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In response to the Courage to Move initiative, the Australian Province has taken the decision to send three women to Timor-Leste early in 2006: Anne Byrne, Diaan Stuart and myself. Initially we will work in a primary teachers college in Baucau, run by Australian Marist Brothers, on the east coast of the island.

Thirteen Loreto sisters*, including the three who are preparing to go to Timor, recently attended a conference in Melbourne, entitled Co-operating with Timor-Leste: Ideas for Good Development Practice, organized by two universities and the Australia-East Timor Association. (Timor-Leste is the official name of the newly independent East Timor.)

Anne Kelly ibvm

Questions that were addressed at the conference included the following:

• How do the people of Timor Leste view the future of their country?
• How can the Australian Government - at the local, national and federal level - aid agencies, unions and other groups work effectively with the Timorese?

In opening the conference, the Prime Minister, Mari Alkatiri, observed that simply declaring a country an independent state does not make it one. Among the list of critical problems needing to be addressed, he cited the lack of capacity within the population as one of the most serious. "We need to develop new ways of thinking of the people; to liberate their sense of oppression and lack of worth." Over five centuries of colonization - by Portugal since 1512 and Indonesia since 1975 - have obviously shaped the way the Timorese view themselves and the world.

The exceedingly fragile economy, based primarily on agriculture, forestry and fishing, was dealt a near lethal blow in 1999, when 70% o the infrastructure was destroyed by Indonesian-backed militia groups, opposed to independence. Current statistics are startling. The 2005-2006 budget for the entire country of 925,000 people is $US122 million; the average annual income of workers is $US1.20 per day; life expectancy is in the high fifties; every second child is malnourished; and there are exceedingly high levels of illiteracy and unemployment. Moreover, while the population growth is one of the highest in the world, there is limited access to basic health care facilities, education, roads and communication.

The conference consisted of a stimulating mix of plenary sessions addressed by one or more speakers plus workshops organized in two different ways. The first set of workshops explored topics such as agriculture, environment, communications, transport, trade, health, population, governance, civil society, law, justice, education and human resource development. The second set was organized around interest groups such as aid agencies, churches, unions, service clubs, business groups, women's organizations, young people, academics and health workers. Participants moved freely across the groups throughout the two and half days of the conference, engaging with a wide range of people and differing points of view as they did so.

The Loreto participants gathered for a meal on the final evening. In reflecting on the experience, we noted that we had not only learned a great deal but had also 'unlearned' some things as well: an essential component in trying to understand another culture. In particular, the three of us who are preparing to live and work in Timor, were greatly encouraged by the large Loreto contingent at this conference, a clear sign that we are not going alone, but with the genuine interest and support of the Australian Province

* Participants in this conference were Marg Burchell, Anne Byrne, Maria Bongiorno, Margie Bourke, Anna Gaha, Liz Hepburn, Anne Kelly, Anne McPhee, Janet Palafox, Francine Roberts, Libby Rogerson, Angela Slattery and Diaan Stuart.