Councils Connecting Communities: Australia - Timor-Leste, 25 years of friendship with Aileu, Baucau and Suai

Name: Councils Connecting Communities: Australia - Timor-Leste, 25 years of friendship with Aileu, Baucau and Suai
Start: 2025-05-06T18:00:00+1000
End: 2025-05-06T20:00:00+1000
Location: Coburg Town Hall

Tue, 6 May, 6pm - 8pm AEST

Coburg Town Hall

coburg, australia

Friends of Aileu

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Event description

Merri-bek City Council, in partnership with Hume City Council and the Friends of Aileu Community Committee, the Friends of Baucau and the Friends of Suai - Cova Lima invite you to join us to celebrate 25 years of friendship with Aileu, Baucau and Suai, Timor-Leste

Coburg Town Hall, 90 Bell St, Coburg

Tuesday 6 May 2025, 6-8pm

The evening’s keynote speaker:

Kirsty Sword Gusmão AO, Founder Alola Foundation, Goodwill Ambassador for Education, Timor-Leste, and former First Lady, Timor-Leste

Kirsty is a human rights and women's empowerment advocate and educational consultant, passionate about issues of educational equality & access linked to language of instruction in multilingual settings.

MC: José Pires, Timorese Association in Victoria, for panel discussion, Q&A session and messages from Timor-Leste

Free event. Registrations essential

Doors open 6:00pm. Event starts 6:30pm

Light refreshments will be served at the start and conclusion of the evening

Please contact friendsofaileu@merri-bek.vic.gov.au to advise any dietary, access or accessibility requirements

This event is in collaboration with, and is supported by:

Darebin-Yarra Friends of Baucau
City of Port Phillip Friends of Suai
Australia East Timor Association
Timorese Association in Victoria

Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity

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Friends of Aileu

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Friends of Aileu is the friendship relationship between:

Merri-bek City Council and our communities
Hume City Council and their communities.
the Timor-Leste municipality of Aileu and its people.

Established under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2000, the friendship relationship's commitments are outlined in a Friendship Agreement, which is renewed periodically. You can read through the Memorandum of Understanding (PDF) and our current Friendship Agreement (PDF) to find out more.

As part of the Victorian Government's program of cooperation with the Government of Timor-Leste, both councils have also entered into Municipal Coorporation Agreements with the Timor-Leste Ministry of State Administration. The Moreland Municipal Cooperation Agreement (PDF) and the Hume Municipal Corporation Agreement (PDF) provide a framework for the support provided to the Municipality of Aileu during the Timor-Leste Government decentralisation process and the transition to responsible, elected local government.

Currently, there are 32 friendship groups registered with the Australia Timor-Leste Friendship Network. You can find out more about these groups on the Australia Timor-Leste Friendship Network website. Eighteen of these groups are linked to Victorian local government councils. Moreland (now Merri-bek) and Hume were among the first councils to formalise their friendship relationship, along with Darebin, Yarra, and Port Phillip.

The friendship relationship is based on the following principles:

Relationships - building partnerships based on mutual respect and understanding
Sustainability - committing to a long-term relationship
Respect - supporting Timorese-led decision-making

Engaging in the spirit of friendship, we participate in activities that support the municipality and people of Aileu to develop their local democracy and seek a more sustainable future. We focus on education and training, community health, and the environment, and specifically aim to address participation by women and youth. The Friends of Aileu Strategy Plan (PDF) provides more detail about how we make these activities happen.

The friendship relationship reflects and builds on the strong links between the people of Australia and Timor-Leste. These links have been developed and strengthened over decades of support and solidarity, particularly during periods of war, occupation, and subsequent peacekeeping.

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Tue, 6 May, 6pm - 8pm AEST

Coburg Town Hall

coburg, australia

Hosted by Friends of Aileu