and society in Australia and Indonesia. 

Each fortnight this podcast will present to you in-depth discussions with two emerging leaders from various sectors such as government, academia to social enterprise who have an expert knowledge on issues faced by Indonesia and Australia. 

The host and guests in this series are a part of the growing CAUSINDY (originally the Conference of Australian and Indonesian Youth) alumni group. CAUSINDY is a bilateral youth organisation which aims to strengthen Australia and Indonesia ties.

Aus-Indo in 30 is supported via the CAUSINDY Alumni Grant scheme. In turn, CAUSINDY is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia-Indonesia Institute of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Logo designed by Kreavi.

Aus-Indo in 30

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