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fter a two-day discussion, leading Indonesian and Australian figures in the fields of business, media, science and technology agreed last week to bolster bilateral ties between the two countries.

During the dialogue, the so-called “citizen diplomats” worked to produce recommendations to deepen bilateral ties.

“The dialogue was to explore ways of generating new ideas to bring bilateral relations to a higher level,” said Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) executive director Rizal Sukma, a co-chair in the dialogue.

He said that while problems and differences persisted, as in every bilateral relationship, Indonesia and Australia had not allowed the differences to obstruct efforts to focus on common interests.

He said that both sides had worked tirelessly to narrow their differences and manage whatever problems they may have had.

John McCarthy, former Australian ambassador to Indonesia and the dialogue’s co-chair, said, “There have been tremendous changes in RI and Australia since 12 years ago ... In order for us to act as one, we need to strengthen the foundations of our bilateral relations beyond governmental relationships,” Rizal said.

“Our countries are located in a dynamic region and interrelated in global and regional layers such as the East Asia Summit and the G20.”

Rizal added, “If you want to strengthen the bilateral relations, the people are really crucial in this dialogue. We try to provide a platform for a greater public participation in strengthening the bilateral relations.”

Professor Tim Lindsey, chairman of the Australia-Indonesia Institute, said that, as neighbors, people from both countries shared a future.

“It is crucial to cooperate and prevent misunderstandings.”

One recommendation to include the public in the dialogue is by utilizing the social media.

“Social media is a platform to address and to trigger dialogue, but it has not been fully utilized yet,” said Ima Abdulrahim, executive director of the Habibie Center. “It is cost-effective and has great reach, especially among the youth.”

According to McCarthy, Indonesia has the second-largest Facebook community, and Indonesians log the most tweets on Twitter every day.

Rizal underlined that the younger generation was the future, so the youth had to participate, including via technology. “We have to generate new ideas to bring relations to a higher level. We have to cooperate and address challenges.”

A key to strengthening bilateral ties is communication. “It is more than simply managing misunderstandings. We need to know how to handle them,” Lindsey said. “It is how to turn challenges into opportunities,” Ima said.

Considering that Australia and Indonesia are close neighbors, Ed Husic, a federal member of Chifley, said, “To manage regional as well as global problems, we have to cooperate and exchange our knowledge and experience.”

He said that active participation of NGOs, individuals and organizations was necessary to bolstering people-to-people contact.