Bridge Connects More Australians and Indonesian Schools

Children pose in front of their primary school, still awaiting construction, on the fifth anniversary of the 2004 Boxing Day earthquake and subsequent tsunami, on December 24, 2009 in Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia, an area previously devastated, losing three of its schools and the lives of the majority of its students. Aceh was the worst hit location, being the closest major city to the epicentre of the 9.1 magnitude quake, suffering a huge hit from the following tsunami and resulting in around 130,000 deaths. Throughout the affected region of eleven countries, 230,000 people in total were killed, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history.

Jakarta, Indonesia (News Today) - Ten Islamic schools (Madrasah) from Jakarta, Banten, and East Java will participate in the 2011 Australia-Indonesia sister school BRIDGE program. A media release from Australian Embassy on its official website on Tuesday said the program would bring the total number of Indonesian schools to 57 across 8 provinces.

According to the media release, an agreement of participation would be signed by the Asia Education Foundation and the Provincial Office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Surabaya on Tuesday and two other agreements with Jakarta and Banten provinces would be signed in the next few weeks.

Twenty Madrasah teachers from Indonesia will travel to Australia in March 2011 to build partnerships with Australian schools, improve their English language skills and receive training on incorporating Information and Communication Technology into their teaching.

"This program is a great opportunity for Indonesian and Australian teachers and students to build relationships and share experiences, particularly through Wikispace and an internet based learning environment," said Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Greg Moriarty.

The BRIDGE program (Building Relations through Intercultural Dialogue and Growing Engagement) was initiated in 2008 by the Australia-Indonesia Institute and is funded by the Australian Government and the Myer Foundation. The Asia Education Foundation is delivering the program with the support of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta.

The new schools participating in 2011 from Jakarta include: Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Negeri (MIN) Al Azhar Asyarif, Madrasah Tsanawiyah Negeri (MTsN) 3 Jakarta and Madrasah Aliyah Negeri (MAN) 2 Jakarta; from Banten: MIN Cempaka Putih, Min Langon, MTsN Pamulang and MAN Insan Cendekia, and from East Java: MI Miftahul Ulum, Batu-Malang, MTsN 2 Kediri, and MAN 3 Malang.

Source : kompas

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