Upcoming Events and News from Aileu, Timor-Leste, and from the Friends of Aileu in Merri-bek and Hume. Please forward this newsletter to any friends you think will be interested.
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Friends of Aileu Newsletter No. 64, March 2025
Welcome
Merri-bek City Council, Hume City Council and the Friends of Aileu acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people, including the Gunung-Willam-Balluk clan in Hume, as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands and waterways in the areas now known as Merri-bek and Hume. We pay respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging, as well as to other First Nations communities who significantly contribute to the life of the area.
It is a pleasure to be bringing you news about the friendship relationship between the Merri-bek and Hume City Councils and their communities and the Timor-Leste municipality of Aileu and its people.
Re-framing the future of the friendship with Aileu - an update
Friends of Aileu Strategy Plan and Friendship Agreement 2025-2030
Following a community workshop last November, the Friends of Aileu Community Committee and the Project Team have prepared a draft Strategy Plan 2025-2030.
The draft Strategy Plan was considered, along with a draft Friendship Agreement (Merri-bek - Hume - Aileu) 2025-2030 and the Friends of Aileu Annual Report 2024, at the February meeting of the Friends of Aileu Community Committee.
The draft Friendship Agreement and has also been considered by the Aileu Municipal President and the Aileu Friendship Commission.
The draft Strategy Plan 2025-2030 and Friendship Agreement (Merri-bek - Hume - Aileu) 2025-2030 will be reported, along with the Friends of Aileu Annual Report 2024, for consideration at upcoming meetings of the Merri-bek and Hume City Councils.
Supporting youth development, art, sustainable agriculture and environmental activities in Aileu
The 2025 Grassroots Gathering for Aileu
When: 12 - 8 pm, Sunday 16 March
Where: Yubup Park, 14 Frith St, Brunswick
Free entry for an unforgettable afternoon, sharing music, culture and friendship.
Donations for Aileu activities welcome.
Food and refreshments available for purchase, with a range of stalls and activities.
Featuring Yolgnu singer, songwriter and storyteller, Yirrmal, along with Djab Wurrung performer Braj, and sounds from Timor-Leste, Aotearoa, West Papua, Fiji and Palestine.
This event takes place on the unceded land of Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung. We honour their deep and enduring connection to Country and stand in solidarity with First Nations communities and others here and across the world in the fight for justice and a sustainable future.
Some activities marking 25 years of friendship with Aileu and 50 years of Timorese community life in Victoria
Sydney Road Street Party
Friends of Aileu had another successful day at the annual Sydney Road Street Party on Sunday 2 March.
Staff and community members interacted with attendees, sharing information and ideas about Friends of Aileu, the friendship relationship and upcoming activities including those mentioned below.
A gathering to celebrate 25 years of friendship (Friends of Aileu, Friends of Baucau and Friends of Suai)
A joint celebration of 25 years of friendship together with the Yarra-Darebin Friends of Baucau and the Port Phillip Friends of Suai.
When: 6:30 - 9:00 pm, Friday 2 May
Where: Coburg Town Hall
Guest speaker: Kirsty Sword Gusmão
These three friendship relationships were established in May 2000, in conjunction with Xanana Gusmão:
- Delivering the 13th Blackburn Oration on The Importance of Community Alliances in the Re-building of East Timor at Coburg Town Hall on 4 May 2000
- Signing the Statement of Principles for Victorian Local Governments Working in East Timor.
More details to come.
Friends of Aileu will be at Merri-bek's Glenroy Festival
When: 11 am - 3 pm, Sunday 4 May
Where: Glenroy Community Hub and Bridget Shortell Reserve, Wheatsheaf Rd / Acacia St, Glenroy
Don't miss this celebration of performance, community, food, art and music.
Other events marking 25 years of friendship
Some more events and dates for your diary
METAC's monthly welcome dinner for June
This event, sponsored by Friends of Aileu, brings together Timorese community members and friends.
When: 7 - 10 pm, Friday 6 June
Where: Broadmeadows Community Hub
Two Library Talks on the remarkable story of Timor-Leste
Hear about Timor-Leste, Timorese community life in Victoria and our solidarity and friendship.
When: 6 - 8 pm, Thursday 26 June Where: Broadmeadows Library
When: 6 - 8 pm, Thursday 14 November Where: Glenroy Library
More details to come.
Friendship Conference, Dili, Timor-Leste, and visit to Aileu
The Australia Timor-Leste Friendship Network is working with the Timor-Leste Ministry of State Administration developing the program for a 2-day Friendship Conference in July.
When: 7 to 11 July (plus travel)
Where: Aileu & Dili, Timor-Leste
The Project Team and the Friends of Aileu Community Committee are currently working on plans for a visit to Aileu (7 to 9 July) and a delegation to the Friendship Conference (10 & 11 July).
Please contact us by email for further details or to express your interest in the Friendship Conference and the visit to Aileu.
Celebrating 50 years of Timorese community life in Victoria
During 2025, Victoria's East Timorese community is celebrating 50 years of community life in Australia, which began with the arrival of the first East Timorese refugees in Darwin in August 1975.
The major activity of the Timorese Association in Victoria (TAV) and the Melbourne East Timorese Activity Centre (METAC) for these celebrations will be a photographic exhibition Lao Rai / Our Journey, to be launched at a community dinner and cultural evening on the 26th anniversary of the 1999 Popular Consultation.
When: 7 - 11 pm, Saturday 30 August
Where: Collingwood Town Hall
More details to come.
Friends of Aileu Trivia Quiz fundraiser 2025
When: 7 - 10 pm, Friday 3 October
Where: Coburg Town Hall
MC: Brian Nankervis
Don't miss the fun and excitement of the annual trivia quiz.
Your support is invaluable in helping maintain the Aileu Scholarship Program from year to year.
More details to come.
International PermaYouth Convergence 2025, Timor-Leste
The Project Team and the Friends of Aileu Community Committee invite interested young people from our communities to participate with Aileu youth in the 1st International PermaYouth Convergence.
Where: Fatuquero, Ermera
When: 20 to 25 October
This 6-day event, co-hosted by Permatil Global (Australia), Permatil (Timor-Leste) and the PermaYouth Association of Timor-Leste, will focus on developing environmental and leadership skills, based around the theme of Planting Water, Growing Communities.
Attendees will participate in permaculture practice, learn from one another, share stories, make friendships and become part of a global youth network of future caretakers of our planet.
Please contact us by email to enquire about further details and to register your interest in participating in the PermaYouth Convergence.
News from Aileu
Aileu Scholarship Program
Of the 17 Aileu students at Dili universities supported by the Scholarship Program in 2024, 1 graduated with a Masters Degree, 4 with Bachelor Degrees and 3 with Diplomas.
In February, the President of the Aileu Municipal Authority and the Aileu Friendship Commission nominated 8 continuing students and 14 new students to receive scholarship assistance during 2025.
Baucau Teachers College Scholarships
Of the 7 Aileu students at the Baucau Teachers College supported by the Hume City Council education donation in 2024, 1 graduated with a Bachelor of Education (4 years study), and 3 with a Bachelor of Teaching (3 years study).
6 continuing students and 1 new student have been accepted for scholarship assistance in 2025.
Some ways you can support the Friends of Aileu and the community development work of our partner organisations in Aileu
Merri-bek City Council - Friends of Aileu is registered as a fundraiser with Consumer Affairs Victoria.
You can read more about the Wild Timor Coffee story here and, if you're in the vicinity, drop by the Wild Timor Coffee Cafe at 282 Sydney Road, Coburg, which also serves a delicious and ever evolving menu.
Make an on-line donation
You may now donate on-line to Friends of Aileu, and support the community development work of our partners in Aileu, via the Give Now platform managed by the not-for-profit social enterprise ourcommunity.com.au
Purchase Wild Timor Coffee
When you purchase Wild Timor Coffee from Friends of Aileu, 100% of our profit ($8.50 from each pack) goes towards supporting the community development activities of our partners in Aileu.
Caffeinate for a good cause with delicious, ethical, iconic single-origin Wild Timor Coffee.
From crop to cup, these coffee beans are grown organically under ancient shade trees in the rural village of Belumhato, Aileu, ethically purchased direct from the growers and freshly roasted in Melbourne.
You can purchase freshly roasted whole beans or ground coffee from:
- The Customer Service Counter at the Merri-bek Civic Centre, Coburg
- The East Timor Project Team, in Merri-bek's Community Wellbeing Department and Hume's Community Capacity Building Team.
You may contact us by email to order your coffee in advance.
About the Friends of Aileu Community Committee and how you can be involved
In the video to the left, Anne Jungwirth and Chico Dos Santos, volunteer members of the Friends of Aileu Community Committee, share some thoughts on what our friendship relationship with Aileu means to them.
To find out more about the friendship relationship, and how you can be involved, you may contact the Project Officer.
About Us
Friends of Aileu is the friendship relationship between Merri-bek City Council and Hume City Council, along with their communities, and the Timor-Leste municipality of Aileu and its people. The relationship, first established in the year 2000, reflects and builds on the enduring links between the people of Australia and East Timor.
These links developed over decades of community solidarity with the people of East Timor through periods of war and conflict, the liberation struggle, international peacekeeping and United Nations administration.
Our friendship continues to evolve as the people of the now independent nation of Timor-Leste chart their own future, and as our respective communities deal with different local issues and face shared regional and global challenges.
We are online
More information about the friendship relationship, including previous newsletters and Annual Reports, can be found on the Friends of Aileu page of the Merri-bek City Council website.
More news about Aileu and our partner organisations can be found on the Friends of Aileu Facebook Page.
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