International Hybrid Conference: Responding to the World in Disorder, featuring RGP Grantees from Southeast Asia

SHAPE-SEA Concludes Two-Day Plenary on Intergenerational Dialogue, Solidarity, and Environmental Rights in Southeast Asia

BANGKOK, THAILAND | SHAPE-SEA (Strengthening Human Rights and Peace Research and Education in ASEAN/Southeast Asia) successfully concluded an insightful two-day plenary session from July 8–9, 2025, at Thammasat University, Tha Prachan Campus, as part of the International Hybrid Conference: Responding to a World in Disorder. The event focused on Intergenerational Dialogue and Solidarity in Rights, Politics, and Sustainable Development, while emphasizing urgent environmental rights issues affecting marginalized communities across the region.

Attended by approximately 110 participants—60 on-site and 50 online—the gathering brought together a diverse audience of students, academics, researchers, civil society members, and experts from different parts of the region. The event provided a platform for critical exchange, collaboration, and collective reflection on how Southeast Asia can respond to complex and overlapping crises through inclusive, rights-based approaches. The two-day event reaffirmed SHAPE-SEA’s mission to support knowledge co-creation among home-grown scholars, promote human rights education and research that fosters inclusive dialogue, amplify voices from the margins, and advance collaborative, evidence-based solutions to the region’s most urgent challenges.

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TUESDAY, JULY 08 2025

Day 01

First day featured the plenary titled “Intergenerational Dialogue and Solidarity in Rights, Politics, and Sustainable Development,” moderated by Dr. Vachararutai Boontinand. Panelists Nattanicha Kattiyavara, Atty. Gerald John Guillermo, Pianporn Deetes, and Dr. Zainun Mustafa shared case studies and practical tools to strengthen cross-generational partnerships in research, advocacy, and policymaking.

Ms. Nattanicha Kattiyavara

A third-year undergraduate student at Thammasat University, Nisha is an advocate for youth rights and the founder of Student Reflect, a youth-led initiative that promotes inclusive and safe learning environments in Thai schools.

Youth and Student

BA student, Social Policy and Development International Programme, Thammasat University

Atty. Gerald John Guillermo

A lawyer and founder of Keep the Change Policy Lab, Gerald leads a civic education and youth policy platform that aims to promote policy literacy among young people.

Youth in Policy Reform

Policy Associate, ImagineLaw; Founder, Keep the Change: Youth Policy Lab

Ms. Pianporn Deetes

An environmental activist working across Thailand and Myanmar, Pianporn currently serves as the Southeast Asia Program Regional Campaign Director at International Rivers, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting rivers and the rights of river-dependent communities.

People's Campaigns

Regional Campaigns Director, Southeast Asia Program, International Rivers

Dr. Zainun Mustafa

An educator at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris and a SHAPE-SEA RGP 2022 alumna, Dr. Zainun focuses on integrating peace education and social inclusion into the Malaysian academic landscape.

Environmentalism and Education

Lecturer, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris; RGP 2023 Alumni

WEDNESDAY, JULY 09 2025

Day 02

The second day of plenary focused on environmental justice through the plenary session, “Grounding Environmental Rights in Southeast Asia: Voices from the Margins, Lessons for the Region,” moderated by Asst. Prof. Dr. Carl Middleton of Chulalongkorn University. Rizqan Kariema Mustafa, Bunly Soeung, Assoc. Prof. Norafidah Binti Ismail, and Assoc. Prof. Ratnaria Binti Wahid shared insights from Indonesia, Cambodia, and Malaysia—emphasizing Indigenous resistance, the transformative role of women, and the importance of leveraging big data for human rights-centered environmental governance.

Mr. Rizqan Kariema Mustafa

An environmental advocate affiliated with Pusat Kajian Daulat Umat (PKDU), Rizqan focuses on the intersection of gender and environmental protection, emphasizing the role of women in sustaining ecological balance.

Indigenous People's Rights

PKDU (Pusat Kajian Daulat Umat), Indonesia

Mr. Bunly Soeung

An academic at the University of Cambodia, Bunly’s research centers on indigenous women’s rights and the defense of ancestral lands, highlighting the importance of cultural identity and land sovereignty.

Defense of Ancestral Domains

Lecturer, Svay Rieng University, Cambodia

Assoc. Prof Norafidah Binti Ismail

An educator at Universiti Utara Malaysia, she is engaged in academic work related to human rights, peace education, and gender equality in higher education contexts.

Human Rights and Peace Education

Lecturer, School of International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia

Assoc. Prof. Ratnaria Binti Wahid

Also from Universiti Utara Malaysia, Ratnaria contributes to teaching and research in social development, with a focus on gender issues and inclusive education.

Gender and Development