Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian Consulate General in Melbourne, Australia, hosted the "Festival Indonesia 2026" to introduce traditional arts, culinary heritage, and micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) products from across the archipelago to the Australian public.
Held at Melbourne's Federation Square on Saturday (October 24), the festival drew more than 6,000 visitors. Under the theme "Discover Your Neighbour’s Endless Wonders," the event showcased Indonesia’s cultural diversity to its southern neighbor.
"The Indonesian Festival serves as an immersion program," Indonesian Consul General in Melbourne Yohannes Jatmiko Heru Prasetyo said in an official statement received here on Sunday.
The event featured a vibrant lineup of traditional performances, including the Balinese Kecak dance, East Java's Reog Ponorogo, pencak silat martial arts, West Javanese bamboo angklung music, traditional folk games, and a regional choir, alongside interactive batik-making workshops.
Visitors also sampled popular Indonesian cuisine, including satay, bakso (meatball soup), pempek (savory fish cakes), rendang, and traditional street snacks.
In addition, six MSME booths showcased authentic craftsmanship from across the archipelago, including handwoven tenun textiles from the Tanimbar Islands in Maluku and regional handicrafts from North Sulawesi.
"Here, we invite Australians to experience a firsthand glimpse of Indonesia — to see, hear, taste, and engage with Indonesian culture without having to leave Melbourne," Prasetyo added.
Now in its 13th edition, the festival was organized collaboratively by the Indonesian Consulate General and Festival Indonesia Inc.
"Over the past 13 years, Festival Indonesia has grown through the strong collaboration of various Indonesian diaspora communities across Victoria," Chairperson of Festival Indonesia Inc. Celyanda Goeltom said.
"We want Melburnians to see Indonesia not merely as a holiday destination, but as a neighbor endowed with boundless cultural wealth," she added.
Beyond cultural diplomacy, the consulate general utilized the platform to promote its public services, notably "Kami Ada" (kamiada.org) — a bilingual English–Indonesian digital platform dedicated to raising awareness about domestic violence prevention and providing support for Indonesian nationals in Australia.
The initiative drew commendation from Melbourne City Councillor Gladys Liu, who expressed hope that the program would inspire other multicultural communities across Australia.
Australia remains one of Indonesia's primary tourism markets. Australians made an estimated 1.78 million trips to Indonesia throughout 2025–2026, traveling predominantly to Bali.
Data from the Bali office of Statistics Indonesia (BPS) confirmed that Australia remained the province's top source of foreign tourist arrivals over the past year.
Speaking separately at the launch of the Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Economic Development (PROSPERA) in Jakarta on Thursday (October 22), Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto highlighted the need to channel Australian tourism to other parts of the archipelago.
"There are many other destinations that Australian travelers should explore. Therefore, we want to encourage the expansion of direct regional flights connecting Indonesian and Australian cities," Hartarto said.
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Translator: Uyu Septiyati Liman
Editor: Primayanti
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