The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has launched its public diplomacy program for 2019.
The program, Australia now celebrates Australian innovation and creativity in a priority market each year.
Unveiling the 2019 program, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator Marise Payne said Australia now was engaging and connecting youth audiences across Southeast Asia and would showcase the depth and breadth of Australia’s relationships in the region.
She said the program included youth dialogues, food festivals, cultural and sporting events as well as innovative technology forums to support collaboration and exchange between Australia and the 10 member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Under the program, Adam Liaw (pictured), MasterChef Australia Winner in 2010, will tour Southeast Asia to promote Australian contemporary cuisine.
In addition, the 2020 Flickerfest Short Film Competition will be extended to include entrants from across ASEAN, with the best short films from ASEAN filmmakers featuring as part of the program.
A TEDx-style young speakers series will provide a forum for youth to discuss issues that matter to them, and ASEAN-Australia Youth Forums for high-school students will be established enabling them to work together to design solutions to common challenges and opportunities
Senator Payne said last year’s ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Sydney confirmed Australia’s steadfast commitment to ASEAN and the importance it placed on working with its closest neighbours to realise a more secure and prosperous future.
The full Australia now program for 2019 can be accessed at this PS News link.
