emPower graduate holds speech in Geneva
12.04.2016 - 11:15 | Maya MathiasPhnom Thano, a graduate of the 2015 edition of the intercultural training programme emPower, works for our Thai partner organisation IMPECT. He represented the interests of indigenous peoples in Thailand at an international conference on human rights in Geneva.
Phnom Thano works at our Thai partner organisation IMPECT, where he promotes the rights of indigenous peoples in Thailand. In 2015, he took part in the eight-month emPower training programme at Pestalozzi Children's Village. The training primarily consists of lectures and workshops on the topics of education, intercultural awareness and development cooperation. Following his successful completion of the emPower programme, Phnom Thano returned to Thailand to put his new skills into practice.
From 28 March to 2 April 2016, a preparation session took place in Geneva for the upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR), during which Thailand, as a UN member state, will have to comment on its progress regarding human rights. The conference brought together information about the current human rights situation in Thailand and allowed local organisations to offer their views. At the preparation session, Phnom Thano had the unique opportunity to give a presentation on the situation of indigenous peoples in Thailand to more than 80 diplomats from Thailand and the UN.
«I owe a large part of my experience and skills to my training at Pestalozzi Children’s Village.»
Phnom Thano – emPower student 2015
The intercultural training programme emPower aims to improve the professional and personal skills of foreign aid workers. I owe a large part of the experience and skills that I use in my interactions with international networks to my training at Pestalozzi Children’s Village, explains the young Thai.
The Pestalozzi Children’s Foundation congratulates Phnom Thano on his success on the international stage and his tireless work to improve human rights in Thailand!