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Australia-Indonesia Institute Immersion Program – 2024/25

Australian Teachers Embark on Cultural and Educational Immersion Program in Indonesia:
26 September to 6 October 2024 and 5 to 28 April 2025

Through funding provided by the Australia-Indonesia Institute, Asialink Education facilitated
the Australia Indonesia Immersion Program (AIIP) for BRIDGE educators in September 2024 and April 2025. Nineteen Australian teachers (12 females and 7 males) and 24 Indonesian teachers (18 females and 6 males) from the 2023 and 2024 BRIDGE School Partnerships program, participated in a professional learning program that incorporated a three-day cultural immersion program in Jakarta, a five-day school visit program with their partnership school,
and a formal debrief session in Jakarta prior to their departure to Australia.

This program aimed to foster cross-cultural exchange, promote global teaching methods
and strengthen long-term educational partnerships between Australian and Indonesian BRIDGE schools and was underpinned by Department Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) cross-cutting priorities of Gender Equality, Disability and Inclusion (GEDSI) and Climate Change.

Australian and Indonesian partners reconnected in Jakarta undertaking an immersion program that included exploring Indonesian culture through traditional cooking classes, visiting cultural landmarks and planting seedlings as part of a mangrove ecosystem restoration project.

During the time spent in partner schools, Australian teachers engaged in classroom observation, delivered classes on Australian culture to students, and explored local culture
in various Indonesian cities and districts.

Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion

The Immersion Program supported DFAT’s Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion policy by featuring: DFAT specialist briefings at the Australian Embassy Jakarta, an Inclusion
in Schools Teach Meet and an Inclusion workshop at Sunyi Café, also referred to as ‘Sunyi House of Coffee and Hope’, an enterprise that employs hearing impaired staff and promotes the use of coffee produced by a female led cooperative.

Participants from the 2023 cohort designed collaborative projects whilst together during school visits with a GEDSI or Climate Change focus, or both! These projects are partially funded
by grants to support partnership sustainability, available via the BRIDGE Grants Scheme.

Indonesian and Australian BRIDGE educators participating in a language signing workshop during their visit to Sunyi Café, Jakarta, an enterprise that employs hearing impaired staff and promotes Inclusion more broadly.

Meghan McLean, St Bede’s College, Victoria, presents on Inclusion in Education in Australia as part
of a Teach Meet activity in September 2024.

"The session in Sunyi cafe was helpful to reflect on how we include people with disabilities
in ways that are empowering rather than condescending. The visit to the museum gave me
a deeper understanding of Indonesian culture which will help me as a teacher of Indonesian and the session at the mangroves gave me a deeper understanding of how climate change
is affecting Indonesia and what is being done about it. Also having the time with my partner teacher gave us a chance to deepen our friendship as we move forward as partners."

Australian BRIDGE participant, April 2025

Climate Change

Teachers visited the not-for-profit organisation, Bumi Journey, (part of CarbonEthics),
an Indonesia-based developer of tech-enabled natural climate solutions. Following presentations on blue carbon ecosystems, the half-day visits saw participants plant seedlings and explore a mangrove by boat, with hats, repellent and sunscreen on! This hands-on excursion led into group discussions about climate change and environmental issues
of concern for Australians and Indonesians. Conversations also touched on how climate change particularly impacts on women, children and socially disadvantaged groups. For Jakarta locals, the impacts of climate change are pervasive with rising sea-levels, exacerbated by land subsidence, threatening the city's long-term viability. This sizeable challenge was reinforced when participants also visited the Pantai Indah Kapuk area, an integrated township featuring
a reclaimed beach in Jakarta’s north-west.

Australian and Indonesian BRIDGE educators from
the 2024 cohort visiting CarbonEthics mangrove site
in Jakarta with a focus on blue carbon ecosystems in April 2025.

Australian educators from Franklyn Primary School Tasmania, Ella Heather, Business Manager, James Milne, Principal and Rebbeca White, teacher, planting seedlings whilst visiting Angke Kapuk Mangrove Nature Park, Jakarta in April 2025.

School Partner Visits

Indonesian school partner visits were a program highlight, enabling BRIDGE educators
to collaborate in-person over a five-day period and delve into what might be possible for their partnership going forward. School visits took place in Jakarta as well as Central, East and West Java, East and West Nusa Tenggara provinces. Australian educators were welcomed with open arms. They taught classes to Indonesian students in a range of year levels, practised
their Bahasa Indonesia language skills, discussed and compared curriculum and pedagogy, explored local cultural sites of significance, tasted traditional cuisine and, in some cases,
spent time with their counterparts’ families.

Darcy Murphy, Braemar College, Victoria, teaching in a classroom whilst visiting partner school,
SMA Pradita Dirgantara, Central Java, September 2024.

Alison Jones, St Helen’s District High School, Tasmania, with one of the students from her partners school, whilst visiting partner school,
SD Unggulan Hamzanwadi, West Nusa Tenggara, September 2024.

Vincent Sweetman, Bertram Primary School, Western Australia, exchanging gifts with educator partners at SD Negeri 023 Pajagalan, West Java, September 2024.

Josh Walker, Lara Secondary College, Victoria,
with SMPN 6 Langke Rembong students and educator, whilst visiting, East Nusa Tenggara, April 2025.

A Sharing Session, led by Kate Tretheway from Pilgrim Primary School, South Australia, with the Grade 5 Learning Community (Kombel) in Sekapanewon Jetis, took place during their visit to the partner school SD Negeri Kowang, Yogyakarta, in April 2025. The session offered valuable insights into Australia’s curriculum and teaching methods, sparking enthusiasm and inspiration among all participants.

"I have been exposed to the culture in Jakarta, the living conditions, and other community issues that Indonesians face, the economic gap, plus so much more that I will be able to share with my students back in Australia."

Australian BRIDGE participant, April 2025

School Leadership

As part of the April 2025 program, the Principal and Business Manager from Franklin Primary School, Hobart, Tasmania, participated in a leadership stream featuring briefing sessions
with DFAT and INOVASI representatives at the Australian Embassy, Jakarta, and a meeting
and group lunch with school board members and the leadership team at the British School Jakarta. School leadership participation in these activities, as well as a partner school visit
and cultural immersion workshops, enabled a unique opportunity to reflect on bilateral government partnerships, local contexts in education, school leadership and structures, community engagement, resourcing and partnerships through a different lens.

“I am eternally grateful for the most recent experience I have had in Indonesia. To learn about educational reform, process and leadership in another country and share knowledge
and understanding of high leverage practices has been one of my greatest highlights
in education. Not only this, but to meet so many amazing people, children and leaders has filled by bucket.”

Australian BRIDGE participant, April 2025: James Milne, Principal - Franklin Primary School, Tasmania

British School Jakarta

Participants were also given the opportunity to visit various sites of cultural significance,
both in Jakarta and during their school visits, including the National Museum, Istiqlal Mosque, Roman Catholic Cathedral and the Old Port area in the capital. They also participated in
a hands-on Indonesian cooking class at Moderna Culinaria, where one BRIDGE group
was fortunate to be joined by members of the ASEAN-Australian Centre and DFAT guests for
a group lunch and sharing session.

“Meeting with teachers involved in the Indonesia-Australia BRIDGE Program, which connects schools in Australia and Indonesia, was a highlight. The teachers’ anecdotes and stories about the program’s transformative local impact demonstrated the success of the program and local enthusiasm for expansion of the program into Southeast Asia through the ASEAN-Australia BRIDGE program.”

ASEAN Centre post, April 2025

National Museum in Jakarta

Steve Rogers, Aitken College; Roslyn De Silva, Trinity College Colac; and, Cate Robertson
and Jacqui Cusack, Firbank Grammar School, Victoria, visiting the Museum Wayang Jakarta
in April 2025.

No Car Zone – Sunday mornings in Jakarta

Australian and Indonesian participants taking advantage
of the car free Sunday morning
in Jakarta in April 2025.
It typically involves closing key streets from Monas to Sudirman Avenues to vehicular traffic, allowing pedestrians, cyclists
and families to enjoy the area.

Mount Ciremai, West Java

Bella Mitchell from Evandele Primary School, Tasmania, along with partner school, teachers
and principal from SD Smart Auladi Cirebon, West Java, enjoy and explore the natural beauty
of Mount Ciremai.

Anna Connelly and Sam Crawford, Latrobe HIgh School, Tasmania, collaborate to cook traditional Indonesian Sate Lilit with their partners Dyne R Puspitasari and Imraatul Mufidah, SMP Laboratorium UM Malang, East Java, at Modena Culinaria, Jakarta, in April 2025.

Roslyn De Silva from Trinity College Colac, Victoria, and Ibu Awiddatus Tsiqoh from SMAN 54 Jakarta learn to make traditional Indonesian cuisine, Sate Lilit, with Chef Dedes at Modena Culinaria, Jakarta, as part of cultural activities in April 2025.

The 2024–2025 Indonesia Immersion Program marked a significant milestone in re-establishing in-country professional learning for Australian educators, offering a rich, collaborative experience grounded in cultural exchange and shared educational goals. Through renewed school partnerships, immersive activities, and reflective practice, the program not only supported
the integration of global issues such as inclusivity and climate change into classrooms, but also strengthened intercultural understanding and alignment with DFAT priorities. This initiative
has laid a strong foundation for continued collaboration between Australian and Indonesian educators, reinforcing the enduring value of global partnerships in education.

The next similar immersion program opportunity for targeted BRIDGE educators will be in October 2025 as part of the ASEAN-Australia BRIDGE School Partnership Program.

The BRIDGE School Partnerships Program is supported by the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and the Australia-Indonesia Institute
and implemented by the Asialink Education, Asialink at the University of Melbourne.