Yesterday, the Frans Seda Foundation had the opportunity to present the 2019 Linggarjati Joint Declaration on future Indonesian-Dutch Relations to His Excellency I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In Valkenburg, several Dutch and Indonesian Frans Seda Fellows gathered to present the declaration which was created by 16 young Dutch and Indonesian leaders during the Innovation Lab last month in Linggarjati. The declaration is aimed to inspire, encourage and enable others to contribute further to the development of Indonesian-Dutch relations.

In Linggarjati, the Fellows, divided into four groups, worked together to draft a joint declaration aiming to encourage cooperative and collaborative actions by both government and young leaders in promoting quality education, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, as well as peace, justice and strong institution. As a sign of agreement of the draft, all the Fellows, Directors and Trustees of the Frans Seda Foundation signed the joint declaration.

The full 2019 Linggarjati Joint Declaration can be accessed here: Open 2019 Linggarjati Joint Declaration

As a surprise, the Frans Seda Foundation also presented the declaration to Ibu Joty ter Kulve whose old house in Linggarjati was used by the fellows as venue to create the declaration just as Dutch and Indonesian leaders did when they were working on the Linggarjati Agreement in 1946.

“It was important for us to share the Linggarjati Joint Declaration with two important people that play a strong part in cultivating the Dutch-Indonesian relationship: Ambassador Puja and Ibu Joty ter Kulve. We were also glad for the opportunity to reconnect with our Fellows, and look forward to future alumni engagement events” thus Anindita Sitepu, President of the Frans Seda Foundation.

We thank Ambassador Puja for his hospitality and for taking the time and effort to receive our declaration. We sincerely hope the 2019 Linggarjati Joint Declaration will contribute to the further development of Indonesian-Dutch relations!

Olivia Herlinda, Indonesian Innovation Lab Fellow wrote about the visit to Linggarjati. Her story can be accessed here: Young Dutch and Indonesian Leaders visit Linggarjati to sign Joint Declaration on Future Indonesian-Dutch Relations