Panelist：Phuc-Thanh Mai Vo,
Bachelor of Software Engineering University of Canberra, Australia, (Vietnam)
Phuc-Thanh Mai Vo is a first-generation undergraduate and fellow at Aspire Institute at Harvard University and CINFO (The Swiss Centre of Competence for International Cooperation), He has been an activist in Vietnam for over three years, focusing on climate science education, policy advocacy for gender equality and LGBTIQ+ rights, and leadership development for marginalized communities.
Introduce yourself, where are you from and what do you do?
So my name is Thanh.I'm from Vietnam and come from an organization called Lumi Queer. We're basically doing storytelling on social media platforms where we engage young Vietnamese into the discussions around LGBT+
Can you briefly talk about your feelings, takeaways, and thoughts after also hearing about other speakers' sharing and experience in the forum? How do you think their experiences resonate with yours and how do you think you can harness the power of the participants of the 2024 SEASAT to empower more youth community leaders in Asia?
I think the panel discussion is very interesting, very inspiring, and also very informative because I got to listen to other Taiwanese panelists, and from their experience of the movements in Taiwan, I learned a lot from their hands-on experience and practical experience. And I would love to apply some of the lessons I get from them into my work in Vietnam in the future.
I think it's really beneficial for us all to always keep in mind what is happening in other countries, throughout the regions, in our movements, so that we can collaborate in the future.
For me, I feel really grateful to be a part of this conversation and have a chance to represent Vietnam and also the youth voice element in our discussions about human rights advocacy in Asia.
By representing the Vietnamese youth community in this regional dialogue, I want to inspire other generations of young leaders in Vietnam to voice themselves and contribute their experience, their really valuable experience, into the, I would say, regional dialogue, so that future collaborations can be established and as a whole regions we can move forwards together to achieve a better future.
What will you want to say to the future SEASAT participants and all the SEASAT alumni about your experience this year?
To future SEASAT delegates, if you want to connect with other leaders across Asia and foster international collaborations later on in your career, don't hesitate to apply for SEASAT Youth camp, a very transforming experience is awaiting you.
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Panelist： Kay Thwe Oo
Architecture, King Mongkut’s University of Technology, (Thailand)
Kay Thwe Oo, a young leader born in Myanmar, is currently an architecture student with a passion for human rights. Despite the political unrest, she is fostering empathy for those affected by unfortunate events. With a deep understanding of these communities, they aspire to merge their architectural skills with humanitarian efforts to make a meaningful impact on displaced populations.
Introduce yourself, where are you from and what do you do?
So my name is Kay Thwe Oo, but I normally go by the name Mandy, and I'm from Myanmar, but I'm currently living in Thailand.
Can you briefly talk about your feelings, takeaways, and thoughts after also hearing about other speakers' sharing and experience in the forum? How do you think their experiences resonate with yours and how do you think you can harness the power of the participants of the 2024 SEASAT to empower more youth community leaders in Asia?
Before I came on the stage, I felt nervous, and when I was presenting and having the talk, I felt empowered because I was able to share my stories and also represent my country as well. When I finished, I felt honored, really honored that I was able to talk to a huge crowd.
Like I have mentioned, even though I'm not from a public policy or political background, I'm very grateful that I can use my area of expertise which is architecture and come on to this big stage and share my experiences from an architectural designer perspective.
If I have to wrap up in one word, it was awesome because it's a mixture of our feelings for me, like nervous, tired at the same time, very like inspiring because I have been in this architecture fee for like 5 years, so I only interact with like my users are like clients or my fellow architectural designer. So this is something new for me and this is something new and fresh for me to get out of my comfort zone. Since I'm interested in community architecture, I think it's important for me to connect with people from other fields as well.
I think it's important because we are the ones who have to inspire younger generation as well. We are youth for now, but one day we'll get older and there will be another generation as well. And we have to pass d
own our experiences, knowledge, and everything down to the generation. It's not just one particular age or one particular user that is not responsible for this, but it has to be passed down from generation to generation.
What will you want to say to the future SEASAT participants and all the SEASAT alumni about your experience this year?
I will share with my friends about what I did and next I will share with my juniors. I want to encourage them not to be afraid of applying to these kinds of workshops because at first it can be quite intimidating because it's like a list of requirements to do, but when you do it like it's quite rewarding.
Watch the full interview video here：
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About the Event
To foster cross-generational and cross-boundary exchanges on human rights issues, the Taiwan Asia Exchange Foundation (TAEF) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Taiwan joined hands in organizing【Human Rights in Asia: A Multigenerational Dialogue】in July this year (2024). This event brought together human rights defenders and advocates from Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Taiwan to explore how human rights have evolved and ways in which we can collaborate to address shared challenges and opportunities in Asia. Panelists include Taipei City Councilor, Poya Miao, President of the Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy, Yu-Meng Chang, Senior Researcher of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Yi-Hsiang Shih, SEASAT delegate from Myanmar, Kay Thwe Oo, and member of Lumiqueer in Vietnam, Phuc-Thanh Mai Vo.
This event is part of the 【2024 SEASAT Youth Camp】, an annual flagship event organized by TAEF that brings together aspiring young leaders from Southeast Asia, South Asia, Taiwan, and other like-minded nations to exchange ideas on global issues and youth participation.
For Dialogue's Full Video: