Media Release, Australia and Indonesia Museum-to-Museum Collaboration, Australian Embassy Indonesia, 28 November 2025

The Australian Embassy joined the Western Australian Museum and the Indonesian Heritage Agency (IHA), to co-host a workshop focused on museum management and curatorial practices at the National Museum of Indonesia in Jakarta on 25–26 November 2025. This follows an earlier workshop held in August 2025 at Fort Vredeburg Museum in Yogyakarta.

Aimed at museum professionals, the program focused on practical knowledge and skills including hands-on exercises using museum collections. Experts from the Western Australian Museum, Dr Melanie Piddocke (Director, Culture and Communities) and Erica Boyne (Head of History) engaged with Indonesian experts, fostering reciprocity and collaboration.

“This initiative highlights the importance of cultural connections in the enduring partnership between Australia and Indonesia. Through museum-to-museum collaboration, we create meaningful opportunities for cultural exchange and shared professional development,” said Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Rod Brazier.

The workshop builds on understanding of Significance 2.0, a comprehensive guide to assessing the significance of objects and collections, and how it can be more broadly applied in museum activities. This fully translated and adapted guide, supported by the Australia-Indonesia Institute and produced by the Australia Indonesia Museums (AIM) Project, includes new case studies and provenance research from Indonesian museums.

Indira Estiyanti Nurjadin, Head of the Indonesian Heritage Agency, welcomed this collaboration as an important step in strengthening museum professionalism and cultural cooperation between Australia and Indonesia. “This collaboration affirms that museums are not merely spaces for storing historical objects, but arenas for ideas, cultural dialogue, and international cooperation. Through Significance 2.0, we enrich how we understand and communicate the value of our collections in ways that are more relevant and inclusive,” said Ibu Indira.

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Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kedubesaustralia/albums/72177720330602158