Australia-Indonesia Muslim Exchange Program
The Australia-Indonesia Muslim Exchange Program (AIMEP) was established in 2002.
The program involves visits of several weeks' duration to Australia by groups of young Indonesian Muslim community leaders who learn directly from everyday citizens as well as leading academics, non-governmental organisations, religious leaders, media and government representatives.
Australian delegates undertake a program with similar focuses in Indonesia, which also includes historical and cultural site visits.
The program focuses on building a greater understanding for Australians of the nature of mainstream Islam in Indonesia and, for Indonesians, a greater awareness of Australia’s multicultural society.
There are more than 200 people in the AIMEP alumni network, who include prominent Indonesians and Australians with expertise in a wide range of fields.
Applications for AIMEP open once every year and attract high quality individuals who are keen on making a positive difference in both their communities and people-to-people relations between Indonesia and Australia.
In 2020-2022, the program operated via online delivery, supporting 10 Australians and 20 Indonesians to come together for a program targeting seven core themes:
- discovery
- leadership and representation
- education and youth development
- gender and family
- religious and cultural diversity
- arts, media, and spirituality, and
- community development and social justice.
In 2023, AIMEP will resume in-person programming, which will present a unique opportunity to deliver a specialised in-person alumni program for those who participated in the program during the COVID-19 pandemic.
AIMEP is currently delivered by Mosaic Connections. For more information, visit the Australia-Indonesia Muslim Exchange Program website.