Perth – Thursday, 18 September 2025. Google Translate can tell you that ambyar means “ruined.” But can it tell you how it feels when your heart shatters into a million pieces? Can it tell you when to use it/not to use it? AI can translate words, but it can’t translate vibes. It can’t catch the jokes, the banter, the cultural quirks that make a language alive. As part of its 30th anniversary celebrations, Acicis is challenging young Australians to step away from AI and learn the language of their closest Asian neighbour through the 2025 Bahasa Sesh Challenge. 

The decline of language learning in Australia has reached a critical point. Only 7.6% of Year 12 students study any language, with a mere 3.3% learning priority Asian languages like Indonesian. This alarming trend persists despite the federal government’s landmark Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, which identifies deep cultural and linguistic literacy as a key foundation for strengthening our economic partnership with the region, especially Indonesia being an emerging global powerhouse of over 270 million people and a key partner in trade, tourism, and regional security.

“AI is an incredible tool, but it’s not a substitute for understanding,” says Liam Prince, Consortium Director of Acicis. Natali Pearson, President of Indonesia Council, in her Acicis’ 30th Anniversary speech, says, “My favourite Indonesian idiom is ‘ada udang di balik batu’ — literally, ‘there’s a prawn behind the rock’. But what it really means is ‘there’s something else going on’. Language is only the beginning of cultural literacy, so let’s keep investing in the programs that build it. In a region as diverse and dynamic as ours, cultural literacy isn’t a luxury — it’s a strategic asset.”

In a globalised workforce, being monolingual is a professional limitation. While over 54% of Europeans are bilingual, Australia is being left behind. “The Bahasa Indonesia that I developed during Acicis continues to open doors for me – such as when my introductory video in Malay was circulated to the Bruneian Cabinet,” says Luke Arnold, Assistant Secretary, Office of Southeast Asia at DFAT, and former Australian High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam.

For Australia, understanding Indonesia isn’t optional; it’s essential. “As we reflect on 30 years of building Australia-Indonesia ties, initiatives like Bahasa Sesh remind us that the future of our relationship doesn’t lie in better algorithms, but in better human understanding”, says Prince.

The Bahasa Sesh Challenge, running from 11 September to 20 October 2025, invites participants to share short videos about their favourite Indonesian word or phrase, tagging @Acicis and using #bahasasesh. The goal is to showcase the day-to-day usage, humour, emotion, and cultural depth that AI misses. Submissions are judged across several categories: Most Creative Entry, Most Popular Entry, weekly winners, and the Grand Prize: a four-week Indonesian Language Short Course in Central Java.

 

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For more information, interviews, or images, please contact:

Syarifah Armilia

Marketing Manager, Acicis

+62 822 5339 1516

s.armilia@acicis.edu.au