Dianny Wahyudhi, who moved from Indonesia to New Zealand at the age of seven, describes herself as "strongly aligned to New Zealand and Indonesia equally". Dianny is keen to draw on her experience of having to adjust to a new culture, language and way of life to educate other young leaders and help migrants to New Zealand who are going through the same process.
Dianny has a BA in Political Science and French, and a First Class Honours Degree in Political Science from Victoria University. She expects to finish her law degree there in June 2011. Over the next few years Dianny would like to focus on increasing her legal experience in both Indonesia and New Zealand. When she finishes her studies, Dianny will take up an internship at a legal aid organisation, APIK Indonesian Women's Association for Justice (Asosiasi Perempuan Indonesia untuk Keadilan), and then she will return to New Zealand to take up a position with legal firm Bell Gully. In her spare time Dianny likes travelling, reading, tramping, watching films and concerts, and hanging out with family and friends. She is also very passionate about volunteering and has given a lot of her time to the university's Disability Support Services, ESOL Home Tutoring, Trade Aid, and an education programme called 'Law in Schools'. Dianny has also interned with the Green Party for Dr Kennedy Graham. "My choice of organisations to volunteer at is based on a desire to further the notions of equal access and equal opportunity. Issues surrounding environmental sustainability, social justice, and multiculturalism are very important to me", she says.
Dianny has been very active in the Indonesian community in New Zealand for many years. "I was involved in events such as the performances celebrating Indonesia's Independence Day and Ramadhan/Eid gatherings and, recently, I danced at the 2011 Southeast Asian Night Market in Wellington and took part in the first national student association conference held at the Embassy in Wellington."Although she has returned to Indonesia many times, Dianny always looks forward to future trips there: "Given its size, richness and cultural diversity I feel a need to discover the country better." Also of particular significance to Dianny was a three-week university Political Science trip to Beijing in 2006. While in China she was fascinated by "the contrast between the historical monuments and the traditional way of life, with the relentless effort to modernise."
Looking to the future, Dianny is keen to use her multicultural experience to promote new initiatives in and between New Zealand and Indonesia. For example, she would like to gather the young leaders in Jakarta and organise a function to promote education in New Zealand. Here, the potential for developing an exchange programme between both countries could also be discussed. Regarding Indonesia specifically, she sees the opportunity for great improvement in access to quality education, especially wider experiential learning."Indonesia is striving to be a modern democracy, but it does not yet have the conditions and the people to be able to meaningfully realise this goal. I believe that a more informed and critically-minded population is a great first step toward this goal".
SOURCE:
http://www.asianz.org.nz/our-work/young-leaders/featured-yln-members/dianny
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