As one of the partners of rights.health online hub, a collaboration between Drexel University and Asia Catalyst that highlights frontline health and human rights work from across the globe, APCOM Executive Director, Midnight is featured as one of the first 21 activists featured, about his journey into nonprofit work on human rights and health.
“For me, it really comes down to a fundamental of being human…of having the equal access to opportunities, and any other services and being treated as humanely as possible,”
said Midnight in the video clip, as he reflects from his background of growing up in rural Northeast Thailand and got once-in-a-life-time opportunity to study in the UK.
“Advocacy is very, very, very important because no one else will be talking on your behalf…We cannot rely on others to know our lives, to know our struggles, to know our issues,”
he added.
Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health was founded on the principle that health is a human right. Its mission is to provide education, conduct research, and partner with communities and organizations to advance social justice and improve health. Asia Catalyst developed the Know It, Prove It, Change It curriculum working with HIV, drug user, sex worker, and LGBTQIA activists in Thailand and China.
“Asia Catalyst’s partnership with Drexel on this legacy project is to ensure that we keep the flame of rights activism alive! APCOM is one of the longstanding, most reputable, and well-respected organizations working on LGBTQI health and rights in the region, and we’re very happy for the partnership in this project,”
commented Karyn Kaplan, former Executive Director of Asia Catalyst.
This project is aimed at helping activists understand human rights and create meaningful, lasting change – activists and advocates can learn from other activists, sign up to take a free course on health & human rights documentation and advocacy – Know It, Prove It, Change It. There’s also an activist video library where you can watch interviews of activists and advocates about how they got involved in social change work, and what they’ve learned fighting for equity, justice, and the right to health.
“And I would say, for younger people, don’t second guess yourself, you know? I think it’s actually about seeing and knowing yourself – your good points and the things that you can do really well that you can contribute to the movement, to an organisation. And then really accentuate that,”
concluded Midnight in the video.
Hear about their work, the successes and challenges of community-led activism for LGBTQI, and what’s next in the fight.
Anjana Suvananda, Thailand
LGBTQI
