On the occasion of the 80th Independence Day of the Republic of Indonesia, on 17 August 2025, five students and two teachers from the state of Victoria, Australia, attended the ceremony at the grounds of the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Canberra. They are scholarship recipients from the Victorian Indonesian Language Teacher Association (VILTA), which annually holds a selection for teachers and learners of Indonesian in Victoria.
The five students are:
1. Luke Eddy, Damascus College Ballarat
2. Henry Lake, Melbourne High School
3. Emelie Anderson, St Ignatius Geelong
4. Orlagh Hijner, Avila College
5. Isaac Poon, St Bede’s College
The two accompanying teachers are:
1. Daniel Bradbury, Mt. Evelyn Christian School
2. Jill Kube, Nhill College
These students and teachers received scholarships from VILTA after winning an essay writing competition about Indonesia. One of the students, Luke Eddy, delivered a speech in Indonesian after the flag-raising ceremony at the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra.
They stayed at the residences of the Indonesian Ambassador and Deputy Ambassador in Canberra. In addition to attending the ceremony, they also experienced Indonesian cuisine and learned about Indonesian culture in an Indonesian family setting.
During their stay in Canberra, the students and teachers also had the opportunity to learn to play the traditional Javanese gamelan instruments and visit several historical and tourist sites in Canberra, such as the Australian War Memorial, the National Museum of Australia, and Parliament House.