Lily Yulianti Farid

Vale to Lily Yulianti Farid  10/03/2023

Lily Yulianti Farid will be deeply missed. She was a remarkable writer, scholar and feminist.

Her creative works and intellect have inspired many and her efforts have strengthened the Australia-Indonesia relationship. Dr Farid was an admired mentor to young people with whom she generously shared her time.

Her work on the history of the Makassan and Aboriginal people of northern Australia revealed close early ties between the two nations and she ensured those bonds continue through the Trading Cultures artist exchange.

Dr Farid was a published author and art event producer and in 2011 founded the Makassar Writers Festival which remains a showcase for artists.

She started her career as a journalist for the leading Indonesian newspaper Kompas in 1995. She also worked with leading media companies including Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Radio Australia and Online News, Indonesian Service), Radio Japan, Japan Broadcasting Corporation and Morning Daily Kompas, Indonesia.

Her career expanded into academic and creative fields which included teaching Indonesian literature and working for academic research projects and publications at the University of Melbourne from 2014-2019. Lily was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Monash Indigenous Studies Centre.

Dr Farid’s took an interest in gender issues in her journalist career and this led to research on the representations of gender in Indonesian media for her MA and PhD. During her time at the University of Melbourne she examined women’s positions in politics and in Indonesian society as portrayed in contemporary literature.

Lily Yulianti Farid brought her creativity and energy to the Australia-Indonesia Centre as an industry fellow and her time with us will be fondly remembered.