15 September 2009
Education Key to U.S.-Indonesian Relations
State Department official praises educational exchanges
Washington — A close partnership in education is a major priority for the United States and Indonesian governments, according to Karl Stoltz, director of public diplomacy for the State Department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
“With closer educational ties, problem-solving in science and technology, the environment, business and many other areas also becomes easier,” Stoltz said in a September 2 America.gov webchat on relations between the United States and Indonesia.
Stoltz, who fielded questions from Indonesians on a variety of topics, including climate change, public-private partnerships and visas, said in the webchat that “America and Indonesia have similar populations, multiple ethnic groups and a lot more in common, and by working together, we can do a lot to foster peace and development.”
Educational exchanges and more people-to-people connections will help educate Americans about Indonesia and Indonesians about America. In the past decade, Indonesia has grown to become “one of Asia’s most democratic and unified nations,” Stoltz said. “We hope more Americans will come to know and appreciate the value of an enhanced relationship with the world’s largest Muslim nation and third largest democracy.”
Through U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs, the United States is providing $157 million over five years to improve the quality of education in Indonesia. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced in June that the United States is committing $10 million for higher education funding in Indonesia this fiscal year.
The Indonesia Education Initiative is a cornerstone of the U.S. government assistance program in the country, directly responding to Indonesia’s priorities and reflecting a joint Indonesia-U.S. commitment to revitalize education for the next generation of Indonesia’s leaders. Since the initiative began in 2005, more than 1,400 schools, 23,000 educators and 345,000 students have benefitted.
The initiative has increased opportunities to study abroad in both countries and offers a wide range of educational scholarships, exchanges and English language learning programs. “Since both America’s and Indonesia’s presidents spent time as a student in the other president’s country, we think it is a great time to encourage the future presidents of America and Indonesia to do the same,” Stoltz said in the webchat.
The United States is “trying to encourage new partnerships between U.S. and Indonesian schools,” Stoltz continued. For example, a partnership with the University of Kentucky is helping three Indonesian universities to upgrade their academic programs in areas critical for economic growth, such as agriculture, business, engineering and public administration. “We’re working hard to expand opportunities for students in both countries to study in the other’s homeland,” Stoltz said.
The United States and Indonesia are exploring additional opportunities for collaboration. “Public and private partnerships are very important so we can work together in many areas. We hope to inspire a lot of them as part of the ongoing discussion between our governments,” Stoltz said. One example is a three-way partnership between USAID, the government of Aceh province in Indonesia, and the U.S. petroleum company Chevron. The partnership supports the development of Aceh Polytechnic, a new institution that will provide quality education in applied technology, such as information technology and electrical engineering. Another example is the Conoco Phillips Indonesia and USAID-Indonesia announcement in March of the completion of reconstruction and rehabilitation of 35 public and private schools, learning centers and educational institutions that were damaged or destroyed by an earthquake in May 2006.
Stoltz stressed that “libraries and supporting basic education are very important ways to ensure people do not get inaccurate information that leads them to false perceptions.” After all, as Secretary Clinton said in a June press briefing in Washington, “Education is the key to expanding economic opportunity in Indonesia and allowing people to live up to their potential. These people-to-people connections will further bind our countries together.” (See transcript.)
A transcript of the Stoltz webchat is available on America.gov.
More information about studying in the United States is available on the Web site of the American-Indonesian Education Foundation.
