APMAA
APMAA is Asia Pacific’s premier regional degree in human rights and democratisation offered by universities with particular expertise in human rights and democratisation.
Being born into a marginalized and poor peasant indigenous family in Kathmandu Valley, Kedar experienced multiple burdens of discrimination as a child and growing adult. Due to these experiences, he vowed to fight against the discrimination and prejudice inflicted on minority people, communities, caste, and ethnic groups of Nepal by its state and organized social and religious institutions.
As a pioneer activist in sex workers and LGBTIQ peoples’ rights, he had accumulated vast experience in advocating minority for equity and equality. He won multiple scholarships to study in Australia since then he graduated in Medical Science from the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), Masters in International Public Health and Human Rights, and Democratization in the Asia Pacific from the University of Sydney. In thirty-two years of career, he worked in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Holland, the United States of America, Kathrine and Sydney Australia, Kathmandu, Nepal in various positions to advocate indigenous rights, refugee rights, and people with mental health, LGBTIQ people, and sex workers. He is serving APMAA is a Treasurer in 2022 Executive Council.
Dewi is working as a Senior gender and Human Rights Adviser at Rapid Asia. Dewi graduated with the second cohort of the Master of Human Rights and Democratization (MHRD), Asia Pacific Program 2011-2012. Dewi is based in Bangkok, Thailand, and has been an international consultant with Rapid Asia since 2010, focusing on gender and human rights. Dewi was involved in the first General Assembly of APMAA in 2014 and served on the first Executive Council (2015-2017) and the Treasure (2017-2019). Currently, Dewi is a member of the Executive Council (2022-2024). Dewi has extensive experience with gender and human rights issues, having worked with various NGOs and other human rights organizations since 1992. Particular areas of interest have included community development, human rights, oral history, and gender issues, including women’s and children’s development.
Dr. Ridwan is a permanent lecturer at the Department of Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, Universitas Islam Internasional Indonesia (UIII). He completed his Ph.D. at the Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Western Australia (UWA), and MA degrees in Human Rights and Democratization at University of Sydney, Australia, and Mahidol University, Thailand. Dr. Ridwan is an associate researcher at the Centre for Muslim States and Societies (CMSS, UWA), and co-Founder of Lembaga Perdamaian Indonesia (Indonesia Peacebuilding Institute). His research interest includes peace studies, conflict resolution, Muslim politics, interfaith studies, and human rights.
Louise Suamen (EC Member)
Louise (Loyz) Suamen is a children’s rights advocate and a human rights defender from the Philippines. She was part of the APMA 2016-17 batch. She has over a decade of hands-on and grassroot experience working on children’s rights from working with local NGOs like Tambayan Center for Children’s Rights and Save the Children Philippines. She currently works with Bahay Tuluyan in Manila. Loyz is passionate about children’s access to justice, juvenile justice, accountability of grave child rights violations and the realization of the rights of children in street situations and children affected by the government’s anti-illegal drugs campaign.
Miss Samani Abro is a graduate of Master of Human Rights and Democratisation (MHRD), Asia Pacific Program 2016-17. She has also done master’s in business administration & Mass Communication; and has a diploma in Social Mobilization. She is working in humanitarian sector since more than a decade now. She takes part in social media campaigns related to social justice issues in Pakistan and she has been quite vocal on human rights issues. She occasionally writes b-logs, columns, articles in 3 different languages: English, Urdu & Sindhi that has been published in various newspapers.