New speaker: Prodita Sabarini, Jakarta Editor at The Conversation

CAUSINDY is thrilled to announce Prodita Sabarani, the Jakarta editor of The Conversation will be speaking at ‘Transforming the relationship’, a special Q&A event. She will be joining Dewi Fortuna Anwar, Senior Advisor to the Vice President of Indonesia and Professor Tim Lindsey, Chairman of Australia-Indonesia Institute, to form a very exciting and insightful panel.

In 2011, Prodita Sabarini received the Australian Development scholarship to study a Master’s degree in Human Rights Law and Policy at the University of New South Wales. Her time in Sydney saw her work featured in The Australian, New Matilda, and broadcast on Sydney’s 2SER.

She believes forming stronger people-to-people links is the key to strengthening the bilateral relationship between Australia and Indonesia.

“The relationship between Australia and Indonesia should move beyond issues that are driven by State interest. We should instead focus on personal relationships that can build understanding between the two cultures and foster partnerships that would benefit the peoples of the two countries. Many Indonesians and Australians see each other as strangers divided by language, culture and borders. If we can see past the differences, there are great potential in partnerships in different areas such as education and research; arts and culture; as well as human rights and social justice,” Prodita Sabarini said.

Prior to her role now, she worked as an investigative reporter for the English daily newspaper, The Jakarta Post. Prodita’s experience in reporting human rights issues has landed her the title as the 2013-2014 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellow. The fellowship by the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) is a program dedicated to “promoting international understanding of human rights and social justice while creating an opportunity for women journalists to build their skills.”

As the Elizabeth Neuffer fellow, she has been an associate researcher at MIT’s Center for International Studies. She also attended classes in Harvard and MIT to study the root causes of religious intolerance and violence. Part of her fellowship also saw her contribute to The Boston Globe and The New York Times.

CAUSINDY looks forward to drawing from her expert knowledge on human rights and social justice at the special Q&A event, ‘Transforming the Relationship’.

Samantha Yap,

Samantha is a broadcast journalist and producer who is passionate about covering issues in the Asia-Pacific region. She has gained journalism experience in Jakarta, Melbourne, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur. Her work has been featured on SBS News, Australia Network, ABC News 24 and Tempo TV. She's also had work experience with Al Jazeera Network.