The laureates

Nicole Fong, a human rights researcher and activist, has been working for more than 8 years on LGBTQ+ rights, statelessness, freedom of expression, climate justice, and the abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia. Her work is rooted in the pursuit of a just and free world where people affected by systemic oppression can live in safety and dignity.

They engage in participatory feminist action research that centers the voices and agency of the communities involved. Currently serving as Senior Knowledge Production Consultant at Nationality for All, they are drafting a comparative research report to analyze how digital identity systems impact stateless populations in 48 countries across the Asia-Pacific region. In their previous role as Senior Research Associate for a national study commissioned by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, they coordinated a nine-month research project in 2022, which included more than 90 interviews with stateless people in Peninsular Malaysia during the COVID-19 lockdowns. recherche-action participative féministe They engage in participatory feminist action research that centers the voices and agency of the communities involved. Currently serving as Senior Knowledge Production Consultant at Nationality for All, they are drafting a comparative research report to analyze how digital identity systems impact stateless populations in 48 countries across the Asia-Pacific region. In their previous role as Senior Research Associate for a national study commissioned by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, they coordinated a nine-month research project in 2022, which included more than 90 interviews with stateless people in Peninsular Malaysia during the COVID-19 lockdowns.

In addition, they conducted a study for Intersex Asia on the rights and lived experiences of intersex people in Malaysia, launched in 2023. This is a groundbreaking study aimed at adopting an intersectional rights-based approach to promoting the rights of intersex people in Malaysia.

In their previous role at Amnesty International Malaysia, she worked on campaigns focused on the abolition of the death penalty, the rights of refugees and migrants, and freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. During the campaign to prevent the execution of Pannir Selvam Pranthaman, a Malaysian sentenced to death in Singapore, they organized press conferences at Parliament, in collaboration with civil society, where members of Parliament called on the government to intervene. They are also engaged in climate justice work by analyzing the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of coal-fired power plants on coastal and Indigenous communities.

They hold a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of East Anglia. They are a member of the Young South-East Asian Leadership Initiative (YSEALI) program for civic engagement.