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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Australia`s Ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer, launched a national essay writing competition in cooperation with the Centre for Indonesian Reform (CIR) on Thursday.

The competition invites senior high school and undergraduate students to write about the relationship between Australia and Indonesia, emphasising the themes of cultural diversity and democracy.

"As neighbors, we need to build strong people-to-people links.As two democracies living side-by-side, we need open discussion, critical thinking and a better understanding of each other," Farmer said.

"This includes knowledge of how much we have in common as two democratic countries, based on diversity," he added.

Farmer said both the Australian and Indonesian Governments recognized the importance of building better people-to-people links.

Farmer said the program was reflected in the Lombok Treaty, which listed `Community Understanding and People-to-People Cooperation` as an area for ongoing work.`

"I would like to thank CIR for this initiative. And I look forward to the announcement of results on August 18," Farmer said.

He said the first prize from the competition is a a trip for two to Sydney. Further details of the competition can be found through the CIR (Haryo Setyoko: 0815 84031767).

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