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Minister
of Foreign Affairs, The Honorable Alexander Downer,
MP
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Youth
Ambassadors,
It gives me great pleasure
to attend today’s reception to farewell the Australian
Youth Ambassadors for Development (Eighteenth Intake)
organized by AusAID.
I am deeply honored to be
given an opportunity to speak at this event of immense
significance. I promise that my comments will not
be lengthy or extensive and that I will only share
a few thoughts with you about the need to understand
cultural differences and people-to-people
contact.
Ladies
and gentlemen,
Last night a speech came
to my attention written by a year 11 student who was
among the winners in a competition held by our Consulate
in Perth. His name is Daniel Thomas Williamson and
the title of his speech was “Indonesia-Australia Relations”.
In describing the relations,
he said, and I quote “The relationship between Indonesia
and Australia is a love and hate relationship. The
two governments often help each other out, however
they just as often shout
at each other through the differences between cultures”
unquote. In the end he suggested that “the governments
have to educate the people about foreign cultures
so everyone respects the other nation”.
The role of this program
(as mentioned previously by Minister Downer) is all
about what was wonderfully recommended by that year
11 student, and that is to strengthen mutual understanding
between Australia and the countries of the Asia Pacific,
including Indonesia.
And let me assure you, Minister
Downer, that I will never shout nor raise my voice
to you …
Today, I am delighted to
witness youths from Australia make a meaningful and
rewarding contribution to a common goal. You have
an important role to play in the exchange of cultural
understanding and friendship between societies.
As you embark on your noble
journey and make contact with different societies,
you will have the opportunity to put a face to a description
from all the reading materials and statistical data
that you have read to prepare for your mission.
You will experience first
hand who these people really are by living with them,
talking to them, working together and sharing the
same dream to achieve a better life.
You will learn so much and
I am certain they will also learn from you.
And I do hope that all the
fascinating experiences that you encounter will be
shared later on with your friends, family and colleagues
back home.
This is people-to-people
contact at its very core.
I must now take this opportunity
to express my sincerest appreciation to the Australian
Government for its generous contribution to development
in Indonesia through the initiatives of AusAID and
of course, the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development.
These contributions, especially in times of past difficulties,
will never be forgotten by the Indonesian people.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
As the saying goes, young
people are the pillars of future society. And I am
confident that through these endeavor to build a common
understanding of our cultures, the future looks bright
and meaningful.
It is not easy to be an
Ambassador, yet I do feel envious of the job ahead
of you.
Good luck and God Speed
on your journey.
Thank you so very much.
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