Eighteen youths from Indonesia have participated in the Australia Indonesia Youth Exchange Program (AIYEP). They all joined an orientation program in Australia for about 3 months from 8 October to 8 December 2002, which included programs of home-stay and work experience in government institutions and in private companies in Sydney and Orange, New South Wales. Their program was specially designed so as the participants could learn about the Australian culture, and on the other hand to introduce the Indonesian culture to Australian people.

        After finishing their programs in Sydney and Orange, the Indonesian participants visited Canberra from 2 to 7 December 2002 for a joint orientation with the 15 AIYEP's participants from Australia. All participants then were invited by the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra for a dinner reception at the Embassy, on Thursday, 5 December 2002. On this occasion, the two groups sang some folk songs from Indonesia and Australia respectively, and at the end they presented a wonderful performance together - singing and dancing.

        Having many unforgettable moments, the Indonesian participants finally completed their program in Australia and returned to Indonesia on 9 December 2002. Unfortunately, the Australian participants could not go along with them due to the advice from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) that they should not travel to Indonesia in the wake of the Bali bombings. However, the Australian participants will have the opportunity to visit Indonesia in next year's AIYEP.