To mark its 30th anniversary, Acicis is inviting young Australians to go beyond machine translation and embrace the richness of Indonesia’s language and culture through the 2025 Bahasa Sesh Challenge.
Running from 11 September to 20 October, the challenge encourages participants to post short videos showcasing their favourite Indonesian word or phrase, tagging @Acicis and using #bahasasesh. Prizes include weekly awards and a grand prize of a four-week Indonesian Language Short Course in Central Java.
The initiative comes amid a sharp decline in language learning across Australia, with only 7.6% of Year 12 students studying any language and just 3.3% focusing on priority Asian languages such as Indonesian. This is despite the federal government’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, which highlights linguistic and cultural literacy as essential to deepening ties with the region.
“AI is an incredible tool, but it’s not a substitute for understanding,” said Liam Prince, Acicis Consortium Director. “As we reflect on 30 years of building Australia–Indonesia ties, initiatives like Bahasa Sesh remind us that the future of our relationship doesn’t lie in better algorithms, but in better human understanding.”
Dr Natali Pearson, President of the Indonesia Council, echoed the importance of cultural nuance, citing her favourite idiom ada udang di balik batu (“there’s a prawn behind the rock”), which means there is more going on than meets the eye. “Language is only the beginning of cultural literacy. In a region as diverse and dynamic as ours, cultural literacy isn’t a luxury — it’s a strategic asset.”
With Indonesia emerging as a global powerhouse of over 270 million people, Acicis argues that learning Bahasa Indonesia is not only enriching but strategically vital for Australia’s trade, diplomacy and regional security.
