“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” – Nelson Mandela

Indonesian language learning in Australia could not have asked for a bigger boost from the new government in Canberra. During his visit to Indonesia in June, shortly after his election, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed support for more Australians to take up the language. And Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s flawless Indonesian in a YouTube video that went viral amounts to an endorsement.

Interest in learning Indonesian has indeed declined, from 6.4 percent of all Australian school kids studying the language in 2006 to 3.4 percent in 2019. Are we seeing signs of a revival?

It's unfortunate that today only a few Australians want to learn Indonesian. They are missing out on the opportunity to understand the rich and diverse cultures of their giant northern neighbor. You will understand other people more perfectly if you learn to speak their language. Mastering the language could avoid misunderstandings that in the past have disrupted bilateral relations.

Reviving interests in learning Indonesian in Australia faces three challenges.

First, Indonesian has been losing out in popularity to other Asian languages. In discussions with students in Canberra, I found that they took up Japanese because of the popular manga comics, Korean because they enjoy K-pop and Mandarin because of China's economic rise.

Second, school principals and parents are not supportive, as they can’t see the real value of learning Indonesian for their children. Culturally, predominantly Muslim Indonesia is considered "different" from Australia. Economically, Indonesia’s rise has not been as impressive as that of China. From a security perspective, some Australians perceive Indonesia as unsafe. After the Bali bombings in 2002, some parents even forbade their children to learn Indonesian and objected to school trips to Indonesia.

Third, until recently at least, the Australian government has not supported the learning of Asian languages. Funds earmarked for learning Asian languages by prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard between 2007 and 2013 were cut. Schools had no incentive to offer Indonesian classes, and many eventually shut them down because only a few kids signed up.

Would Prime Minister Albanese change this and help revive interest in learning Indonesian? We certainly hope so.

Indonesia was the first country he visited soon after he was elected in May, underpinning the importance he attaches to the relationship, not only from the economic perspective but also as Australia’s partner in maintaining a stable future for the Indo-Pacific region.

During his visit to Indonesia, Albanese expressed his support for the Australian Consortium for In-Country Indonesian Studies (ACICIS), a program that sends university students to do internships in Indonesia. Besides pledging money for this program, Albanese promised to allocate funds for the learning of Asian languages, including Indonesian.

The new government in Canberra has a more friendly approach to Indonesia that should positively impact the public perception of Indonesia, which in turn will encourage interest in learning Indonesian. Parents will stop preventing children from learning the language.

We have to take advantage of this opportunity presented to us. But first, there are obstacles to overcome, some here in Australia, but others are things that Indonesia should do.

Currently, there aren’t enough Indonesian language teachers because many schools have closed down their Indonesian classes over the last two decades. The pool of teachers has stagnated. Many universities have also closed down their Indonesian study programs, compounding the shortage.

As Canberra begins allocating money for the learning of Indonesian, schools will be recruiting teachers. We cannot expect Australian universities to prepare qualified teachers in a short time. One possible shortcut is to invite Indonesians who graduated from the program to teach Indonesian for foreign speakers, which is run by the Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry. Of course, we must prepare these teachers to meet competency requirements in Australia.

The study of Indonesian must be made as attractive as, if not more attractive than, learning Japanese and Korean, which are boosted by their popular manga comics and K-pop culture respectively. Indonesia should develop a popular culture that young Australians will embrace. Indonesian culture is still seen as traditional, more suitable for older people. We need to "rejuvenate" Indonesian culture and make it “fresher” and more universal so that it can be accepted by young people worldwide.

Indonesia needs to change the Australian public’s misperceptions about its economic prospects. It may not be as large as China, but it is certainly rising to offer great opportunities for collaboration.

Indonesia today holds the presidency of the Group of 20 nations. At its current trajectory, it will be in the top five biggest economies in the world by 2050, up from 16^th place now.

The signing of the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) in 2020 should further boost the economic and trade relations between the two countries. The business-to-business relations are poised to grow rapidly with the agreement – and now even more so with the support from the Albanese administration.

All this bodes well for young Australians who are fluent in Indonesian. Taking Indonesian classes will not only be career-enhancing, but they will also increase their understanding of Indonesia, which can only be good for the relations between the two countries.

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The writer is the education attaché at the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra and a professor at Bogor Agriculture University (IPB). The opinions expressed are his own.