On July 23, 2019, Erna Witoelar, Co-Chair of Filantropi Indonesia, received Honorary Doctorate Degree from Griffith University in an official event that held in Brisbane, Australia. Professor Carolyn Evans, Vice Chancellor of Griffith University, says that Erna Witoelar is an international pioneer in sustainable development and a civil society fighter who conveys critical views to various communities in the Asia-Pacific Region that drive global change.

Erna Witoelar's involvement in  Australian universities began 13 years ago when promoting the Earth Charter in Brisbane. Several visits were often made by Erna Witoelar to Griffith University as the UN Special Ambassador to the MDGs (Millennium Development Goals) in Asia and the Pacific at that time. According to the consul Hermanus Dimara records from the Consulate General in Sydney, Erna Witoelar was the first recipient of honorary doctorate degree in the last three years in the New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia regions.