A 29-year-old Chin activist in Myanmar has been recognized by Washington DC-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED) as one of 30 most inspiring young leaders around the world working to promote democracy.
Salai Ceu Bik Thawng, General Secretary of the Chin National Party (CNP), is featured alongside 30 young leaders under the age of 30 from more than 20 different countries around the world in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
The world’s leading democracy endowment fund was created by the United States Congress in 1983 and it has more than 100 sub-offices in different countries.
“In a country faced with numerous challenges to its democratic progress, Thawng is a dynamic young ethnic leader and a model for all of Burma,” mentions NED’s website.
Other recognized young leaders come from some of the world’s most challenging areas: from Zimbabwe to Belarus, Afghanistan to North Korea, Liberia to Kyrgyzstan.
Explaining his views on the reform process in Burma, Salai Ceu Bik Thawng said, “Transforming the country from military dictatorship to democracy is but one challenge. We need to think about the broader and more substantive issue of how we can achieve harmony and realize peaceful coexistence in a country that is so diverse in terms of religion and ethnicity.”
“I’m very happy to promote the people who are facing many challenges in religious, ethnicity and other reformatory areas. It shows that the world has already recognized Chin people and ethnics in Myanmar. Although our work is not big enough, the world has acknowledged what we have done and our feelings,” he told Khonumthung News.