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This month we’re featuring Digital Engagement Editors Billy Adison Aditijanto!

Tell us about yourself! 

Hi! I’m Billy. I was born and raised in Jakarta. I went to the same school, same house throughout it all, until I moved to Melbourne in 2019 to pursue further education. Those early days, most university degrees and majors didn’t stand out to me. Weighing my extracurricular activities by that point, I figured the lesser of all evils was an undergrad degree in communications. Fast forward to the end of 2024, I’ve got a master's degree to my name, now balancing my time as a bilingual journalist here in Melbourne alongside founding my own media platform, The Perantau Podcast, which explores the lived experiences of Australia’s Indonesian diaspora. Who figured? Haha, not me. 

Where does your interest in Indonesia stem from? 

Besides being Indonesian, I’d like to approach the question differently and instead ask: how? Frankly, I’ve become more conscious of being Indonesian here in Australia than I ever was growing up in Jakarta. Throughout the last few years I’ve been here, slowly but surely, I’ve joined Indonesian-centric or Indonesian-focused communities and work. And it’s not to do with pure unfiltered passion or blinding patriotism and nationalism. Instead, it’s become my selling point. It became what I was good at. Speaking, communicating, and connecting with the Indonesian youth demographic in Melbourne became what I was able to contribute to my peers and broader society. This ‘niche’ was also a winning card throughout my studies, being able to offer a more diverse lens in my research and in the classroom. Being interested in Indonesia – its people, its language, its culture – stemmed from pragmatism. 

What is the nature of your engagement with Indonesia – are you an academic, a professional, an alumni? 

Currently a professional. I’m a bilingual journalist (English, Indonesian) here in Melbourne, covering an array of news from climate and health issues in Indonesia, but also about what Indonesians are up to in Australia. This year, I’ve also supported the University of Melbourne’s Indonesia Forum as a Research Assistant. Aside from my professional (read: paid) engagements, I also run my own media platform called The Perantau Podcast. By the time this publishes, the podcast will have had 23 episodes air in its debut year, 2024 [Ed: woooo!]. Among those 23, I’ve had a diverse cast of guests, ranging from Indonesian restaurant owners, Indonesian community leaders, academics, students, Australian-born Indonesians, and not least of all the Indonesian Consul General in Melbourne. Leading up to 2024, I’ve worked with many institutions, such as The Jakarta Post, Asialink, Tempo, and Bijak Memilih. But I’ve also worked with several youth organisations associations during my studies, like PPIA Victoria and Unimelb, PPI TV, and Solar Chapter Melbourne. 

How do you think organisations like Indonesia Council can improve Australia-Indonesia relations? 

Considering the pool of academics and industry experts that the Indonesia Council has attracted, I’d like IC to have a consultancy voice in shaping Australia-Indonesia relations. Yes I know it’s a big ask, so that’s my lofty hopes for the future. More tangibly, I suppose, IC can connect more with undergraduates who are studying or have an interest in Indonesia. There’s only so much that universities themselves can do to support and maintain that interest – not to mention those slowly dropping Indonesian from their course offerings. Build more community engagement so as to show them, “Hey, there’s more than meets the eye in learning Indonesian and here’s a network of academics and professionals ready to welcome you when you are.”  

What are some of the challenges and opportunities in the Indonesia-Australia relationship? 

Raising and maintaining Indonesian consciousness in the Australian public psyche. This might be an overused example by this point, but everyone knows about K-pop and K-drama, about Japanese anime and sushi. Australia even has a matcha shortage right now because Japanese suppliers can’t keep up. When you ask the average Australian about Indonesia, they’ll answer Bintang and Bali (assuming they know Bali’s in Indonesia in the first place). Yes, government-to-government relationships and business deals like IA-CEPA are good. It’s amazing. But nothing will ever progress between the two if the people of one side is indifferent or ignorant of the other. 

Tell us about your favourite Indonesian food experience 

One I remember was when some friends and I went to Yogyakarta and Malang for our grad trip years ago. I remember finding a newfound love for gudeg. Probably had that for a few days straight and did not complain one bit. [Ed’s note: my food writer mum went to Yogya a few years ago and wrote this article about gudeg!] Though one of my friends didn’t adjust well to makan pinggir jalan one of those nights, so we left him at our share house and went out for some telur gulung next to the famous weeping fig tree (pohon beringin) at the mysticised Alun-Alun Kidul.