The Australian High Commissioner to the Maldives, Ms. Kathy Klugman hosted an alumni event on 21 December 2011 at Traders Hotel to congratulate the recipients of the 2012 Australian Development Scholarships. The Vice President of the Republic of the Maldives, Hon Dr. Mohamed Waheed was the Chief Guest at the event. The reception was also attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon Mr Ahmed Naseem and the Speaker of the Parliament. The Counselor of the Australian High Commission in Colombo Mr. Edward Archibald acted as the Master of Ceremony. 

The Australian High Commissioner to the Maldives, Ms Kathy Klugman speaking at the Alumni Event held in Male' on 21 December 2011	Some of the Australian Awards 2012 recipients speaking to the speaker of the parliament

The Australian High Commissioner to the Maldives, Ms. Kathy Klugman spoke at the event. Ms Klugman said she was “pleased that the Australian Government has increased the number of scholarships to Maldives for the 2012 intake. This cohort represents the largest group of scholars to study in Australia on long-term scholarships in the past 10 years”. The Vice President talked about the importance of the scholarship opportunities for the development of the Maldives, and thanked the Australian government for the continuous support they have been giving to the Maldives people for 4 decades in various forms of aide. 

The Speaker of the Parliament Mr. Ahmed Shahid, who is also an AusAID alumni, shared his experiences as a student in Australia. Ministers, senior government officials and several alumni including MP’s, State Ministers and many high level government officials attended the event.  The Alumni who attended the event included scholars from as early as 1970’s.