Essay writing competition on Australia-Indonesia relations launched

The competition invites senior high school and undergraduate students to write about the relationship between Australia and Indonesia, emphasising the themes of cultural diversity and democracy.

"As neighbors, we need to build strong people-to-people links.As two democracies living side-by-side, we need open discussion, critical thinking and a better understanding of each other," Farmer said.

"This includes knowledge of how much we have in common as two democratic countries, based on diversity," he added.

Farmer said both the Australian and Indonesian Governments recognized the importance of building better people-to-people links.

Farmer said the program was reflected in the Lombok Treaty, which listed `Community Understanding and People-to-People Cooperation` as an area for ongoing work.`

"I would like to thank CIR for ...