The Australia Indonesia Institute (AII)

Photo courtesy of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

The Australia-Indonesia Institute (AII) is an advisory board in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The AII was established by the Australian Government in 1989. The AII aims to develop relations between Australia and Indonesia by promoting greater mutual understanding and by contributing to deepening cross-cultural understanding through a wider range of exchanges between the people of Australia and Indonesia.

The official purposes of the AII include advising DFAT in how it should work towards five main goals: The goals of the Institute are:

• To promote in each country increased exposure to the other through media, educational, cultural, sporting and professional activities.
• To create in Indonesia a nucleus of people with expertise in Australian affairs, especially current and future opinion leaders.
• To create within Australia a wider range of people with knowledge about Indonesia, especially current and future opinion makers.
• To portray Australia as culturally diverse, educationally, scientifically and technologically advanced and economically enterprising.
• To increase understanding of and to improve access for Australians to the cultural diversity of Indonesian society.

Current programs

The AII’s current programs support various cross-cultural and exchange programs between Australia and Indonesia. Some of these programs are open to Australians provide opportunities for students, researchers, industry experts, entrepreneurs and artists amongst others.

• Youth Exchange Program
  Australia-Indonesia Youth Exchange Program (20 Australians per year)

• Arts and Culture
  Residences in Indonesia for Australian artists – organised by Asialink

• Civil Society and Media
  Elizabeth O’Neill Journalism Award (1 Australian journalist per year)

Events

The Australia Indonesia Institute (AII) also hosts a range of events open to students and young professionals. Follow this link to find the full list within the AII Calender.

Grants

The Australia Indonesia Institute offers grants on an annual basis to proposals from individuals and organisations for projects which meet certain requirements:

Guidelines for Grants

All applications are assessed against the Institute’s guidelines for grants. Applicants for grants must, therefore, comply with these guidelines when submitting their proposals for consideration.

• The project should be a substantial new initiative of relevance to the Institute’s objective of promoting a growing and deepening relationship between Australia and Indonesia. Such initiatives may promote new areas of contact between Australia and Indonesia or may serve to build on or develop existing contacts.
• The project should have a clearly defined benefit in terms of the Institute’s objectives.
• Provision should be made in the application for publicity or promotion of the project, including providing photos and content for the AII website.
• Projects that involve Indonesian experience of Australia and the relation of that experience to a wide audience in Indonesia are particularly desirable.
• When projects supported by the Institute involve an organisation in Indonesia, applicants must demonstrate that sufficient matching funds from the Indonesian counterpart organisation are available to allow for the successful completion of a project. Matching funds may include accommodation and other services provided without charge by host institutions.
• Where a project involves a partnership with an Australia/Indonesian organisation, applicants must include evidence of support from that Australia/Indonesian organisation.
• Wherever possible, Institute support should constitute seeding funds intended to encourage financial support from others, including corporate sponsors. The Institute may decide to award grants conditional on funding being raised from other sources.
• The project should establish prospects for independently funded activity as a result of initial Institute funding.
• The applicant should preferably have an established record of achievement.
• The AII will not usually provide grants of more than $20,000, smaller amounts are preferred.

Eligibility

Applicants should have an established record of achievement in the development and management of projects relevant to their proposed area of endeavour, and they should be able to document this. No person can hold more than one Australia-Indonesia Institute grant at any given time. Competition for grant money is considerable. The Australia-Indonesia Institute is committed to the principles of equal opportunity and encourages individuals and organisations from target groups to apply for project funding.