We thank you for your interest.If you have any comments relating to the Ballarat-Ainaro

Community Action Plan, or would like to find out about theactivities of the Ballarat Friends of Ainaro Community

Committee, please contact:Elizabeth Hardiman

elizabethhardiman@ballarat.vic.gov.au5320-5831

OrRob Gray

Robert.Gray@bgs.vic.edu.au5338-0944

16

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1 INTRODUCTION 3-4 1.1 OUR EAST TIMOR JOURNEY

2 OUR VISION 5 3 PARTNERS 6 3.1 BALLARAT FRIENDS OF AINARO COMMUNITY COMMITTEE 3.2 AUSTRALIAN EAST TIMOR ASSOCIATION – BALLARAT BRANCH 3.3 AINARO BALLARAT COMMISSION 3.4 TEACHERS FOR TIMOR 3.5 RYDER CHESHIRE 3.6 ROTARY CLUBS OF BALLARAT 3.7 FRIENDSHIP SCHOOLS BALLARAT

4 PARTNERS IN ACTION 7 5 KEY PRIORITY ACTIONS 8-10 5.1 GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 5.2 RELATIONSHIPS 5.3 RESOURCE PLANNING

6 TRACKING PROGRESS AND REPORTING 11 7 APPENDICES 12-14 7.1 EAST TIMOR 7.2 THE OCCUPATIONS OF EAST TIMOR 7.3 DISTRICT OF AINARO – FRIENDSHIP CITY 7.3.1 FACTS AND FIGURES

8 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 15

8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Ballarat Friends of Ainaro acknowledge the efforts of the following people and organisations in bringing together this Plan: Cr Des Hudson Cr Mark Harris Rob GrayAndrew Miller Desley Beechey Tony HaintzRose King Dianne McGrath Gemma AbrahamChris Bluett John McDonald Dianne HaddenBelinda Coates David MacPhail Andrea ShawMatthew Turner Meri Allen Ballarat GrammarJulie Chandler Melanie Horne Gay GrahamKarin Miller Rosemary Livingstone Michael BurchellFiona Burchell Loretta Kaval Roland KavalFriendship Schools Sr Anne Forbes Marcus DownsBrian Harrison Helen Harrison Liz HardimanAnna Haintz Jess Corden Leo RennieDarryl Riddle Glenys Shaw Kim Patterson Marcelino Mendonca Joao Barreto Ainaro Ballarat Commission

15

1. INTRODUCTION The development of the Ballarat-Ainaro Community Action Plan 2012-2017 (the ‘Plan’) has been coordinated by the Ballarat Friends of Ainaro Community Committee (BFACC). The BFACC considered the development of the Plan as being a critical next step in the relationship between the City of Ballarat and the District of Ainaro. The Plan aligns with BFACC’s overarching Strategic Plan (2009), but more importantly combines the thoughts, aspirations and intent of the broader Ballarat community to give ownership of this document to the whole of the community and in particular those having a close connection with Ainaro. The development of the Plan has always been mindful of respecting the culture of and meeting the needs of the Ainaro community. The Actions in the Plan have been presented in a concise format to the Ainaro Commission and District Administration to provide them with an understanding of the intent and the capacity of Ballarat community. Their feedback has been welcomed and noted in the deliberations.

7.3.1 FACTS AND FIGURES The following figures were gathered from the 2010 Census:• Population; The District of Ainaro has a total population of 59,382 people. It is divided into 4 sub districts: Ainaro, Maubisse, Hatu Udo and Hatu Bulico. Each of these sub districts is further divided into smaller administrative areas called suco• Religion; The population is 98% Catholic with a strong underlying belief in traditional animism• Languages; The main language groups are: Mambae 79%, Tetun 11%, Bunak 8%• Literacy; Only 37% of people could read or write in one of the official languages• Workforce; 86% of people in the workforce earned a living through subsistence farming and fishing• Education; Of the entire population of the district only 2552 respondents indicated they had graduated from either junior or senior secondary school and only 66 indicated they had graduated from tertiary education.

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7.3 THE DISTRICT OF AINARO – FRIENDSHIP CITY Ainaro is one of 13 administrative districts of East Timor.The District of Ainaro is in the southwest of the country. It boasts many streams, fertile land and rugged terrain, including East Timor’s highest peak, Mount Ramelau. It is predominantly rural with only 2 recognised urban areas, those of the townships of Ainaro and Maubisse.Historically, the district played an important role during the brutal Indonesian occupation of East Timor, providing shelter for the mountain-based guerrilla resistance army. Former guerrilla leader and current Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao spent many years directing the resistance from Ainaro.

7.2 THE OCCUPATIONS OF EAST TIMOR Early 16th century; The Portuguese began to trade with the island of Timor and colonized it in mid-century.1859: Skirmishing with the Dutch in the region eventually resulted in a treaty, in which Portugal ceded the western portion of the island.1942 to 1945: Imperial Japan occupied East Timor, but Portugal resumed colonial authority after the Japanese defeat in World War II.November 28, 1975: East Timor declared itself independent from Portugal and was invaded and occupied by Indonesian forces nine days later.July 1976: East Timor was incorporated into Indonesia as the province of Timor Timur. During the subsequent 24-year occupation a campaign of pacification ensued.1974 to 1999: there were an estimated 102,800 conflict-related deaths (approximately 18,600 killings and 84,200 ‘excess’ deaths from hunger and illness), the majority of which occurred during the Indonesian occupation.August 30 1999: in a UN-sponsored referendum, an overwhelming majority of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia. Immediately following the referendum, anti-independence Timorese militias — organised and supported by the Indonesian military — commenced a punitive scorched-earth campaign. The militias killed approximately 1,400 Timorese and forcibly pushed 300,000 people into West Timor as refugees. The majority of the country’s infrastructure was destroyed.September 20 1999: the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) was deployed to the country and brought the violence to an end. Following a United Nations-administer transition period.August 30 2001: First free elections in Timor Leste history.March 24 2002: New Constitution agreed.May 20 2002: East Timor internationally recognised as an independent state – the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste.

1.1 OUR EAST TIMOR JOURNEY

Council, at its meeting 7 December 1999, recommended “that Council gives in principle support to entering into a friendship agreement with the people of the Ainaro region of East Timor during the period of reconstruction”. The Ballarat Branch of the Australian East Timor Association identified the Ainaro region as an appropriate sister region for Ballarat and initiated an informal friendship relationship which at the time was an acknowledgement of the generous response of the people of Ballarat to the crisis in East Timor. During a ceremony held at the Town Hall on 10 December 1999, the Mayor of the day, Cr John Barnes presented an official letter to Sr Benjamin Araujo, a native of Ainaro, to take with him to East Timor. Sr Benjamin presented the letter to Sr Joao Corte-Real, a Government official, seeking assistance to establish a Friendship Agreement with the District of Ainaro. This formal Friendship Agreement did not commit Council to providing financial or physical resources, but rather advocated for the transfer of knowledge, skills and resources as appropriate, at both the local government, and community level. A visit to East Timor in June / July 2003 was the first by a delegation of City officials since the independence of East Timor and was the most appropriate opportunity for the Friendship Agreement to be formalised. In July 2005 the Ballarat City Council formally established the Ballarat Friends of Ainaro Community Committee (BFACC) under Section 86 as a Special Committee of Council, providing funding and support to further develop the friendship relationship with the Ainaro District. The first meeting of the BFACC was held on Tuesday 29th November 2005. Some highlights of the relationship since 2003 have been:

Various Local Govt delegations Strategic Workshops with member of the Ainaro District Administration, both in Ballarat and Ainaro

AVI appointment - 2008 to 2010, leading to strong project support from Australia

Health delegations

English language program Small grants program

Scholarship program Friendship schools exchanges and forums

Community forums in both Ballarat & Ainaro ‘5 for T’ fundraising campaign

Community awareness-raising and celebration events Development of a ‘Ballarat-Ainaro Community Action Plan’ 2012 - 2017

4

2. OUR VISION

It is intended that all initiatives undertaken under the Friendship Relationship should be directed towards strengthening the communities of the Ainaro District. These initiatives should aim to build capacity and advance the self-sufficiency of the people of Ainaro, and should be consistent with the principals of cultural, social and environmental sustainability. We recognise that there will be short term and long term goals for the re-building of Ainaro and that any strategy or project should be based on needs identified through local decision making processes and should take account of the capacity of the City of Ballarat, and the members of the Friendship community, to resource and support them. 5 YEAR ACTIONS - SUMMARY:

7. APPENDICES

7.1 EAST TIMOR

The Democratic Republic of East Timor is a country in Southeast Asia. It consists of the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecussi-Ambeno, and exclave of East Timor situated on the northwestern side of the island, surrounded by Indonesian West Timor. The name Timor is derived from timur the Malay word for ‘east’, which became Timor in Portuguese. The word for ‘east’ in Tetun is loro sa’e or ‘rising sun’. The Portuguese name Timor-Leste and Tetun name Timor Lorosa’e are frequently used when referring to East Timor. East Timor is one of the poorest countries in the world. According to the United Nations Human Development Report 2007/2008, East Timor ranks at 150 out of 177 countries reported on the Human Development Index, a United Nations measure of a country’s wellbeing. Excluding Yemen and a small number of countries in Africa, this is the lowest in the world. In the same report Australia is ranked third, giving an idea of the disparity between the two countries.

Formerly Portuguese Timor, East Timor was invaded by Indonesia in 1975, which occupied it until 1999. Following the UN-sponsored act of self determination that year, Indonesia relinquished control of the territory, which achieved full independence on May 20, 2001. With the Philippines, East Timor is one of only two majority Roman Catholic countries in Asia.

12

5

5

6. TRACKING PROGRESS & REPORTING

During the course of the Plan’s implementation, the Ballarat Friends of Ainaro Community Committee will act in an advisory role. As well as providing a vital link between Ballarat and Ainaro, this will help ensure that the implementation process is kept on track and in accordance with the wishes of the East Timorese people. Progress reports will be prepared and presented to Council in December 2013, 2015 and 2017.A community consultation process will be undertaken to review the outcomes, relevance and effectiveness of the Plan towards its completion in 2017.The Ballarat – Ainaro Community Action Plan will be available on the City of Ballarat’s website.

3. PARTNERS

3.1 BALLARAT FRIENDS OF AINARO COMMUNITY COMMITTEE (BFACC)

Council’s Ballarat Friends of Ainaro Community Committee auspices, promotes and strengthens the relationship between Ballarat and Ainaro. Through consultation with the Ainaro Community, the Committee identifies and supports projects within, and external to Ballarat, that will assist the Ainaro community.

3.2 AUSTRALIAN EAST TIMOR ASSOCIATION – BALLARAT BRANCH (AETA-BB)

AETA –BB raises awareness of the Ballarat community regarding the situation in East Timor, both in past and present circumstances.

3.3 AINARO-BALLARAT COMMISSION

The Ainaro –Ballarat Commission raises awareness of the needs within the Ainaro community where Ballarat may be able to assist, and communicates these needs to the Friends of Ainaro in Ballarat.

3.4 TEACHERS 4 TIMOR (T4T)

Teachers 4 Timor provides opportunities for members of the Ainaro community to study English.

3.5 RYDER CHESHIRE

Ryder Cheshire provides for the relief of suffering of the people of East Timor who are sick, disabled or destitute and without regard to age, race or religion at their Home at Klibur Domin. This includes people who are waiting or recovering from surgery and others who are suffering from tuberculosis or malnutrition.

3.6 ROTARY CLUBS OF BALLARAT

Rotary Clubs of Ballarat in East Timor support the people of East Timor through funding of projects and supply of appropriate developmental materials.

3.7 FRIENDSHIP SCHOOLS OF BALLARAT

The Friendship Schools group provides awareness to Ballarat students of East Timorese schools and living and educational conditions in Ainaro .

6 11

4. PARTNERS IN ACTION

The Ballarat-Ainaro Friendship consists of a range of partners, working together or independently to support East Timorese initiatives either here in the local community, or in Ainaro itself.

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