A M P L I F Y I N G T R A N S A D V O C A C Y F E L L O W S H I P M E E T T H E 2 0 2 0 F E L L O W S M E E T T H E 2 0 2 0 F E L L O W S P A G E 0 1 Athallah Fachryzal Angel Queentus Rafardhanu she/her he/him Angel Queentus is Founder-Director at Rafardhanu, the Main Coordinator of Jaffna Transgender Network, a trans-led Women’s March Yogyakarta, wants to help LGBTQI+ community organisation working people to have a better understanding to build sustainable community livelihoods regarding trans men through his own in the regions. A major part of this work is experiences as one of the trans men in built around community advocacy and Indonesia with great support behind him. outreach delivered in liaison with state and He says “Society typically tends to be non-state actors operating in rural Tamil- afraid of something they don’t have enough speaking areas (mainly in the North and knowledge about. The fear, is then East). Angel is currently working on projected into negativity such as hate, creating a Community resource pack that discrimination, stigma, bully or in the empowers self-advocacy in harder-to- worst cases, murder in behalf of reach rural settings. She has previously heteronormativity. It ain’t a secret that in worked with Equal Ground (Colombo) and Indonesia, the awareness and recognition Saviya Development Foundation (Galle). of transgender people, especially trans men, are lacking and I wanna change that.” Sri Lanka Indonesia M E E T T H E 2 0 2 0 F E L L O W S P A G E 0 2 Aun Shahid Chanya he/him she/her Aun Shahid is from Pakistan and is Chanya Rattanathada (Panan) is a young currently working with the group called transgender activist from Thailand. She is “Praxis of Queer Social Ideas in Society” Co-Founder of “Young Pride Club” that (PRAQSIS) of which he is a co-founder, provides a safe space for young people trainer, and organiser. PRAQSIS is a newly interested in gender equality and the emerging group currently working towards LGBTQ+ community. The community political mobilisation of transgender men – provides ground and online activism the most unorganised, depoliticised and activities with 20,000 followers, and has marginalised groups within the queer developed 50+ young LGBT+ leaders, and community. organised Chiang Mai Pride with 1,000 participants. She is also a team member of marriage equality movement, 1448 For All. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree of Political Science from CMU, her highest dream is to be the first transgender Prime Minister of Thailand. Pakistan Thailand M E E T T H E 2 0 2 0 F E L L O W S P A G E 0 3 Chu Thanh Ha Dee Rain he/him she/her Ha is a transgender activist and researcher Dee is the Community Support Officer and who is passionate and has years of Educator for Young Sex Workers at the professional experience in advocating for Survival Advocacy Network Fiji (SAN Fiji), a the voices and visibility of the transgender community-led space/shelter for sex community in Vietnam through research, workers. As a young feminist activist, she capacity building, and raising awareness. has extensive experience working with He is the Founder and Executive Director young people of all cultures and diversities of IT'S T TIME, an independent support in Fiji and across the Pacific. She has a organisation for Vietnamese transgender passion for Human Rights education persons within Vietnam and abroad. IT'S T including supporting young people through TIME aims to assist all trans identities to online community engagement and with claim their safe spaces so that they can young indigenous key populations, and amplify their voices, promotes active and about using visual and expressive arts as a effective participation from the tool to advancing Human Rights education community, and alleviates some of the for young sex workers. everyday hardships trans people often face in their daily lives. Vietnam Fiji M E E T T H E 2 0 2 0 F E L L O W S P A G E 0 4 Diti durdana farid they/them they/them Diti is a queer trans boy researcher and durdana farid is a community writer at activist, who has been involved with queer, Queer Archive of Bengal Delta, a queer-led, feminist and student movements for the democratically-run organisation that aims past 10 years across India. Diti’s work is to archive queer organising and social life located at the intersection of academics in the Bengal delta. Durdana’s work and activism, which intrinsically inform involves writing, creating content and each other. They are currently working as facilitating workshops on queer and trans the Coordinator in Sangat, a feminist issues/politics of Bangladesh, mental network, and are doing their PhD on the health and family issues, feminism and topic “Queer Citizenship and Nationalism”. contemporary discourse through a critical, Diti has engaged in creating dialogue on radical, intersectional and anti-capitalist queer and trans issues within feminist South Asian lens, in order to present social networks, and on strengthening queer intervention. They are also an organiser feminist activism in the state of Assam. and co-counsellor at a queer-only RC (Re- They have also written about the evaluation Co-counselling) a process campaigns against legislation which whereby folx exchange effective help to adversely impacts transgender persons. free themselves from the effects of past hurts and distress. They want to continue to work and, in the process, contribute in liberating the most marginalised people in society. India Bangladesh M E E T T H E 2 0 2 0 F E L L O W S P A G E 0 5 Elyn Bhandari Erik Nadir he/him he/him Elyn Bhandari is a transgender man who Erik Nadir is a transmasculine nonbinary has been working with Blue Diamond person based in Indonesia. He is the Society, Nepal since 2015. He has worked Marketing and Outreach Manager of New as a hotline counsellor for 2 years, helping Naratif, a movement for democracy, community members. He is currently freedom of expression, and freedom of working as the Monitoring, Evaluation, information in South East Asia. Erik was a Accountability and Learning (MEAL) former lecturer and lead course developer officer, with a focus on the protection and in a university in Bandung, Indonesia; he promotion of rights of LGBTI children in presented his research on creativity as a Nepal. special guest on Y20 2018 Argentina, Young Leaders International Diplomatic Forum in the high level G20 head state of summit. He is passionate about education, culture, and storytelling. His dream is to bring a new understanding of gender minorities in Indonesia. Nepal Indonesia M E E T T H E 2 0 2 0 F E L L O W S P A G E 0 6 Grace Banu Ganesan Jaya Jacobo she/her she/her Grace Banu is a Dalit transgender rights Jaya Jacobo is a Filipina trans woman. A activist from Chennai who has previously member of the Society of Transsexual worked as a computer programmer. She Women of the Philippines (STRAP), she has was the first transgender person to be collaborated with transsexual women and admitted to an engineering college in the travestis in Brazil since her fieldwork on state of Tamil Nadu. After struggling to trans art and activism in Rio de Janeiro. receive an education because of her own She was co-project leader of the STRAP- gender identity, she is now working to ASP (AIDS Society of the Philippines) bring about dedicated places in education fundraiser for trans women who were for transgender persons through Dalit affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. She is Adivasi Muslim Transgender Gender Non- an assistant professor of literature and Confirming Community (DAMTGNC), an gender studies at the Ateneo de Manila organisation which was founded with the University and research fellow of the mission to ensure education for all GlobalGRACE Gender and Cultures of transgender people, and especially those Equality programme at the University of from the Dalit Muslim community, who are the Philippines in Diliman. doubly vulnerable due to their caste and religion. India Philippines M E E T T H E 2 0 2 0 F E L L O W S P A G E 0 7 Jesse V. Castelo Jun Ho Kim she/her she/her Jesse Castelo serves as the Program Officer Jun Ho Gregory Kim, commonly known as for Trans Health at Love Yourself Inc. She Jun, is the Youth Representative for Samoa earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Fa'afafine Association. She represents Psychology in 2019 and is presently a Fa'afafine and Fa’atama youths of Samoa in licensed Psychometrician. A HIV/AIDS terms of decision making, strategic advice, advocate and a change agent, Jesse is also projects proposals and any other currently a volunteer HIV counsellor. developments/obligations within the SFA Additionally, she’s an LGBTQIA+ civil rights jurisdiction. Her passions include youth activist with continued advocacy work on development at the grassroots level, recognising, protecting, and promoting gender equality, empowerment of minority equal rights. Jesse is also the current groups, writing, and reading anything that Country Coordinator of the Philippines for catches her attention. She is also the co- IYAFP. She works to empower the youth founder of the non-profit online project globally to advocate for their sexual and called Her Voice, empowering young reproductive health and rights.