Program 1.3: Public information services and public diplomacy (administered)

Administered items:

• International relations grants program
• Australia Network
• Bali Peace Park

The department administered grants in 2013–14 of $13.7 million in accordance with the Commonwealth Grant Guidelines. (See Appendix 12 and www.dfat.gov.au/dept/grants.)

The International Relations Grant Program

The International Relations Grant Program (IRGP) fosters professional, community and institutional linkages between Australia and partner countries on contemporary issues of shared interest including the arts, media, education, science, technology, health and social development. The department provides secretariats for, and works closely with, ten foundations, councils and institutes which manage the majority of IRGP grants.

Council for Australian–Arab Relations

The department worked with the Council for Australian–Arab Relations (CAAR) to foster stronger relations between Australia and the Arab world. Through high-level policy forums in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh in April 2014, held in conjunction with Mr Robb’s visit to the region, CAAR promoted Australian expertise in food security, energy and environmental services. Other projects strengthened links between the academic, business, sporting and arts communities.

Australia–China Council

The Australia–China Council’s (ACC) new four-year strategic plan, endorsed by the Foreign Minister, sets the role and direction for the ACC in the bilateral relationship and supports the Government’s focus on student mobility and economic diplomacy.

The ACC supported 38 projects in economic diplomacy, education and the arts in 2013–14. Together with the Australia–China Business Council (ACBC), it launched the ‘China Australia Food Security Cooperation Initiative’ which will strengthen bilateral collaboration in agriculture and food security. The ACC helped Surf Life Saving Australia introduce surf safety practices in Shenzhen. Support for youth initiatives remained a priority, including the Australia–China Youth Dialogue, the Engaging China Project and the AustCham Future Business Leaders Program. The council’s chair participated in the Prime Minister’s visit to China and Australia Week in China program. Board members were active in the 2013 Australia–China Forum, the Bo’ao Forum for Asia, the Australia in China’s Century Conference, ACBC Networking Day and Australia–China Business Week. The ACC launched Australia–China Relations—a comprehensive web resource on bilateral ties: www.dfat.gov.au/acc/our-relations/.

Then Governor-General Quentin Bryce AC CVO, with Director of the Warburton Arts Project, Gary Proctor, at the opening of Tu Di Shen Ti (Our Land, Our Body) exhibition, sponsored by the Australia–China Council, Tianjin, 16 October 2013. [Warburton Arts Project]

Australia France Foundation

The Australia France Foundation (AFF) built networks and relationships in France in the focus areas of cultural and commemorative diplomacy and strategic policy. The foundation supported: Pacifiques, a major French/Australian cultural project developed by the Museum of Natural History with Australian academics, artists and Indigenous communities to develop a new understanding of ‘first contact’ collections in France; an exhibition of the history of Australian Indigenous Art entitled Memoires Vives/Vivid Memories at the Museum of Aquitaine; the participation of two academics in a colloquium about Pacific states’ involvement in World War I organised by the University of Picardy; and the commission by the Brown and Breen Duo of a new work by Australian composer Peter Sculthorpe for a piano duo and didgeridoo. The AFF offered the Sadlier Stokes Prize to schools from the Somme and Nord Pas de Calais region to foster awareness of Australia’s role in World War I.

Australia–India Council

In 2013–14, the Australia–India Council (AIC) provided 33 separate grants to Australian organisations seeking to establish long-term partnerships and demonstrate Australian excellence in the arts, science, education, sport and public policy fields. The AIC consolidated the achievements of Oz Fest (the largest Australian cultural festival staged in India) with support for follow-on tours of the most successful acts. In education, the AIC introduced a School Leaders’ Exchange Program. Engagement with the media was a strong theme with the delivery of the inaugural Senior Editors’ Visit Program. India’s young political elite were also introduced to Australia through the inaugural Young Parliamentarians’ Visit Program.

Australia–Indonesia Institute

The Australia–Indonesia Institute (AII) continued to foster collaboration and friendship through the provision of 38 grants. Priority areas for funding were education, media, science, religion and society, and the arts.

In 2014, the AII marked 25 years of supporting links between the peoples of Australia and Indonesia. Launched in 1989, the institute advances Australia’s foreign and trade policy priorities in Indonesia through a range of programs.

Representatives of these AII flagship programs—including the BRIDGE school partnerships, the Australia–Indonesia Youth Exchange Program and the Muslim Exchange Program—gathered with past and present board members, alumni, media, parliamentarians, diplomats, musicians and artists, teachers and students, scientists and academics at an anniversary reception at Parliament House in June. Ms Bishop paid tribute to the AII’s immense contributions to building people-to-people links and partnerships, describing these links as the bedrock of the bilateral relationship.

Australia–Japan Foundation

The Australia–Japan Foundation (AJF) supported 40 projects in Australia and Japan across six priority areas: security, regional and international relations; economics and trade; society and culture; education and science; communication, information and advocacy; and the reconstruction initiative to support communities in the Tohoku region to recover from the March 2011 tsunami/earthquake disaster. Particular highlights were: Polyglot’s tour to Minami Sanriku—one of the areas most devastated by the disaster; Questacon’s five week Science Circus Tour to Tokyo and four cities in the Tohoku region; and the visit to Brisbane of 20 secondary school students from Minami Sanriku.

Officers from the embassy in Tokyo assist at the Polyglot theatre’s interactive production, We Built This City, Minami Sanriku, 2 November 2013. [DFAT]

The Annual AJF Address was delivered by prominent academic and economist, Professor Takatoshi Ito, who spoke about the Japanese Government’s economic reform agenda and the implications for the bilateral economic relationship. The AJF also contributed to the annual symposium of the Australian Studies Association of Japan by supporting the participation of speakers from the Asia–Pacific region. Both activities supported the AJF’s advocacy program.

Australia–Korea Foundation

The Australia–Korea Foundation funded 42 projects and 15 scholarships for Australians studying in Korea to enhance people-to-people ties.

The foundation supported the Annual Joint Meeting in Melbourne of the Australia–Korea Business Council and the Korea–Australia Business Council attended by 120 business and government participants. Both councils supported the conclusion of the Korea–Australia Free Trade Agreement. Three internship programs provided opportunities for eight Australian and seven Korean students to immerse themselves in Korean and Australian workplaces. Australia’s local organising committee for the 2015 Asian Cup arranged Korea-themed activities and a business-networking function at Parramatta Stadium around the match between the Western Sydney Wanderers and Korea’s Ulsan Hyundai. The University of Southern Queensland hosted Australian and Korean scientists at a conference highlighting research on improved materials for bridges, roads and water and power systems. Australian and Korean aerial dancers astounded audiences with outdoor theatre on the walls of iconic buildings in Seoul.

Council on Australia Latin America Relations

The Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR) supported links with Latin America, funding 16 activities in the council’s priority areas of business, education, culture, sustainability and tourism. Through COALAR we supported the Australia Latin America Business Council (ALABC) networking day in Canberra, the first time both ministers and the COALAR board have attended this annual event. Other activities included the ALABC Business Awards and the Latin America Film Festival.

Australia–Malaysia Institute

The Australia–Malaysia Institute (AMI) strengthened bilateral relations by funding 26 grants in public policy, sport, arts and culture, the media and education. Under the institute’s annual flagship visit program, the Australia–Malaysia Cultural Exchange Program, six emerging leaders from Malaysia visited Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra to engage with their Australian counterparts across a range of sectors. They saw firsthand Australia’s diversity and tolerance, discussed democratic processes and visited a number of interfaith organisations.

AMI—together with the Australia–Indonesia Institute and Australia–Thailand Institute—collaborated with the Asia Foundation on the annual Australia–ASEAN Emerging Leaders Program in Malaysia in June 2014. During this program, 25 young leaders from Australia and Southeast Asia discussed common strategic challenges and opportunities for the region and participated in the Asia–Pacific Roundtable.

Australia–Thailand Institute

The Australia–Thailand Institute (ATI) advanced Australia’s foreign and trade policy priorities for Thailand through its support for community and institutional linkages between the two countries. The institute funded 25 grants across many fields of endeavour, including the arts, media, youth, sport, education, science and technology.

ATI’s second annual round of the Discover Thailand scholarships program, delivered in partnership with Universities Australia, enabled a further 11 young Australians to live and study in Thailand, building enduring connections with one of Australia’s top ten trading partners.

Australia International Cultural Council grants program

The AICC grants program supported 16 cultural projects in Asia, Africa, the Americas and Europe. The bulk of AICC activities in 2013–14 focused on Indonesia but other country highlights included: contemporary workshops and performances by Circa Contemporary Circus in Vietnam; cultural heritage training for workers in conservation techniques in Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh by the National Gallery of Australia; the Tu Di Shen Ti exhibition of Aboriginal artwork from the Warburton Collection in museums in Western China; a showcasing of contemporary Indigenous films at film festivals in Africa; and the Theatre of the World exhibition in Paris (jointly organised by the Museum of Old and New Art and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery).

Australia Network

In the 2014–15 Budget, the Government announced it will terminate the Australia Network contract with the ABC. The department entered into a funding agreement with the ABC in August 2012 for the delivery of the Australia Network service for ten years (to 2021–22). The service comprises satellite TV, digital and online platforms as well as the Radio Australia service.

Bali Peace Park

Through the consulate-general in Bali, the department continued to support the efforts of the Bali Peace Park Association to establish a memorial garden on the site of the terrorist attacks on 12 October 2002. The association’s negotiations for the purchase of the site are continuing.