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TALKING POINTS
AMBASSADOR HAMZAH THAYEB AT THE
INDOFEST 2008
ADELAIDE, 13 April 2008
Mrs. Lindsay Simmons,
member for Morialta and representing the
Premier,
Mr. Hieu Van Le,
Lieutenant-Governor of South Australia and
Chairman of the South Australia Multicultural
and Ethnic Affairs Commission,
Ms. Sue Clearihan,
The Deputy Lord Mayor of Adelaide,
Mr. Sudaryomo Hartosudarmo,
Consul General of the Republic of
Indonesia,
My dear friend the
Honorary Consul, Mr. Deane Edgecombe,
Pak Suharto,
President of Australia-Indonesia Association in
SA,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Selamat Datang !
May I say to you how
thrilled I am to be here today at the INDOFest
2008 here at Rymill Park. This festival is a
fantastic opportunity to showcase Indonesia’s
cultural heritage and for Australians to better
understand and appreciate the richness and
diversity of Indonesia’s arts and culture. I am
also extremely proud that such an event is
organized entirely by the cooperation of all the
Indonesian community here in Adelaide and South
Australia.
I would like to thank the
Australia-Indonesia Association for organizing
such an event, the first of an annual event
which we hope could continue in the future. I
should also like to thank the Art Gallery of
South Australia and Flinders University Asia
Centre for their partnership in making this four
day event possible. And of course, to the
Honorary Consul who was the first to put forward
the concept of a public Indonesian festival by
bringing together the local Indonesian community
as a whole. To anyone who in any way has been
responsible for this event, my heart-felt
thanks.
As close neighbors,
Indonesia and Australia enjoys a relationship
that is growing stronger, better and based upon
mutual respect and understanding. That is why
events such as this definitely always contribute
to the strengthening of the ballasts of the
relationship, which is people-to-people
contact.
It has been almost ten
years since Indonesia has embarked on a process
of reform across all fields of its society.
Looking back to where we first started, I might
say that today we have a New Indonesia in our
midst. Needless to say, this reform process is
still on-going and there are many more
developments needed to really make an impact to
our society in providing welfare and security;
but with the assistance from our friends and
neighbor in Australia this process I believe, is
heading in the right direction.
As previously mentioned by
the Chairperson of the Organizing Committee, Ms.
Katrina Lucas, this event will showcase various
food, arts and crafts, music and dance from
Indonesia. I should like to remind you that
these are only a glimpse of what you may
experience from around 250 ethnic groups spread
out in 17 thousand Islands that comprise
Indonesia.
It is precisely because of
the diversity and rich cultural heritage that
Indonesia has launched this year as “Visit
Indonesia Year 2008” for visitors to better
understand the richness of the Indonesian
culture.
Many programs and
festivals throughout the year have been
scheduled all over Indonesia.
Gorontalo Cultural
Festival, Galesong Festival, World Batik Summit,
International Surfing Championship, Bali Fashion
Week, Jakarta Wedding Festival, Bunaken
Festival, Asian Sailing Championship, Paper
Kites Festival, and many more activities for
everyone to enjoy in the “Visit Indonesia Year
2008”.
Obviously it would be
impossible to visit all parts of Indonesia. So
perhaps this festival could give you a snapshot
of what you may see and experience when you do
visit Indonesia.
So without further ado,
let us all enjoy the family day and experience
the warm hospitality and ultimate diversity of
Indonesia.
Thank you.
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