Closing Remarks, 43rd International Human Rights Training Program (IHRTP)

Closing Remarks, by Matcha Phorn-in

Founder and executive director

Sangsan Anakot Yawachon

43rd International Human Rights Training Program (IHRTP),

Co-hosted by Equitas Human Rights, FORUM-ASIA and Sangsan Anakot Yawachon

Sawasdee Ka!

Eleven days ago, I had the honor of welcoming you all to the International Human Right Training Program by Equitas

held in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Today, I want to thank each of you for making Chiang Mai your home, a place where we shared our knowledge, stories, struggles, courage, and hopes, and strengthened our solidarity across borders.

I hope each of you has felt what I said on our first day:

You belong here. You are seen. You are heard. And you are loved.

Dear human rights defenders and educators,

In my opening remarks, I shared that in 2017, I was sitting where you were sitting.

Nine years later, I stand here representing a LBQ, Indigenous and ethnic minority feminist human rights defender-led organization, proudly serving as a facilitator and co-host of the first IHRTP outside Canada.

This journey reminds me that we must never underestimate the power of human rights education, the relationships we build, and the courage we discover within ourselves and our communities.

Eleven days may seem short, but they can transform our understanding, build lifelong solidarity, and plant seeds of change far beyond this this training.

These eleven days have reminded us that human rights are about peoples.

About Indigenous peoples fighting for right to education.

Women and survivors demanding justice.

LGBTIQAN+ communities fighting for freedom, dignity, human rights, and a world where we belong.

Indigenous Peoples defending our lands, cultures, and self-determination, as well as protecting our rivers, forests, and environment.

Children and young people demanding a future free from violence and discrimination.

And all of us who demanding peace and a world without war.

Our struggles are interconnected. And so are we.

We live in a world where democracy and civic space are shrinking, where discrimination, conflict, inequality, and environmental destruction threaten our communities.

Yet, these eleven days have shown us the power of solidarity across cultures, identities, and movements.

As we close this IHRTP, I leave us all with one question:

What will we do with what we have learned here?

Knowledge, skills, and tools become powerful only when we turn them into action, when we challenge injustice, strengthen our communities and movements, and defend those whose voices have been silenced.

The true impact of this training will be measured not only by what we learned here, but by what we do next.

And as human rights defenders and educators, let us remember that we are all just human!

We deserve care, rest, joy, and love.

Our movements must be movements not only of resistance, but also of care, healing, belonging, and hope.

Take care of yourselves and one another, because building sustainable movements begins with caring for the people who make them possible.

When you return home, remember:

You are not returning alone.

You carry skills, knowledge, friendships, and solidarity of this global family. Wherever you are, there are people across ho believe in you and stand with you.

To Equitas and FORUM-ASIA thank you for your trust and partnership in bringing this historic IHRTP to Chiang Mai.

And to my colleagues at Sangsan Anakot Yawachon Foundation, thank you for your courage, dedication, and love.

To our facilitators, thank you for your dedication, care, and commitment to nurturing safe, inclusive, and empowering spaces where human rights defenders and educators can learn, share, and transform.

To the entire Horizons Resort team, thank you for taking such wonderful care of all of us with your warm hospitality, kindness, generosity, and genuine spirit of care. You have made this place feel like home.

Dear all participants - human rights defenders and educators global family,

Eleven days ago, I said:

Human rights are not simply given.

@They are claimed, defended, and won through courage, resistance, and solidarity.

Today, I want to add:

Human rights are also sustained through care, love, hope, joy and our commitment to one another.

To our LGBTIQAN+ community, Indigenous Peoples, ethnic minority communities, feminists, young people, disability activists and all human rights defenders and educators:

May we continue to turn our knowledge into action, our diversity and identities into strength, and our solidarity into collective power.

We came together to learn about human rights and advocacy.

We leave together to make human rights a reality.

This is not goodbye. This is just the beginning of our journey together, until we meet again.

Thank you for these powerful and beautiful eleven days, for your courage, your solidarity, and your love.

And now congratulations, let’s celebrate this incredible journey we have shared, and the journey ahead of us!

Khop Khun Ka!