Meet the team #2: Michelle Lim, Vice President

In this series, we want to share what has inspired our committee members to join the team, what issues they’re passionate about and a bit of their story.

Michelle joined the team in January this year, bringing her passion for social work, advocacy and activism.

Being Asian Australian has been a relatively new experience for me. As an expat, I always identified as being Australian; while back in Australia, people identified me as Asian. It was a difficult journey and process to reconcile the fact that I could be both and not necessarily just have one identity.

Reflecting on my experience as a child of migrants, such journeys are common but also unique to an individual person and it can be complex and emotionally laborious to unpack the immigrant experience and identity in a Western environment. That’s why I think AAP is great platform in helping those who are beginning their journey (or yet to begin) to facilitate opportunities for them to explore their identity.

My background is in international relations and social work, and most of the work I’m passionate about is around youth advocacy and grassroots activism. I’m not only passionate about exploring the Asian-Australian experience, but also about areas such as Women of Colour, migrants and refugees and young people. I want to use my platform as Vice President to elevate and empower others to be advocates, leaders, story tellers and change makers in their communities, so one day they can be figures that young Asian-Australians look up to.