Australia Awards in Indonesia

The Australia Awards are prestigious, transformational scholarships and short courses offered to emerging leaders for study, research and professional development in Australia

21 October 2025

Teuku Muhammad Hairunis: Fostering Future Leaders Through Youth Engagement

An Australia Awards Short Course alumnus is helping young people bring their concerns to the attention of government in Banda Aceh, and prepare their organisations for a more sustainable future.

Teuku Muhammad Hairunis, the Head of Youth Services at the Banda Aceh Sports and Youth Department, gained the inspiration for this work from the Australia Awards Short Course on Youth Participation and Engagement in Democracy and Social Justice Issues held at the Queensland University of Technology in 2022.

For Hairunis, who has worked at the department since 2019, the Short Course was a perfect match, as he engages with youth issues every day.

‘The knowledge I gained from it, such as building youth organisations, youth development, formulating programs for youth and how to engage with youth, were very beneficial to me,’ Hairunis said.

Observing Youth Networking Programs in Australia

Australia had already played a special role in Hairunis’ career before the Short Course. In 2017, he obtained a Masters of Public Policy and Management at Perth’s Murdoch University in 2017.

He previously worked at the Independent Election Commission of Banda Aceh and the Banda Aceh Development Planning Agency before landing his current role, where he is responsible for youth development, training, and empowerment.

‘The course also addressed environmental and political issues, as well as entrepreneurship,’ he said. ‘I found that the course has broadened my insights on youth development.’

There were 2 moments from the Short Course that left a lasting impression on Hairunis. First, he was excited to meet several inspiring youth role models in Australia.

‘I felt it was really useful for me hearing Australian youth figures in politics and volunteering organisations share their experience on developing networking and creating programs that can appeal to other youths to participate,’ he reflected.

The second valuable experience was observing how private individuals, companies and NGOs collaborate with the Australian Government to support youth organisations.

Collaborating to Give Youth a Voice With Government

Learning about the benefits of cross-sector collaboration inspired Hairunis to begin a youth initiative that has proven successful in linking young people with government.

‘It crossed my mind to implement the same concept of collaboration in Indonesia by collaborating with another course participant, Agustina Iskandar Crombach, leader of Citizen OS Indonesia, a branch of an international NGO based in Estonia,’ Hairunis explained.

‘I discussed with Agustina how to increase youth organisation engagement in Banda Aceh, teaching them how to manage their organisations and how to voice their aspirations to the government and public.’

They decided to create a capacity-building program named YEP, which stands for Youth Engagement Program. Held in Banda Aceh from June to August 2023, YEP and was attended by 108 local NGO and youth organisation leaders.

‘Through YEP, we educated youth organisations and community leaders in Banda Aceh on how to operate without depending on government aid, by engaging in entrepreneurial activities, and maximising the use of social media for their activities and to voice their ideas," Hairunis said.

The event was attended by the Acting Governor of Aceh and a representative from the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs, and served as a forum for youth groups to express their aspirations and ideas to the government.

Hairunis and Agustina drew on their networks to make the event a success, including Australia Awards alumni from various professional backgrounds who got involved as speakers and motivators.

Angela Romano, an Associate Professor at Queensland University of Technology, also participated in the online training sessions, to provide insights on social and youth issues.

Gaining Government Interest and Support

From the 108 participants, three were selected to receive support from the Banda Aceh City government. Together, they are working on helping these outstanding participants implement their projects in the fields of entrepreneurship, youth issues, and the environment.

A recommendation document formulated by YEP participants was presented to government representatives from the Banda Aceh City Government, Aceh Provincial Government, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs.

The document consisted of participants’ aspirations, the challenges faced by youth in Banda Aceh and recommendations on how to sustain youth organisations' activities in Banda Aceh.

The document was well received by the Acting Governor of Aceh Achmad Marzuki, who then took the initiative to hold a weekly entrepreneurship expo near his office to accommodate youth organisations in Banda Aceh who wish to develop their entrepreneurial skills.

A Sustainable Approach to Youth Development

Beginning in September 2023, the weekly expos attracted an average of 50 participants each week, consisting of MSMEs and youth organisations.

Hairunis explained the idea of the expos was to guide youth organisations on business skills that could help their long-term financial sustainability.

The government was eager to help the groups stand on their own feet because during the COVID-19 pandemic, many youth organisations and communities in Banda Aceh became dormant due to a lack of financial aid from the government, he said.

‘We are encouraging youth organisations in Banda Aceh to become financially independent without depending on funding and aid from the government,’ Hairunis said.

Members of the Subulussalam Regional House of Representatives also acknowledged the positive impact of YEP. They are now also interested in collaborating with Agustina and Citizen OS Indonesia to organise a similar event in Subulussalam.

Hairunis said his office was also still negotiating with Citizen OS to send the three best YEP participants to participate in a program called Democratic Defender, held by Citizen OS in Estonia.

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