Liverpool and Surabaya:
Together, We’ll Never Walk Alone
To mark the UN’s World Cities Day on October 31st, the UK’s Ambassador to Indonesia, Owen Jenkins, has written about the close friendship and relationship that Liverpool has established with the Indonesia city of Surabaya.
Indonesia is often described as the world’s biggest secret. A country of 260 million people that stretches the same distance as Liverpool to Qatar. A country of 17,000 islands, making it the biggest archipelago in the world including Java, the world’s most populous island with 145 million inhabitants. This is a country with an economy worth over US$1 trillion and is predicted to be a top four economy by 2050. A country that is the most populous Muslim nation on earth and the third largest democracy. This is a country that few in the UK know much about. But it is a country that matters.
As the British Ambassador to Indonesia, it’s my job to know Indonesia. It is also my job to help the UK understand the huge opportunities this great country presents. This year, the UK celebrate’s 70 years of diplomatic relations with Indonesia. It’s a chance for us to reflect on what we have accomplished together over the years and a moment to look to the future. Having arrived here just three months ago, I’m only beginning to understand that scale of what we can do together. The world is becoming increasingly interconnected. We must work together more closely on trade, on education, on tourism, on science and innovation, the creative economies. We must collaborate on the climate crisis, on reducing poverty and on increasing education levels. The UK has always been an outward-looking trading nation. But now we must do more if we are to be a truly Global Britain. There are huge opportunities for us in Indonesia. For our businesses, our universities, our football clubs. That is why I’m here and I intend to do all I can to help us grasp these opportunities.
I am thrilled to say that Liverpool is a city that Indonesia knows well. Ask any Indonesian which UK city they most want to visit and most will include Liverpool in their top three. Ask them why, and most will talk about world class football and legendary musical heritage. But an increasing number are also mentioning Liverpool’s sister city relationship with Surabaya.
Surabaya is Indonesia’s second biggest city. It has over three million people and an economy growing by over 5% each year. With a port that manages over 32 million tonnes of cargo annually, similar to that handled by Liverpool, it is the gateway to Eastern Indonesia. And with over 100 parks and boasting the UN’s Global Green City award for 2017, Surabaya is also one of Indonesia’s greenest cities. It has a proud cultural heritage with a blossoming creative industries sector. It’s embracing technology, ranking as Indonesia’s smartest city in 2018. And it has ambitions to do more.
For all these reasons and more, Liverpool and Surabaya became sister cities of Surabaya in March 2018, the first such UK / Indonesia city relationship. The relationship has four areas of co-operation: port management, creative industries, smart cities and improving the abilities of our people. These are all worthwhile aims but you might rightly ask what does this actually mean; what are the benefits to Liverpool of having this relationship?
To mark the UN’s World Cities Day on 31 October, I’d like to pick two examples which reflect its theme of “changing the world: innovations and better life for future generations”. St Vincent’s school in Liverpool is a world class specialist school for sensory impairment and other needs. It has the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals at the heart of its work. Over this summer, it hosted a six week residency for seven visually impaired students and eight teachers from Surabaya. This exposed the children to cutting edge technologies and innovative teaching techniques such as Sightbox, a container filled with equipment which provides blind and visually impaired children with the technology needed to access sports so they can have a more independent lifestyle. This has had a hugely positive impact on the lives of these children. They returned to Surabaya with new-found friends and confidence booming. And their teachers will spread the best practice they learnt in Liverpool to help support more of Surabaya’s kids.
The second success is about football because let’s face it, we can’t talk about Liverpool without talking about football. Tranmere Rovers FC has a proud 135 year history. Its International Soccer Academy provides international players with elite football training. Last December, a group of Surabayan youth players and their coaches participated in an intense two week professional coaching programme. The programme was tailored to develop each player individually based on an assessment of their performance, with sports science and nutrition, strength and conditioning, skills-based training, futsal-to-field progression, and professional academy curriculum. The trip included experience of the football culture of the UK — the best football destination in the world. They had the chance to watch the best professional games. They visited London, toured the North-West, and experienced British food and language. The group returned to Surabaya with increased knowledge and passion for the game they love. Plans are afoot for them to visit again next year so that they can continue to learn the very best in footballing innovations.
There are many other shared benefits flowing from this agreement. We have creative partnerships, collaboration in clean energy, educational relationships. We are working together on protecting our cities against climate change and improving public services through digital solutions. And there are new opportunities too. We want to see more Indonesian students studying in Liverpool. More British businesses operating in Surabaya. And more Indonesian organisations investing in the UK. We are working hard alongside the Department of International Trade, who are engaging the private sector in Surabaya, and the British Council, who work with Surabaya’s educational institutions, to realise these opportunities.
Indonesia, and Surabaya, may still be the world’s biggest secret but you can be sure it won’t be for long. Thanks to their sister city agreement, Surabaya stands with Liverpool ready to face global challenges together. I know from my recent visit there, that if Surabaya had one message to pass on to the great people of Liverpool, it would be that together, we’ll never walk alone.
