Thailand

Tipakson has five years of experience in the nonprofit sector in the Greater Mekong Region, Southeast Asia. She has experience running joint campaigns with grassroots groups and regional nonprofit networks as an advocate for development justice and sustainable livelihoods. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from Chiang Mai University, Thailand, and began her work with the online alternative media service Prachadhrama News Net (PNN) and the Horizontal Media Project (Local Talk), where she produced various in-depth articles and documentary films on human rights and environmental issues in Thailand in support of social justice movements across the country. Tipakson received a full scholarship to attend the EarthRights International EarthRights School Mekong (ERSM), a seven month-long intensive multidisciplinary training on human rights and environment. She worked with EarthRights International (ERI) as Mekong Alumni Program Coordinator for the Mekong School Alumni Network. She coordinated the provision of mentor support and outreach trainings on capacity building for communities; development of the campaign strategy to promote transparency, public participation, and accountability in decision-making processes of large-scale development projects; and administration of the mailing group and facilitation of information-sharing through social media. Tipakson is actively involved with many other civil society advocates on human rights and environmental issues in her home region, such as the ASEAN Youth Movement and the Save the Mekong Coalition. Since 2009, she has volunteered for the ASEAN Youth Movement’s steering committee, an alliance of diverse young people throughout the ASEAN region advocating for meaningful participation in a people-centered ASEAN community. Due to her belief in the spiritual connection between human beings and nature, she is dedicated to empowering people to engage in developments that sustain the sharing of the enriched nature of the earth for all. Tipakson is from an ethnic Phutai community in the Kalasin Province of Northeastern Thailand, and speaks Phutai, Lao, Thai, and English.

Host Organization: International Accountability Project (IAP)