Will Richter Fundraising Evening banner featuring Will and fellow students at a festive market.

In honour of

William Richter

An evening to honour Will’s legacy and raise funds for the scholarship that bears his name.

Friday 22 May 2026|German Club Tivoli, Prahran

Why this evening exists

Will cared deeply about the opportunities he had been given - and especially about making sure those opportunities were available to others too.

For Will, the SAGSE scholarship was not just a trip. It was a life-changing experience: one that deepened his connection to Germany, to language, to culture, and to the people around him. It was something he valued immensely.

The William Richter SAGSE Scholarship now carries that forward. This evening has been created to help grow that scholarship, to bring people together in Will’s memory, and to support future students in accessing the same kind of experience that meant so much to him.

Australian Embassy, Berlin

Will’s words from Berlin

In February 2024, while on his SAGSE exchange, Will spoke at the Australian Embassy in Berlin about what the scholarship had meant to him.

„Diese Möglichkeit, die wir hatten, ist nicht etwas, das jeder hat und deshalb habe ich - tatsächlich haben wir - Dankbarkeit dafür für immer. Und jetzt fühle ich, dass es unsere Pflicht ist, SAGSE, GDANSA, GASS immer mehr zu verbessern und so vielen Leuten wie möglich diese Möglichkeit auch zu geben.“

— Will Richter, Australian Embassy, Berlin, February 2024

Will’s connection to Germany didn’t start with SAGSE. It started with family. His German heritage ran deep, and the ties between Melbourne and Germany were part of his life long before he ever applied for a scholarship. In 2013, when he was six, his family visited their relatives in Hamburg. He went on bike rides, picked apples, ate fish sandwiches, and played board games. His hosts remember a boy who was open and curious and kind in a way that was unusual for his age. Years later, in 2022, their daughter Jana would credit Will with inspiring her own exchange year in Melbourne.

When Will won the SAGSE scholarship in 2023, the exchange gave shape to something that had been building for years. He threw himself into it. He explored Schloss Neuschwanstein with friends from the cohort. He spent hours with an 87-year-old family relative in Bremerhaven, exploring the German Emigration Centre together because he was interested in her stories. He went to an HSV match in Hamburg, tried his first Franzbötchen, and spoke entirely in German whenever he could. On train rides through the countryside, he and his fellow exchange students would talk about their futures, their footy teams, and whatever else came to mind.

He came home different. Not in some dramatic way, but in the quiet way that the best experiences change you. He spoke about SAGSE with a gratitude that went beyond politeness, and with a sense of responsibility that surprised the people around him. As a close friend put it, Will once spoke about his heritage and the sacrifices others had made with such earnestness it couldn’t be mistaken for performance. He meant it.

That sense of responsibility is what led him to stand up at the Australian Embassy in Berlin and say what he said. And it is what makes the scholarship in his name feel less like a tribute and more like a continuation.

The William Richter SAGSE Scholarship now exists to do the specific thing he called for in that room in Berlin: give the next person the chance to get on the plane. This evening is about making that happen -and about gathering the people and communities that Will connected across two countries, for a night that turns remembrance into something real.

The scholarship

About the William Richter SAGSE Scholarship

SAGSE (Scholarships for Australian-German Student Exchange) has been sending Australian students to Germany since 1968. Each year, scholarship recipients spend 10 weeks living with a German host family, attending a German school, and taking part in a group excursion to Berlin that includes a reception at the Australian Embassy. The scholarship covers return airfares and the Berlin trip. Since the program began, hundreds of students have taken part across Victoria, Western Australia and New South Wales.

SAGSE relies on a combination of sponsors, alumni donations and fundraising to offer these scholarships. In recent years, alumni contributions have funded an additional scholarship each year beyond the core program - meaning that every extra scholarship raised directly translates into one more student who gets to go.

The William Richter SAGSE Scholarship was established in Will’s honour to do exactly that: fund a scholarship place for a future student. Will was part of the 2023/24 cohort and spoke at the Australian Embassy in Berlin about the responsibility he felt to give others the same opportunity. The scholarship bearing his name continues that commitment.

All funds raised at this evening go directly toward the scholarship. Every dollar contributed helps get the next student on the plane.

Join us

Event Details

William Richter Fundraiser Evening

Date: Friday 22 May 2026
Time: 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Venue: German Club Tivoli, Prahran
Hosted by: German Club UniMelb & GASS

Join us for an evening of community, generosity and celebration, featuring food and drinks, a raffle, silent auction, live auction, and opportunities to contribute directly to the scholarship.

This evening is open to all - whether you knew Will personally, are part of the German-Australian community, or would simply like to support a scholarship that will make a real difference in the lives of future students.