Robert Blake's Messages to the Indonesia Diaspora Network

Dear Friends in the Indonesia Diaspora Network,

at the IDN National Convention. For those I did not meet, I wanted to share a few ideas about how we might cooperate. You are a key constituency because you are unique bridge-builders having succeeded in both Indonesia and America.

Many of you have expressed your interest in giving back and helping build US-Indonesian relations. Thank you! We accept!

Here are a few ways you can help:

First, please establish contact with us. Please send your email and contact information to Holly Zardus (mail to: zardushh@state.gov ). Holly is the Embassy point of contact for Alumni and diaspora outreach. Holly can also send you information about our Alumni App that can put you in contact with other Indonesians who have graduated from U.S. universities and participated in U.S. exchange programs.

Second, please consider participating in our public diplomacy programs. You are living the dream that many young Indonesians have of studying or living overseas. We have a wonderful outreach platform in Jakarta called @america, for which we are always looking for speakers to help inspire our young audiences. We would love for you to speak to our many school groups who come to @america to learn how Americans and Indonesians are collaborating with each other in every sector of our societies. We welcome participants with experience in business/entrepreneurship/innovation, education,

Contact Us and then Collaborate with Us. There you can submit your event ideas. We stand ready to collaborate with you!

Third, please consider contributing ideas to our regional outreach program. We do a lot of outreach in the cities where we already have diplomatic posts: Jakarta, Surabaya and Medan but also to these other key cities and regions:

- Cirebon, Semarang, and Solo on Java - Batam and Jambi on Sumatra - Pontianak and Balikpapan in Kalimantan.

If you are from any of these cities, we would welcome ideas of how we could work together.

Fourth, please help us promote U.S. education in Indonesia. Would you be willing to record a video of your education experience in the U.S.? Would you be willing to help promote US education at @America or in your home town in Indonesia, when you come back to Indonesia either on holiday or for good? If so please let Holly know.

Fifth, please help promote Indonesia in the U.S. Indonesia is the most important country in the iaspora communities play a hugely important role in helping build knowledge and understanding about their country of origin. Please think about encouraging and supporting more Indonesian studies programs at your local universities or alma mater, and encouraging your local World Affairs Council or other think tanks to do more programming on Indonesia.

These are just some of the ways we can work together. We welcome any other ideas you may have. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide in these areas. We look forward to working with you!

Sincerely,