The laureates

Anan Bouapha is an internationally renowned human rights leader and the founder of the first LGBTQI rights organization in Laos. As the founder of Proud To Be Us Laos, Anan is committed to promoting equal rights for people in sexual and gender diversity communities. He works to integrate LGBTQI rights into national development and to eliminate the cultural, legal, and normative barriers faced by this community.

His work began in HIV/AIDS prevention and has evolved to encompass broader political and strategic advocacy in the field of inclusive development, drawing on international human rights frameworks. He promotes the concept of diversity and inclusion in the workplace and continues to raise awareness of these issues in Laos. Several major employers—including public enterprises, large corporations, and private companies—are collaborating and promoting this concept as part of the advocacy campaign led by his organization. As a result, Proud To Be Us Laos has been ranked among the top nine change-makers for LGBT rights worldwide by The Guardian.

He received a prestigious Australian scholarship to study Social Health and Public Policy at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in 2014. He also received a scholarship from the Chevening Program—one of the most prestigious scholarships in the United Kingdom, supported by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office—to pursue a master’s degree in Development and Human Rights at the University of London. In 2017, he also received a scholarship from the French government to pursue his second master’s degree in Human Rights and Humanitarian Action at the prestigious French university Sciences Po. Furthermore, in 2023, he was selected as one of the “Game Changers” in the Global Australian Awards.

Anan continues to work with policymakers, government officials, universities, and youth groups in Laos to promote the adoption of laws and policies to protect LGBTQI communities in Laos.