Personal anecdote and analysis on Indonesia.
Aceh is Indonesia’s westernmost province. It’s usually famous for all the wrong reasons. For those with a long memory it’s associated...
Garuda Flight 717 touched down in Jakarta, Indonesia. I got my bags and headed for the Damri bus terminal. The smell of Indonesia...
I’d have been in Banda Aceh for a while, preparing for my wedding. I do remember that he was always jovial and kind.
Experience and Expertise
2019 - Ongoing
Inside Indonesia is an online publication aiming to provide a deeper image of Indonesia than mainstream media. Here I continue apply and develop my editing skills, initially picked up at Tempo magazine.
April 30 2019
Moderated discussion on the 2019 Indonesian elections for AIYA Victoria (Australia Indonesia Youth Association), with Helen Brown and Professor Ariel Heryanto.
August - December 2017
Awarded Hamer Scholarship by the Victorian Government for a semester of intensive language study in Jakarta, Indonesia. Completed Program BIPA (Indonesian Language Program for Foreign Learners) at the University of Indonesia, Depok Campus.
July 2017
Tutored undergraduate conference participants at the five day intensive learning program in Bogor, Indonesia. FRIP was funded by the Australia Indonesia Centre and run in conjunction with the Australian National University. I worked in conjunction with professors such as Greg Fealy, Ross Tapsell and Vedi Hadiz.
January - December 2016
Completed my Honours year in Indonesian studies from Monash University. My thesis, A Case Study of Michael Bachelard's Reporting for Fairfax Media 2012-2015, analysed Australian media reporting on Indonesia from a foreign correspondent. The focus of my research centred on, in a small way, what role Australian media coverage may affect Australia's relationship with Indonesia.
Internship March/May 2015, Contributor/Contributing Editor May 2015 - December 2017
Initially working under Yuli Ismartono and then directly for Hermien Y Kleden at the English language edition. My internship began covering the World Economic Forum on East Asia, in Jakarta and the Asian African Summit 2015. Initially I carried out general reporting duties, developed into news transcription, editing and translating. I worked mainly on interviews with world leaders, business leaders and Indonesian politicians, developing transcripts, checking, rechecking and rewriting translations, editing finished articles before they were sent to the copy editors. I was based in Jakarta in mid-2015 and the second half of 2017, working remotely at other times as work was required.
Early 2014 - 2015, Communications Officer 2016.
Returning to Melbourne from an Indonesian exchange program in 2014, I wanted to continue involvement with the Australia-Indonesia relationship. AIYA's mission of connecting, informing, inspiring and building people-to-people links made it an ideal place to continue this. I participated in general activities before becoming communications officer in 2016. I focused primarily on engaging our membership and raising our organisation's profile among non-members. To do this, through experimentation, I developed a social media strategy focused on authenticity to build engagement.
2011-2014
Completed my BA at Monash University in Indonesian Studies, with a broad range of units also completed in International Studies, Politics, History and Human Rights Theory. Spreading my degree over four years allowed me complete more units in Indonesian Studies, as I started at a beginners level in Indonesian language 2011.
December 2013 - February 2014
AIYEP is a joint program between Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Indonesian government. This experience gave me remarkable insights into Indonesia's daily life, society, religion, politics, culture and bureaucracy, as well as forging lifelong connections spanning Australia and the Indonesian archipelago. 18 young Australian university students join with 18 Indonesian students to participate in homestays, work placements and to run a joint development project in rural Indonesia. Our program was based in rural West Sumatra province, in Solok regency, several hours from Padang and later in Bukittinggi for the urban phase.
December 2012 - February 2013.
Participated in Monash University's summer intensive language program to UGM in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. My first experience living in Indonesia. Several members of our program became unwell, one of my colleagues contracted dengue fever and typhoid, I was fortunate enough to only get typhoid. Luckily both of us had our shots before departure. At the start of this trip we couldn't wait to get back to Australia, but by the end we never wanted to leave!
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February 2018 - 2020 (Ongoing)
Joined JBS in 2018, after returning from Banda Aceh after my wedding. Assisted in turning the venue around, lifting turnover, increasing profit and cutting costs. In my role as AVM I support the management team and help lead our diverse team, support maintenance of the facility, control costs, manage cashflow, and analyse the market for greater opportunities.
2010 - 2016
Volunteering with the Main Ridge Rural Fire Brigade improved my resilience, taught me how to operate under pressure and devopeBegan with volunteering during my gap year, in the aftermath of the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009.
Edward Stephens
My intention in writing this blog is to add to a more nuanced comprehension of Aceh, what is arguably Indonesia’s most misunderstood province. It is not an attempt to merely attack the failings of the Acehnese and in doing so, reify Western culture. After all, we’re the civilisation that produced President Trump.
I intend to use this space also to share my personal reflections, anecdotes and analysis on Indonesia more generally.
My personal passion for all things Indonesia grew out of a trip to Yogyakarta in 2012. I joined a Monash University sponsored language program at UGM Yogyakarta ,while studying for my Arts degree.
At first, I couldn't wait to get back home to Australia. But by the end of the trip, I didn't want to leave.
