Our Panelists, Moderators and Special Remarks
Session I (Opening Plenary): Many Peoples, One Struggle
Kittisak Rattanakrajangsri
Opening Remarks
Kittisak Rattanakrajangsri belongs to Iu Mien Indigenous group from the North of Thailand. He is the current chairperson of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), Chairperson of the Council of Indigenous Peoples in Thailand (CIPT) and Director of the Indigenous Peoples’ Foundation for Education and Environment. He has worked to promote and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples since 1989 particularly on land and natural resource issues. He has also knowledge and experiences on several issues. These include database development and management for the most vulnerable Indigenous groups in Thailand; documentation of human rights violation; study and development of community climate change adaptation plan and drafting a law and policy to promote and safeguard the rights of indigenous peoples. He holds a Master degree on Sustainable Land Use and Natural Resource Management from Chiang Mai University in Thailand.
Mr. Francisco Cali Tzar
Solidarity Message
Mr. Francisco Cali Tzar, zay is Maya Kaqchikel from Guatemala, with experience in defending the rights of Indigenous Peoples, both in Guatemala and at the level of the United Nations and the OAS. Mr. Francisco is currently serving as the Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples (SRIP).
Mr. Francisco was founder and member of a different Indigenous organizations in Guatemala. He had served as an Ambassador of Guatemala to the Federal Republic of Germany and also the President of the Committee for the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination, a treaty body from which he was elected for four consecutive periods of 4 years each. Mr Cali was Director of Human Rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala; he was member of the Presidential Commission against Discrimination and Racism against Indigenous Peoples in Guatemala (CODISRA) and President of the National Reparation Program for Victims of the Internal Armed Conflict.
Laila Susanne Vars
Solidarity Message
Laila Susanne Vars is the Norwegian Sami Lawyer and former politician. She is currently the Chairperson of Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP). She has served in several prestigious institutions such as Norwegian National Human Rights (NHR); Norwegian Ministry of Culture; Faculty of Law, University of Tromsö, Norway, National Commission, Norway and the Sámi Parliamentarian Council (SPR), Norway in the past.
Ms. Åsa Hedén
Solidarity Message
Ms. Åsa Hedén is currently Head of Development Cooperation – Regional Asia and the Pacific at the Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok. Previously, she was Director, Department for Asia Middle East and Humanitarian Assistance at Sida Headquarters. She is a development and management specialist with over 20 years of experience from both bilateral and multilateral development work.
Åsa Hedén has extensive knowledge of human rights and democracy, environment and cooperation with the private sector. She has worked in China, Asia, Latin America and Africa. She has a long experience of Partner Driven Cooperation from her work in both Asia and Africa. She has served as the Head of Development Cooperation in Beijing for six years. She has furthermore worked for UNESCO in Paris during three years
Ms. Katia Chirizzi
Solidarity Message
Ms. Katia Chirizzi, joined the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in 2007, working in Nepal until 2012, heading a Field Office first and the ESCR/anti-Discrimination Section later. She then worked on several countries of the Asia Pacific region, including the Maldives, Sri Lanka, India, Butan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. In 2015 she joined the OHCHR Regional Office for South East Asia in Bangkok, where she is the Deputy Representative.
From 1999 to 2007, Ms. Chirizzi worked for the Organization for the Security and Co-operation in Europe in Kosovo and Serbia, including as Head of the Anti-Discrimination Section and Deputy Director of the Department of Human Rights and Rule of Law in Kosovo.
Mr. Terence Hay-Edie
Solidarity Message
Dr. Terence Hay-Edie is a Programme Advisor (Biodiversity) for the UNDP-implemented Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (SGP), and Programme Manager for the Global ICCA Support Initiative funded by the German Federal Ministry of the Environment. Since its inception in 1992, the SGP has provided cumulative funding of over $640 million to civil society organizations in 128 countries worldwide to develop innovative nature-based solutions to address the inter-linked crises of biodiversity loss, climate change, and land degradation. He holds a PhD (Social Anthropology) from the University of Cambridge.
Ms. Tereza Zapeta
Solidarity Message
Ms. Tereza Zapeta, is a Mayan Indigenous Woman from Guatemala. She has more than 25 years of work experience in defending individual and collective rights of women and Indigenous Peoples in NGOs, UN and government agencies and international organizations. Teresa was an official of the Government of Guatemala (2004-2008), serving as an advocate for Indigenous women.
She is a founding member of several Indigenous women's organizations in Guatemala and Central America, including the Political Association of Mayan Women, National Coordinator of Mayan Women, Garifunas and Xinca, Initiative "More women, better politic" and Alliance of indigenous women from Central America and Mexico.
She is currently the Executive Director of the International Indigenous Women’s Forum- FIMI. She holds a Degree in Social Communication, Masters in Public Administration and has also completed complementary studies on Legislative Management and Local Development.
Ms. Kathrin Wessendorf
Solidarity Message
Kathrin Wessendorf is IWGIA’s Executive Director. She has been working for the organisation since 2000 in different positions, including as Arctic Programme Coordinator, Communications Coordinator, Editor of The Indigenous World, Senior Advisor on Climate Change and most recently as Head of Programmes at IWGIA. She represents IWGIA in the Council of the International Land Coalition (ILC). Kathrin has an MA in Social Anthropology from Basel University, Switzerland, and wrote her thesis on indigenous peoples’ territorial governance systems in the Arctic (particularly Nunavut, Canada).
Voice from the ground
Name | Organization | Designation | Country |
Ms. Liew Wanitchaya | Indigenous Women’s Network in Thailand (IWNT) | Executive Committee Member | Thailand |
Ms. Meiliana Yumi | PEREMPUAN AMAN | Member | Indonesia |
Ms. Myentthein Promila | Bangladesh Indigenous Women’s Network / BIPF | Member | Bangladesh |
Ms. Ching Chippa Lhomi | National Indigenous Women’s Federation (NIWF) | Vice Chair | Nepal |
Ms. Mamta Kujur | Adivasi Mahila Maha Sangh (AMMS) & Jashpur Jan Vikas | Convenor & Secretary respectively | India (Mainland) |
Ms. NK Kenny | Sumi Ethnic Tribe, NE India | Member | Northeast India |
Mr. Joshua Shuaboih | Disability Development Initiative (DDI) | Deputy Director | Myanmar |
Mr. Ergilio Ferreira Vicente | Covalima Youth Centre (CYC) | Director | Timor Leste |
Mr. Ned Tuguinay | Asia Indigenous Youth Platform | Member | Philippines |
Ms. Troung Luong Thi | Centre for Sustainable Development in Mountainous Areas (CSDM) | Director | Vietnam |
Gam A. Shimray
Moderator
Gam A. Shimray is a Naga and he is a devoted human rights activist for almost 30 years. He has held important positions and was part of several civil and democratic rights initiatives. As the current Secretary-General of AIPP, he envisions to contribute to advancing the pursuit of indigenous peoples’ rights and democratization in Asia. He has good knowledge and takes keen interest on issues of biodiversity, Indigenous Knowledge and self-determination. He was also involved in peace-building initiatives in India and has authored some publications relating to human rights, environment and ethnic issues.
Session II: Towards self-determination and self-government
Luingam Luithui
Special Remarks
Luingam Luithui is a pioneer in human rights work in South Asia. He belongs to the early generations of civil and democratic rights activists in South Asia. He is a founding member of the Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights and the International Alliance of the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests. He is also the founding Secretary General of Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact. As a dedicated human rights activist, he took leading role in several important movements in India and Asia. Further, he has written several articles and papers on human rights, governance and democracy.
Jannie Lasimbang
Special Remarks
Jannie Lasimbang is a Kadazan from Penampang, the first-term state elected representative of N19 Kapayan, Sabah from the Democratic Action Party (DAP). Although she joined politics only in January 2017, she garnered the highest votes among the state assembly members in Sabah.
Jannie is currently serving as the Sabah Assistant Minister of Law and Native Affairs since May 2019. In her party, she holds several posts namely as the Sabah Women Chief, National Women Executive Committee member, and Central Executive Committee member.
Before joining politics, Jannie had served as a member of the United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; a Commissioner with the Malaysian Human Rights Commission; and the Secretary General of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact and the Indigenous Peoples Network of Malaysia. She also worked for 17 years as a grassroot trainer and organizer.
Rukka Sombolinggi
Panelist
Rukka Sombolinggi is the first female Secretary General of the Indigenous Peoples Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN)—the world’s largest Indigenous Peoples organization. Rukka is a Torajan from the highlands of Sulawesi, a starfish-shaped island the size of Florida. She is known for her fiery oratory and her longtime dedication to the indigenous rights movement. Her parents hosted a meeting in 1993 that is often cited as its genesis of Indigenous Movement in Indonesia. Rukka completed her Master degree in Political Science the University of Chulalongkorn, Thailand.
Windel Bolinget
Panelist
Windel Bolinget, belongs to the Kankanaey and Bontok indigenous peoples from Mountain Province, Philippines. He is currently the Chairperson of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA), an alliance of 307 grassroots Indigenous People’s organisations and sectoral alliances in the Cordillera region, northern Philippines. He is also the National Convener of the KATRIBU national alliance of Indigenous People in the Philippines.
Windel is known as an environmental activist and a human rights defender who has been working to promote and advance Indigenous Peoples' rights at local, national and international levels for more than half of his life. Simultaneously, he has been experiencing harassment, intimidation and surveillance by the Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines and their supporters. In 2018, his name was included in the “terrorist” list of the Philippine Department of Justice. His name was dropped from the “terrorist” list in 2019, along with the names of former leaders of the Cordillera Peoples Alliance like Vicky Tauli Corpuz, because the accusation was simply baseless.
Gobinda Chhantyal
Panelist
Gobinda Chhantyal is theVice-Chairperson and In-charge of Foreign Affairs of Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN). He is also a Governing Council member of National Foundation for Development of Indigenous Nationalities (NFDIN) and adviser of Nepal Chhantyal Association which is representative organization of Chhantyal Indigenous Peoples of Nepal. He is also serving as a Focal Person for Indigenous Peoples' Network for SDGs, Nepal.
Mr. Chhantyal has been advocating and writing for Indigenous Peoples and marginalized groups and continuously participating in the Indigenous Peoples’ movement through his involvement in various Indigenous Peoples’ Association. He has also edited and authored half dozen books and has recently co-edited Politics of Resistance: Indigenous Peoples and the Nepali State (English). He has been arrested several times by the state for raising the issues of Indigenous Peoples. Mr. Chhantyal holds Master’s Degree in Rural Development and in Sociology from Tribhuvan University, Nepal.
Bidhayak Chakma
Panelist
Bidhayak Chakma is a lawyer and Indigenous rights activist, belongs to Jumma Peoples, from Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh and currently working for Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) as the Assistant Secretary for Youth Affairs. Being a hardcore activist, he has been working with dedication at local, national, international levels for the protection and promotion of the rights of the Indigenous Peoples, especially focusing on the rights of the Indigenous Jumma Peoples of the CHT. At domestic and international levels, he has taken part in different campaigns, networking, meetings, trainings, conferences, and workshops, including different meetings and side events of the United Nations. Mr Bidhayak holds Master Degreed in Human Rights from Australia and was also affiliated with Asia-Pacific Indigenous Network (APIYN) as a coordinating member.
Gam A. Shimray
Moderator
Gam A. Shimray is a Naga and he is a devoted human rights activist for almost 30 years. He has held important positions and was part of several civil and democratic rights initiatives. As the current Secretary-General of AIPP, he envisions to contribute to advancing the pursuit of indigenous peoples’ rights and democratization in Asia. He has good knowledge and takes keen interest on issues of biodiversity, Indigenous Knowledge and self-determination. He was also involved in peace-building initiatives in India and has authored some publications relating to human rights, environment and ethnic issues.
Session III: Securing lands, territories and resources: an instrument in fighting Covid-19 and in achieving Indigenous Peoples self-determination
Michael Taylor
Special Remark
Michael Taylor is the Director of the global secretariat of the International Land Coalition (ILC), hosted by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome. I am a citizen of Botswana, and have a PhD in Social Anthropology. I have worked on human rights and environmental issues for 30 years across Africa and the rest of the world.
The International Land Coalition is a global alliance of over 250 multilateral and civil society organizations based in 78 countries. Our collective goal as a network is to realise land governance for and with people at the country level, responding to the needs and protecting the rights of those who live on and from the land. Our members call this ‘people-centred land governance’.
ILC works for equitable land distribution and public investments that support smallholder farmers, Indigenous Peoples and women to be at the centre of sustainable and resilient food systems.
Joan Carling
Special Remarks
Ms. Carling is an indigenous activist from Cordillera region of the Philippines. She has been working on indigenous issues for more than 20 years from grassroots to international levels. She served as the Secretary-General of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, a regional coalition of 50 indigenous organizations across Asia, from 2008 to 2016. She was an indigenous expert of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues from 2014 to 2016. She is currently the co-convenor of the Indigenous Peoples Major Group for Sustainable Development (IPMG). Her fields of expertise include human rights, sustainable development, environment and climate change as well as on the principles and application of Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).
Naw Ei Ei Min
Panelist
Naw Ei EI Min is the present director of POINT (Promotion of Indigenous and Nature Together) and Executive Council Member of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), Chiang Mai, Thailand. She has been working for the civil society movement especially rights-based approach to development in the country since 2007. POINT was founded in response to the lack of organizations led by “Indigenous Peoples” (IP) working for Indigenous Peoples’ issues and advocacy on IP rights in Myanmar. Ei Ei Min’s role at POINT facilitates the formation of a common platform for indigenous peoples/Ethnic Nationalities in Myanmar in terms of environmental problems and natural resource management, and acts as a mediator between government, private sector and indigenous communities for bringing about constructive engagement on sustainable development of the country. She has been a part of the Spectrum(Sustainable Development Knowledge Network). She is also Founder and Organizer of Lovers of Myanmar Environment (LOME). She was also a part of world concern Myanmar.
Virginius Xaxa
Panelist
Virginius Xaxa, formerly Professor at Delhi School of Economics, Tata Institute of Social Sciences and Tezpur University is presently a Visiting Professor at Institute for Human Development, Delhi His research interests concern with issues of tribes/indigenous peoples, agrarian structure and development, plantation labourers, identity movement and politics, social exclusion and inclusive policies.
Prof. Xaxa had been a member of the National Advisory Council (NAC) during the UPA government and also Chairman of High Level Committee constituted by the Prime Minister to study the educational, health, and economic status of the tribal communities in India.
Marifel T. Macalanda
Panelist
Marifel T. Macalanda is from Tuwali (Ifugao) Indigenous community, presently working as the Regional Coordinator- Punganay (birth) – Cagayan Valley Indigenous Peoples Alliance. She is also the Vice President of the Board of Trustees of the Cordilleran Youth Center and Advisory Council member – Asia Young Indigenous Peoples Network. She help build and raise the capacities of the indigenous peoples in Cagayan Valley for them to be able to assert their rights. She also conduct and facilitate trainings, seminars, educational discussions and workshops to youth, women, IP and farmers, documentation and production of educational campaign materials concerning the Indigenous Peoples, youth, women and farmers, writing and production process of situationers and education-training module for the youth and indigenous peoples and on climate change. She also represents the IPs at the local, national and international trainings, conferences and seminars on Indigenous Peoples, youth, women and the environment.
Jason Pan Adawai
Panelist
Jason Pan Adawai, is from the Pazeh community (one of the lowland Ping Pu indigenous groups) of Liyutan
Village, Miaoli County of central Taiwan. He is an executive of TARA-Ping Pu (member organization of AIPP), fighting for official recognition for Ping Pu groups and joining the struggle for indigenous rights in Taiwan, and have been active in Asia IP rights movement, participating at UN and international forums since early 1990s.Jason is a former AIPP Executive Council member and works as an indigenous journalist, with job experience and contributions for several media outlets in Taiwan. In assisting AIPP and other national indigenous organizations, Jason has conducted major IP rights workshop or training program in Taiwan, Nepal, Thailand, India, China, and Japan.
Binota Moy Dhamai
Moderator
Binota Moy Dhamai, an Indigenous Jumma-Tripura from the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), Bangladesh, almost 20 years now of his activism, advocate and follower of issues that deal with the Indigenous Peoples’ empowerment. He is currently affiliated with the Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples (Adivasi) Forum, and Executive Council Member of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), Chiang Mai, Thailand – representing South Asia Sub-region. He has recently appointed as an Expert Member of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), a subsidiary body of the UN Human Rights Council and Member of the Board, International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net).
Session IV: Weaving knowledge, culture, and customary land rights with Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems (IPFS)
Gam A. Shimray
Panelist
Gam A. Shimray is a Naga and he is a devoted human rights activist for almost 30 years. He has held important positions and was part of several civil and democratic rights initiatives. As the current Secretary-General of AIPP, he envisions to contribute to advancing the pursuit of indigenous peoples’ rights and democratization in Asia. He has good knowledge and takes keen interest on issues of biodiversity, Indigenous Knowledge and self-determination. He was also involved in peace-building initiatives in India and has authored some publications relating to human rights, environment and ethnic issues.
Ms. Noraeri Thungmueangthong
Panelist
Ms. Noraeri Thungmueangthong is a chief of Huay Ee Khang Village. She belongs to Karen Indigenous group in Thailand. She is one of the prominent Indigenous Women leaders in Thailand. She is actively engaging on women’s issues, promotion of Indigenous Knowledge and sustainable natural resource management at local and country levels.
She has initiated Ker Nue Mue or Women's forest to create natural classroom for Indigenous Knowledge transmission, food source and income generation for the people in her village.
Currently she is also the committee member of Indigenous Women Network in Thailand (IWNT).
Ms. Anne Lasimbang
Panelist
Ms. Anne Lasimbang is a founder and Executive Director for a local, non-profit organisation called PACOS TRUST or Partners of Community Organisations, involved in rural Indigenous Communities development in Sabah, Borneo Malaysia. PACOS was awarded the Malaysia UN Award 2017 for its outstanding contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Since 1993, she has set up 27 rural community learning centres in Sabah. These centers provide opportunity for children in remote areas of Sabah to have the best possible start in their education and learn about traditional knowledge. She is also a trainer in community organising for PACOS and actively promotes gender awareness in the grassroot level as well as native customary land rights. She is a strong advocate of agroecology and food security among Indigenous Communities in Sabah.
Mr. Ripan Chakma
Panelist
Mr. Ripan Chakma is an Executive Director of the Trinamul Unnayan Sangstha (TUS), an organization for community development working for marginalized and disadvantaged peoples in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh. He belongs to Chakma Indigenous Community of Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh.
Mr. Ripan has a long experience working on Indigenous Peoples’ rights, Indigenous Knowledge, Village Common Forest (VCF), seed bank and sustainable livelihood, among others. He is also involved with Civil Society Organization of Climate Justice Network, Khagrachari as General Secretary, Hill Campaign groups of sustainable rural livelihoods, Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Network on Climate Change and Biodiversity (BIPNetCCBD), Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples’ Working Group on food security and Khagrachari Development Research and Learning Centre (DRLC).
Ms. Marianna Bicchieri
Special Remarks
Ms. Marianna Bicchieri is a human rights lawyer with extensive experience working on gender, indigenous peoples’ issues, natural resources governance, and land policy and legislation. She has considerable field and research-based knowledge of key policy issues around gender equality and women’s rights, indigenous peoples' rights, legal empowerment of vulnerable groups, tenure security, land rights and territorial development. Since 2005, Marianna has been working for FAO across Africa and Asia. After leading country-based projects on gender issues, customary tenure, legal empowerment and land rights as Chief Technical Advisor, she is now serving FAO as Land Tenure Officer in the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.
Kittisak Rattanakrajangsri
Moderator
Kittisak Rattanakrajangsri belongs to Iu Mien Indigenous group from the North of Thailand. He is the current chairperson of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), Chairperson of the Council of Indigenous Peoples in Thailand (CIPT) and Director of the Indigenous Peoples’ Foundation for Education and Environment. He has worked to promote and protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples since 1989 particularly on land and natural resource issues. He has also knowledge and experiences on several issues. These include database development and management for the most vulnerable Indigenous groups in Thailand; documentation of human rights violation; study and development of community climate change adaptation plan and drafting a law and policy to promote and safeguard the rights of indigenous peoples. He holds a Master degree on Sustainable Land Use and Natural Resource Management from Chiang Mai University in Thailand.
Session V: Role and engagement of Youth in the Indigenous Peoples’ movement: looking at the past, present, and future
Dr. Sue Vize
Special Remarks
Dr. Sue Vize is the UNESCO Regional Adviser for Social and Human Sciences in Asia and the Pacific based in Bangkok. Sue joined UNESCO in 2006 and spent eight years in Samoa as the Social and Human Sciences Programme Officer working on a range of projects with youth, social inclusion, bioethics, creative industries and education for sustainable development. In 2014 she transferred to the Regional Office in Bangkok and is working on youth, sports, social inclusion, global citizenship education and bioethics projects across the region. Sue has acted as Officer in Charge for UNESCO in the Pacific from August 2013 to November 2014 and since April 2016 in Ha Noi, Vietnam. Prior to joining UNESCO, Sue was the Executive Officer of the Murray-Darling Basin Community Advisory Committee based in Canberra, Australia. She has worked on a range of community natural resource management, capacity building and community education projects in Australia, Papua New Guinea and Fiji. She is a qualified teacher and trainer, and founding Principal of FNQ Training, a community-based TVET organisation working with Aboriginal communities and the unemployed in north Queensland.
Su Hsin
Panelist
Su Hsin(Indigenous Name: Aidu Mali) is a young indigenous civil engineer and right activist from Papora Community in Taiwan. She is the director of international development of Papora Indigenous Development Association and the general secretary of Central Taiwan Ping-pu Groups Youth Alliance. She is representing focal Point of East Asia region of Network of Indigenous Women in Asia since 2019 and focal person of East Asia and Southeast Asia of Asian Indigenous Women’s Network. She is a human right defender for the non-recognized indigenous Ping-pu groups, who is also a PHD candidate of civil engineering department in National Chi Nan University. She works with the programs of Sustainable Development Goals, health care, land rights, disaster management and climate change issues with indigenous groups, local government, indigenous NGOs and Taiwan Youth Climate Coalition. She has distinguished herself as a conscientious and energetic pioneer in the fields of culture preservation, indigenous issues, also disaster management.
Mr. Ke Jung
Panelist
Ke Jung is the founder and director of the Indigenous Peoples Partnership (IPP) based in Myanmar. An interim council member of the Asia Indigenous Youth Platform (AIYP), and former spokesperson of the Council of Naga Affairs.
Ms. Aisah Czarriane Mariano
Panelist
I am Aisah Mariano, an indigenous youth from the Cordillera, Philippines. I started to volunteer work for indigenous youth since my undergraduate years. I joined a cultural group, Dap-ayan ti Kultura ti Kordilyera (DKK) or Peoples Center for Cordillera Culture for me to learn about my culture. This opened my eyes on the true issues of indigenous peoples in my region in the form of songs, theater and dances. After graduating college, I decided to be a full-time staff for Cordilleran Youth Center (CYC), a youth organization that provide platform and venue for youth in the city such as educational discussions, workshops and trainings and self-belongingness among indigenous youth. After which I became the Program Coordinator of Asia Young Indigenous Peoples Network (AYIPN), then the Asia Pacific Indigenous Youth Network (APIYN). Now, I am its Network Administrator.
AYIPN serves as a regional network for all indigenous youth organizations and group in Asia. It is a non-stock non-profit organization that relies on the commitment of its member organizations and support from its partners and other networks. It aims to educate and raise awareness of indigenous peoples, in particular the indigenous youth, on various issues confronting them and the community. It also targets to empower and organize the indigenous youth in the region by providing platforms, venues and spaces for their participation in local, national, regional, and international processes.
I graduated B.S Biology and a Licensed Professional Teacher.
Mr. Rajiandai Bariam
Panelist
Rajiandai Bariam is an indigenous rights activist and a research scholar from Northeast India. He engages with the Naga People’s Movement for human rights and work with the indigenous communities in Northeast India. His is an executive member of the Asia Indigenous Youth Platform. His areas of interest and involvement include food systems, indigenous movements and education.
Mai Thin Yu Mon
Moderator
Mai Thin Yu Mon is a a young indigenous rights activist from Chin Community in Myanmar.
She is a Program Director of Indigenous Peoples Development Program of Chin Human Rights Organization. She is representing indigenous youths to the Executive Council of Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact. She is also serving as a Asia focal person for Global Indigenous Youth Caucus since 2016. She has been working with indigenous communities in Myanmar and Asia for the past several years, being a part of strengthening platforms for indigenous youths and indigenous women across Asia.
Session VI. Indigenous Women’s Rights and Struggles: Reflections, actions, and way forward
Ms. Sandra Creamer
Special Remarks
Ms. Sandra Creamer is a Waanyi/Kalkadoon Indigenous woman from Australia.Ms. Sandra is the CEO of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women's Alliance, lawyer and Adjunct Professor in Public Health at the University of Queensland.
Sandra was awarded a Member of the Order Of Australia (AM) award on the Queens Birthday 2019 by the Attorney General of Australia for her work with Indigenous women and peoples. Sandra is an advisor for the Seventh Generation Board Fund and on the Board of the International Indigenous Women's Forum/Foro Internacional de Mujeres Indígenas (best known as FIMI, by its Spanish initials)
Sandra advocates on human rights for Indigenous women and peoples, some of her work has been writing submissions, articles, programs, Short film clips, as well as workshops to ‘how to film and advocate your rights and violations’, legal information, right to health, sustainable development goal and environment.Sandra has been in the international arena for many years and in particular working with Indigenous women globally.
Ms. Patricia Wattimena
Special Remarks
Ms. Patricia is an indigenous woman belong to Haruku community, coastal living Indigenous Peoples in the eastern part of Indonesia. She has been working with the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) since 2018 and currently responsible as the associate for Breaking out of Marginalisation (BOOM) and Climate Justice (CJ) Programme. For more than a decade, she has dedicated her work advocating for the rights of Indigenous Peoples, particularly Indigenous Women from local to global level.
Ms. Yasso Kanti Bhattachan
Panelist
Ms. Yasso Kanti Bhattachan is an eminent Indigenous Women leader, activist, and scholar from Nepal. She belongs to the Thakali Indigenous Peoples, whose ancestral lands are at Thasang in Maitang (Mustang district) in trans-Himalayan region bordering the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China.
Ms. Yasso is dedicated for visibility, inclusion and, legal recognition to the rights of Indigenous Women and girls in Nepal. She brings decades of experience advocating for Indigenous women’s rights and Her efforts are helping to address the racial, linguistic, cultural, economic, and political discrimination that Indigenous women and girls face in Nepal climate justice at different levels. Currently, she is the Vice chair of the National indigenous Women forum. She is one of the founding members and advisors of the National Indigenous Women’s Federation (NIWF), an umbrella organization that works with Indigenous women to empower them and advocate for the elimination of social, political, cultural, religious and linguistics discrimination.
Ms. Yun Mane
Panelist
Ms. Yun Mane is an Indigenous Women from Mondulkiri in the North East of Cambodia. She graduated in law from the Royal University of Law and Economics, and holds Master’s Degree from Cambodia University of Socialist. Ms Mane is attorney at law (lawyer). She is member of CIWWG, the former chair of the Cambodia Indigenous Youth Association (CIYA), Cambodia, Center for Human Rights, youth Council, Combodia, and To Promote Kui Culture. Ms. Mane spent three and a half years working with the United Nations Development Program Regional Indigenous People Program, and two years as a Program Officer with the International Labour Organization to support Indigenous Peoples Project. She spent a few months in 2004 and 2007 in the United States raising funds to support indigenous people in Cambodia, their rights to land and education and efforts to promote and preserve indigenous culture in Cambodia.
Ms. Devi Anggraini
Panelist
Ms. Devi Anggraini was born as part of the Taluk peoples, Taluk Kuantan Indigenous Community in Sumatera, Indonesia. Her community of communal life was destroyed after forest concessions, timber plantation, oil palm plantation and mining seized her customary land and natural resources.
Ms. Devi is President of PEREMPUAN AMAN (Association of Indigenous Women’s of the Archipelago) from 2015 until now. Since 1999, she has initiated PEREMPUAN AMAN as the Wing Organization of Indigenous People’s Alliance of the Archipelago (AMAN). She has been working for almost 20 years as Indigenous activist in Indonesia. Her fields of expertise on building movement among Indigenous Peoples especially Indigenous Women. She has initiated and found Hakiki Foundation in 1999 focusing on empowering women and Indigenous Peoples and, Indigenous Peoples’s Alliance in Riau (AMAR) in 2000. She also managed various NGO involved in social awareness raising, capacity building of Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous Women as trainer and facilitator.
Ms. Shanti Uprety
Panelist
Ms. Shanti Uprety is Programme Manager with International Women's Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW AP). Over the past 14 years, she has worked on a range of issues in the field of human rights and gender equality with particular focus on women's economic rights, labour rights, peace and conflict, women's political participation. She represents IWRAW AP in the women and ESCR working group within ESCR-Net as a steering committee member. She has an academic background in Sociology (MA) and Management (MBA).
Ms. Elina Horo
Moderator
Ms. Elina Horo, is Munda Indigenous Women, from Mainland India. She has completed here Master’s degree in Women Studies. She is a Executive Council Member of Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP), Convener of Indigenous Women Programme Committee, and Steering Committee member of Network Of Indigenous Women in Asia (NIWA), Founder of Adivasi Women’s Network (AWN), Founder and President of Women and Gender Resource Centre as well as Founder and Advisor of Inter-state Adivasi Women Network (ISWAN). She has more than 14 years of experience in the field of Women and Gender issues, Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous Women, and Natural Resource Management. She has been engaging in advocacy from local to global level focusing on CEDAW, CSW, EMRIP, UNFPII and WCIP.