Understanding Near Neighbors Fellowships

Understanding Near Neighbors Fellowships: study tour to Indonesia and Timor-Leste
July 2008, Indonesia and Timor-Leste


	Fellows meet with CEO Prof Chamamah, leader of Aisyiyah the Muhammadiyah women's organisation.		APJC fellow Christine Webster interviews leader of Ahmadiyya Mr Zafrullah Pontah, Jakarta.		APJC fellow Whitney Fitzsimmons reads a copy of Indonesia’s oldest daily, Kedaulatan Rakyat, Yogjakarta.

PARTICIPANTS APJC fellows:
	Mr Gary Cox, associate producer, SBS World News, Sydney Mr Benjamin Doherty, senior journalist, The Age, Melbourne Ms Whitney Fitzsimmons, presenter, ABC Television, Sydney Ms Dawn Gibson, news journalist, The West Australian, Perth Ms Jessica Mahar, journalist, Macarthur Advertiser, Sydney Ms Amy McQuire, journalist, National Indigenous Times, Canberra Mr Carlo Oreglia, presenter, SBS Radio, Melbourne Ms Christine Webster, presenter/ journalist, Radio Australia, Melbourne
APJC Personnel:
	Ms Helen Musa, 2008 Tour Leader, APJC Ms Alex Kennedy, Project Officer of the APJC
In-field study tour leaders:
	In Java: Ms Amanda Melati Setya Adri Wibowo, freelance project co-ordinator, Pantau, Jakarta In Flores: Mr Wilhelmus Wempy Hadir In Kupang: Mr Winston Neil Rondo, freelance journalist and project officer, Pantau, Kupang In Timor-Leste: Mr Naldo Rei, author and freelance journalist, Dili: Dr Phyllis Ferguson
The program
The program started in Melbourne with a briefing session followed by a welcome dinner on Friday 11 July at the Calabrian Restaurant in Carlton and a seminar on Saturday 12 July at the Sidney Myer Asia Centre in Melbourne. Speakers at the Asia Centre orientation seminar were Rowan Gould director of the Australia Indonesia Muslim leaders Exchange (AIME) and former CEO and board member of the Islamic Council of Victoria, Tom Hyland, international editor, The Sunday Age and formally Jakarta correspondent for Australian Associated Press, Dewi Anggraeni, correspondent for Tempo news magazine and contributor to The Jakarta Post, James Scambary, researcher for AusAID and the New York Social Science Research Council on gangs in Timor-Leste and John Wallace, APJC program director and public officer. Later that day, fellows travelled to Indonesia. The group spent six nights in Central Java, which included three nights in Yogyakarta, a day trip to Solo and three nights in Jakarta, and made visits in and around these cities. Organisations visited and people met by the group included staff of Windan pestantren in Solo, Prambanan Temple, a tour of Muhammadiyah Hospital and interview with CEO Prof Chamamah leader of Aisyiyah the Muhammadiyah women’s organisation, a visit to the studios of artists including a member of the radical Taring Padi group, a visit to Keraton (Palace) Mataram Ngayogyakarta, meeting with the staff of Mujahidin in Yogyakarta, an interview with former President Abdurrahman Wahid, attending Friday prayers at Ahmadi mosque, meeting editors and journalists including Goenawan Mohamad founder of Tempo magazine and Endy Bayuni chief editor of The Jakarta Post, visiting Detachment 88 an anti-terrorist organisation, meeting members of Jaringan Islam Liberal (JIL) and Yayasan Pantau in Jakarta. The group then spent three nights in Flores, of which one night was spent in Maumere and two in Ende. The group then travelled to West Timor where they spent one night in Kupang before travelling overland to Timor-Leste and stayed in Dili for four nights. People and organisations visited included a typical (poor) village outside Ende in Flores, meeting Paulinus Domi the bupati (regional government head) in Ende, visiting the Noelbaki refugee camp near Kupang in West Timor, meeting with the leaders of Timor-Leste opposition party Fretlin, meeting with human rights advocates at Comarca Prison, a visit to Alola Foundation set up by Kirsty Sword Gusma, a visit to Radio Television Timor-Leste (RTTL), a visit to daily newspaper Timor Post, meeting with residents of Motael IDP Camp, a visit to the free arts school Arte Moris and a visit daily newspaper A voz de Suara Timor Lorosa’e. An evaluation and review session was held on Saturday 26 July, that night the Fellows attended the inaugural Timor-Leste Media Awards. The group departed for Australia the following morning, Saturday 27 July.
Assistance with program The APJC would like to acknowledge the hospitality and/or other assistance provided by organisations and individuals in Australia, Indonesia and Timor-Leste.
	Australia The Myer Foundation (major supporter) Asialink University of Melbourne Advertiser Newspapers John Fairfax Limited Australian Broadcasting Commission SBS The West Australian The National Indigenous Times Mr Rowan Gould Mr Tom Hyland Ms Dewi Anggraeni Mr James Scambary Indonesia Windan Pesantren, Surakarta Prof Dr Hj Siti Chamamah Soeratno, Muhammadiyah, Yogyakarta Kuss Indarto, curator and contemporary artist, Taring Padi, Yogyakarta Mr Endy Bayuni, Chief Editor, The Jakarta Post Detachment 88, Jakarta Australian Embassy, Jakarta Yayasan Pantau, Jakarta Centre for International and Strategic Studies, Jakarta Institut Studi Arus Informasi (The Institute for the Studies on Free Flow of Information)