Crawford Graduate changing how we talk about development and the environment

Rhema Wijaya was a communications specialist in her own right before she started her Master of Environmental Management and Development (MEMD) at the Crawford School of Public Policy. Now she is using her newfound skills to change how Indonesia talks about development and environmental issues to drive meaningful change.

Rhema started her career with an international relations degree and a love of media and communications. She began her career at the intersection of two opposing realities. In her role as a public relations officer at a mining company which operates in South Sulawesi, the communication was straightforward. "The community and local government didn't need to be convinced of the benefits; the link between the industry and economic development, jobs, and infrastructure was clear and visible," she says.

However, when she transitioned to work for Wildlife Conservation Society, an international NGO focusing on protecting biodiversity, that clarity vanished. The challenge wasn't just about delivering a message; it was about navigating a collision of interests.

The more she worked translating complex environmental issues for different audiences, the more she realised the issues were not just about the environment; they were also tied deeply to governance, politics, and economics.

“I noticed that effective environmental advocacy isn't just about crafting a good message. It’s about understanding the deeper political and social contexts,” Rhema explains.

She saw this clearly while working on campaigns to reduce the poaching of elephants and songbirds in the deep Sumatran forest. Initially, the focus was purely on the conservation message to stop poaching to conserve the environment for the next generation. But the reality on the ground was far more complex—tied to the economic survival of local farmers and the long history of the land they lived on.

“I realized I was focusing on environmental outcomes but overlooking the systems beneath them. It’s not as simple as creating the right message if you don't understand the economic pressures driving a farmer to poach.” 

This realization is what led Rhema to Crawford . She didn't just want to be a messenger; she wanted to be a strategist who understood the "why" behind the "what." 

By treating the environment as a governance and economic challenge rather than just a technical one, Crawford gave her the frameworks to bridge that gap. “With courses like Communicating Environmental and Climate Policy and Environmental Economics it directly address the intersection of communication, politics, and economics I was seeking.” 

The School's reputation and academics helped ease the concerns she had about living in Canberra for a couple of years. More importantly, I knew Crawford had produced credible voices working in Indonesia—government officials, academics, and activists. That Crawford alumni network felt essential, especially knowing I'd be returning to Indonesia after graduation,” Rhema explains. 

“What works on paper globally can be very difficult to implement locally when those underlying political dynamics aren't addressed. Perhaps most importantly, I've learned that local communities themselves are agents of change. They often understand how to conserve their environment far better than external experts or policymakers do—they've been stewards of these ecosystems for generations,” she says. 

Studying at Crawford was a fun and challenging experience. What stood out to Rhema most was the diversity of peers, with the majority being experienced professionals, including civil servants, NGO workers, activists, and researchers who brought extensive practical knowledge to the classroom. This made discussions incredibly rich and meaningful. 

For Rhema, the most transformative part of her time at Crawford was her research project—a deep dive into how environmental civil society organizations (CSOs) navigate Indonesia's evolving political landscape. For someone who had already spent a decade in the field, this wasn't just an assignment; it was a reflective tool for her entire career. 

Working closely with her supervisor and lecturers, Rhema found her perspective being fundamentally challenged. "I came in with a decade of experience, but my lecturers pushed me to move beyond just describing what was happening to critically analyzing why it was happening," she explains. 

Through fieldwork in Jakarta and intensive online interviews, she explored how environmental civil society organizations (CSOs) navigate Indonesia’s increasingly complex political and institutional landscape. 

"I realized that the success of a movement isn't just about the how—the tools or the messaging—but the where," Rhema explains. "Sometimes, the biggest challenge isn't the clarity of your message, but the environment in which you are trying to communicate it." 

Working with her supervisor, Rhema began to deconstruct the "Global North" frameworks she had relied on for years. She realized that many advocacy strategies designed for stable, predictable democratic environments often fail when applied to different political realities.   

 "My supervisor, Sarah Milne, challenged me to think critically about why certain methods work in some places and not others. It’s a humbling realization to see that the 'expert' frameworks we are often taught can ignore the specific political habits and economic pressures of a place like Indonesia."

For those thinking of studying at Crawford, Rhema gives this poignant advice: “Be ready to be humbled by the experience but also know that you'll gain confidence afterwards. You'll encounter ideas and perspectives that challenge how you think, and that can feel uncomfortable. But that discomfort is where real growth happens. By the end, you'll gain the knowledge and analytical skills you need to tackle complex environmental and development challenges with nuance and depth.” 

As for what is next for Rhema, she says she wants to help bridge the gap between global policy frameworks and local realities, working with and alongside communities and civil society organisations rather than imposing external solutions. 

“I used to feel small doing ‘just’ communication work, thinking it was secondary to more visible environmental roles. But Crawford showed me that strategic communication is foundational to creating real change. Your voice and ability to explain complex issues clearly matter deeply. Crawford helped me map out this messy, complex world and make sense of it. The world still doesn't fully make sense to me in many ways, but now I have frameworks to understand why.” 

Congratulations, Rhema, on graduating. You’ll always have a home here at Crawford and we can’t wait to see what you do next.  

If you’d like to learn more about studying at the Crawford School of Public Policy, you can click here. For more stories from Crawford Alumni, and the Crawford Alumni Dialogue series, click here.