I recently had the privilege of celebrating the key Buddhist festival of Waisak by joining thousands of Buddhist worshippers in a procession towards the historic Borobudur Temple in Indonesia's Central Java province.
What struck me as I followed the two-kilometre route through small dilapidated villages was the sea of Indonesian Muslims, Christians and Hindus lining up on both sides of dirt roads to pay their respect to their minute Buddhist population.
This is the spirit of Pancesila, the philosophy at the heart of Indonesian society that emphasises equality and mutual respect. It is the Indonesian Bill of Rights and Human Rights Charter all rolled into one and has taken new found significance since the fall of Suharto's authoritarian regime and the rise of the terrorist group Jamiah Islamiah.
Not that we Aussies know or particularly care about this, unless you are Kevin Rudd — visiting Indonesia today — or part of the political and diplomatic establishment.
In a recent report titled 'Seeing Indonesia as a normal country', the influential Australian Strategic Policy Unit lamented the 'sharp disjuncture' existing between political leaders' unprecedented cooperation and the ignorance that continues to fester between average Australians and our South Eastern Asian neighbours.
This disparity is glaringly reflected in a 2006 Lowy poll stating most Australians don't even know that Indonesia is a democracy.
So how to counter this worrying development? Both governments began designing a series of exchange programs which attempt to break the ice on a local level through the use of educational scholarships, sports and cultural exchange.
As a recent alumnus of the latter, I spent two weeks travelling through this vast country meeting Indonesians from all walks of life — from politicians and scholars to students and families. I was overwhelmed by ordinary Indonesians' deep desire to have a dialogue with Australians that has long been restricted by oceans and privilege.
Australians often sneer at multi-faith dialogue initiatives as being elitist chinwags hollow of practical outcomes, but Indonesians' inclusive form continues to dampen potential flash points in religiously diverse communities. The result of this is a thriving democracy that should be viewed as a beacon for the Muslim world and which can offer expert advice to advanced countries striving for social cohesion.
While in these shores the mere opening of a religious school or an ignorant comment can spark confrontations between self-labelled Muslim and Christian leaders, Indonesian society has adopted