Australia Day 2025 - Unity in diversity

Here is President Joko Widodo's takeaway from his meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Sydney and his visit to Sydney's Taronga Zoo

Source: https://www.sbs.com.au/language/indonesian/en/podcast-episode/joko-widodo/0t78wp0vw

President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese held a press conference after the Australia-Indonesia Annual Leaders' Meeting at Taronga Zoo on 4 July.

Addressing the media, Mr Widodo expressed his appreciation for the host and some of the key points of the fourth formal meeting between the two leaders.

Following the press conference, the two leaders visited the zoo's Sumatran Village.

Twenty children from Pelangi Indonesian School from years 4 to 10 were seen standing in a row to welcome the two countries' leaders in traditional Indonesian attire.

Under the rain, the students, accompanied by their teachers, sang 'Abang Tukang Bakso' in front of the entourage.

The principal of the community language school, Epy Djulianti, said this opportunity was precious and unforgettable for the students.

An 'unforgettable experience' was also finally shared by visitors who wished to greet President Joko Widodo up close.

Having to wait for two hours under the rain, several Indonesians on holiday in Sydney used this rare opportunity to see their President.

https://news.detik.com/berita/d-6805780/jokowi-pm-australia-lihat-harimau-sumatera-diiringi-lagu-abang-tukang-bakso

Other articles :

Presiden Jokowi Dinyanyikan lagu “Abang Tukang Bakso” saat Kunjungi Sumatran Village | tvOne Minute -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECp6WFoisZo

DAY/DATE: Saturday, 21st January 2023

TIME: 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM

Location: Rydges Hotel, 15 Old Menangle Road, Campbelltown, NSW 2560

The Indonesian NSW Association in collaboration with the Indonesian-Australian Families Association of NSW (Indonesia Pelangi School), the Indonesian-Australian Youth Movement (GPIA), and the Indonesian Diaspora Network NSW (IDN NSW) held a Community Appreciation Night event, a Celebration for Recipients of Australian Citizenship, and a Walk in History for Australia Day 2023.

The two events took place on 21 January 2023 at the Rydges Campbelltown Hotel at 6 p.m., while a History Walk took place on 26 January 2023 at 10 a.m. at the Cataract Reservoir. The theme of the event was "Unity in Diversity". Various levels of society attended the event. Such as representatives from various community organizations with various ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious backgrounds.

The event opened with “Acknowledgment of Country” by Aunt Julie Dannevig, one of the Elders in Dharawal Country. She represents the “Dharawal Local Aboriginal Land Council” in her capacity as Chief of Executives. This was followed by singing the Australian national anthem "Advance Australia Fair" by local singer Devina Jatmika. The Honorary President of the NSW Indonesian Association, Mr. Jon Soermarjono, in his speech encouraged the younger generation to continue working together to make Australia a better place for everyone.

The award night event was attended by honourable guests such as The Mayor, The Honourable Philip Ruddock, AO (Hornsby Mayor), The Mayor The Honourable Sarkis Yedelian, OAM (City of Ryde Mayor), DR Stepan Kerkyashian (Deputy Chair of National Australia Day Council), and Consul General Vedi Kurnia Buana (Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia).

The key messages from the speakers are as follows:

1. All of us who become Australians are part of the Australian story of Australian heritage (DR Stepan Kerkyashian)
2. We understand Australia Day is still a challenge to some, but simultaneously on Australia Day we also celebrate diversity. Australia is a great country of diversity (The Honorable Greg Warren MP).
3. Australia Day is a time for us, as Australians, to reflect, honor, and celebrate. In this event, it's our time to recognise the hard work of local heroes and celebrate the new Australian citizenship (The Honorable Sarkis Yedelian, OAM).

The event was filled with art programs, readings, and presentations on the history of Indigenous Australians supported by text and Auslan Services. Dance from Bali “Panji Semirang”, dance from South Sulawesi “Angin Mamiri”, Poco-Poco and Maumere Dance, local singers and collaboration of Didgeridoo music and dance by Aaron Taylor and music and vocal group by Gita Suara Sydney enlivened and warmed up the night that award.

Mrs. Yusran Sipala, one of the Indonesian language teachers at Sekolah Indonesia Pelangi, and her team of 7 children from various ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious backgrounds read the history of indigenous Australians in Campbelltown. The children who participated in reading the history were Nathan (Indonesia), Izzabella (Australia), Yaseen and Taha (Indonesia – Iraq), Arthur (Laos), Savitha (Tamil), and Osman (East Africa). Through this historical reading, participants can learn and find out more about the history of Indigenous Australians in Campbelltown such as the local language and region, local symbols, why we celebrate the Fisher Ghost festival every year in Campbelltown, the Appin monument in the Cataract Reservoir, the origins of the bull cave (Bull Cave), and so on.

Like last year's Australia Day, the history of the relationship between Indigenous Australians in the Northern Territory and Bugis Makassar - Indonesia was also reiterated by Ms. Yusran Sipala. After the historical reading and presentation, the committee held an interactive game with the participants using the KAHOOT application. It's really interesting and provides good stimulation and results, moreover, the committee provides 3x @$75 Coles Vouchers or a total of 6 vouchers for the winners. 2 historical themes are presented.

Australia through its representatives from all Australian states delivered “Reflect. Respect. Celebrate” via video recording. The highlight of the event was led by The Mayor, The Honourable Philip Ruddock, AO. He said that Australia Day was an important event. In these events he reflected on modern Australia. Australia is a large country of diversity.

Every Australian has an equal opportunity to contribute skills, talents and be able to demonstrate to others that we have something to contribute, by everyone and every background. Being Australian doesn't have to forget where we come from and the first language we speak. Symbolically he handed over the Australian flag pin to the recipients of Australian Citizenship from the beginning of 2020 to the end year 2022.

Then he also gave medals to the winners of the 2023 Australia Day Community Award, namely:

1. Mrs. Gustina Dauner, Australia of the Year – Unity in Diversity

2. Yoen Yahya's mother, Senior of the Year – Unity in Diversity

3. Mr. Komran Mangkuwerdojo, Local Hero of the Year – Unity in Diversity

4. Mrs. Waode Sitti Yusran Sipala, Local Hero of the Year – Unity in Diversity.

For awardees who are Australian citizens such as Ms. Gustinia Dauner and Mr. Komran Mangkuwerdojo, they will be nominated for the Australia of The Year nomination for Australia Day 2024 through the National Australia Day Council.

The event continued with a Didgeridoo workshop and Indigenous Australian dance by Aaron Taylor and a speech by Consul General Vedi Kurnia Buana. The event was closed with a group photo and poco-poco

Click here for Historical Walk - Australia Day 2023 [HIGHLIGHT] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_67HN6hNGs&t=3s

Source: https://indomedia.com.au/malam-penghargaan-komunitas-dan-jalan-jalan-sejarah-dalam-rangka-hari-australia-2023/

Link to Podcast on the activities from our groups and the reasons behind their activities : https://www.sbs.com.au/language/indonesian/en/podcast-episode/bagaimana-komunitas-indonesia-di-nsw-merayakan-hari-australia/laub2uljn

Saturday, 3 December 2022

Kogarah High School Hall

Gladstone Street Kogarah 

6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

1. Tari Golek Ayun-Ayung Jugag - Traditional Welcome Dance: In 1976, KRT Sasmintadipura created this classic Javanese dance in Yogyakarta style.
2. Traditional Costume Parade: Indonesia is made up of several regions. Each region has its own traditional costumes which are also known as fol: regional and national costumes. Traditional costumes express each region’s identity thus they’re associated with the geographical area, and characteristics of each region, and represented in different styles, colours, decorations, and motifs.
3. Tari Jaranan Anak-Anak: A modification of the "Kuda Lumping" dance, is a traditional Javanese dance from Ponorogo in East Java. The Lumping horses are made from woven bamboo and decorated with colourful paints and wigs made of plastic.
4. Tari Yapong: The Yapong dance is created by Bagong Kussudiarjo. The debut performance was held in Jakarta from the 20th to the 21st of June of 1977 at the Senayan Convention Center. Bagong conducted his research through libraries, films, slides, and direct observations of the Betawi People. 
5. Tari Panji Semirang: Panji Semirang dance is a dance created by I Nyoman Kaler in 1942. Another name for this dance is the Bebali Dance. This dance tells of a princess named Galuh Candrakirana who went wandering in disguise as a man named Raden Panji. Out of love, she wandered around East Java to find her lover, Raden Panji Inu Kertapati. 
6. Tari Srikandi Yuda: Srikandi Yudha depicts the values of Indonesian women which are taken from the Mahabharata story. The dance was created by Mohamad Aim in 1984 who worked on a new genre of creation with a group dance presentation. Although it is based on wayang      (puppet) stories with Srikandi character, it also raised contemporary phenomena about Indonesian women. Srikandi is a female character that also possesses masculine characteristics such as strength, courage, aggressiveness, leadership, and assertiveness. 

Indonesian Singers

1. Hyudi Wiryaatmaja
2. Gita Suara - Indonesian Women Vocal Group
3. Jade Austin

Indonesian Traditional Music

1. Angklung -  The angklung (Sundanese) is a musical instrument from the Sundanese people in Indonesia made of a varying number of bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame. The tubes are carved to have a resonant pitch when struck and are tuned to octaves, similar to Western handbells. The base of the frame is held in one hand, while the other hand shakes the instrument, causing a repeating note to sound. Each performer in an angklung ensemble is typically responsible for just one pitch, sounding their individual angklung at the appropriate times to produce complete melodies.
2. Poco Poco Bersama - The Poco-poco dance became popular in early 1998. In the beginning, the Poco-Poco dance was only an environment known for its emotional closeness with family, relatives, and relatives in Maluku. This dance is accompanied by a song from Maluku which is also titled poco-poco. The poco-poco song was composed by a native Indonesian Ambon songwriter named Arie Sapulette and sung by a famous singer at the time named Yopie Latul. The Poco-Poco dance has found its place in the hearts of the Indonesian people

On Sunday morning, August 20, 2022, the Indonesian communities commemorated the 77th Independence Day of the Republic of Indonesia. The shout of “Merdeka” in the lobby of Leumeah High School, which is located on the outskirts of the Sydney metropolitan area, in Campbelltown Municipality. The cold temperature of around 15 degrees Celsius did not decrease the warmth of the atmosphere.

The 17th Independence Day event was organized by the Sekolah Indonesia Pelangi (Pelangi Indonesia School) and the Australian Indonesia Youth Movement (GPIA).  Sekolah Pelangi teaches Bahasa Indonesia Language and Culture to children of Indonesian descent who were born and raised in Australia. Pelangi School led by Epy Djulianti, the Principal/Teacher, was established in 2011 and is located in three locations i.e. Campbelltown, Kogarah, and Wollongong NSW.  

The event started with the singing of the National Anthem of Indonesia Raya, led by Meilanie Buitenzorgy and continued with heroic Indonesia's Independence songs. Gustina Dauner from the Indo Care Group read the five principles of Pancasila. Nathaniel Chandra, the 4th grade of elementary school student, Nathan, was taking part in this event by reading the proclamation of Indonesia Independence.

The chairman of GPIA, Ridwan Budiman said GPIA is an organization that promotes the noble values of Pancasila, the 1945 Constitution, and the ideals of the Proclamation of Independence of the Republic of Indonesia. The commemoration of Independence Day is one of the media to actualise this mission.  “In the midst of diversity, one thing that unites us today is The Red and White. Nationalism is not about black and white. It concerns origins, memory, and heart. A feeling that needs to be passed on to the next generation,” said Zulfan Tadjoeddin, a lecturer in Development Studies at Western Sydney University.

The series of formal events commemorating the independence day was led and coordinated by Epy Djulianti. "Today, our children added one more vocabulary "Merdeka" (Independent or Free). Epy Djulianti explained that Pelangi School is one of the initiatives of the Indonesian Australian Family Association of NSW Incorporated (IAFA NSW Inc.)

After a series of formal events,  the event was filled with the excitement of various competitions, such as a cracker eating competition, a marble-carrying competition, putting a pencil in a bottle, and various other competitions.  The competition became more lively with various prizes that had been prepared by the committee.

DATE:    26th of January 2022  

TIME:    10:00 AM to 2:00 PM  

COST:    FREE  

This event aimed to celebrate 'Unity in Diversity' across our Australian communities, featuring traditional arts and culture from five continents and First Nations communities, including interactive workshops and a fashion parade. All community members are welcome to attend.  

Win 8 X $50.00 Coles Gift Voucher to be redrawn based on your Eventbrite ticket numbers. Please book your ticket asap prior to the 26th of January 2022. 

This event is supported by the Australian Government through the National Australia Day Council and organised by Perhimpunan Indonesia – The Indonesian Association of NSW Incorporated, Indonesian-Australian Families Association of NSW Incorporated, and Gerakan Pemuda Indonesia-Australia Incorporated."