Growing up in the liminal spaces between Asia and Australia, Racheline brings a deep understanding of the culture, history, and politics of Indonesia and Singapore, a background in research, strategic planning, and not-for-profit management, and a passion for languages.

Racheline has served as the ASEAN-Australia Strategic Youth Partnership’s inaugural Perth Hub Manager since 2019 and conceptualised and directed the Indo-Pacific Future Leaders Programme in 2020.

Racheline is completing a Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) in Music and Asian Studies at the University of Western Australia as a Fogarty and New Colombo Plan Scholar.

Languages

Indonesian, Mandarin, Japanese

Influential work

Private sector

• Partnerships support for an organisation in the Australia-China space, securing sponsors from the legal, food and beverage, education, and energy and resources sectors.

• On-the-ground support for a leading technology company, with net income exceeding $90 billion in 2021.

Public sector

• Secured grants from government departments, embassies, and universities to direct programs and conferences designed to elevate knowledge and spark discussion around key challenges facing the region and opportunities for increased collaboration, for bilateral and multilateral organisations in the Australia-China and ASEAN-Australia spaces.

• Research and grant writing work for a large non-profit organisation that provides 89 services supporting over 60,000 West Australians in need.

Thought leadership

• Research on Indo-Pacific transnational labour migration; civil-military relations, political Islam, population policy, and COVID-19 challenges in Indonesia; and language policy in Indonesia and Singapore.

• Published articles and reports and presented at seminars and roundtable discussions on overcoming barriers to learning Asian languages, breaking the bamboo ceiling in Australia, and the future of student mobility in the Indo-Pacific region.

Where my passion for Asia started

I am a first-generation migrant who was born in Indonesia and moved to Australia at a young age. I have embraced the culture and languages of my heritage, take every opportunity to go back, and have always felt a deep connection to these places. I enjoy exploring the intricate nuances of Asia’s rapidly changing societies and cultures, learning about the histories that have shaped the present, and sharing the knowledge I gain.