The College Freedom Forum: The Struggle for Democracy in the Asia-Pacific Region

The registration form for this event is closed. If you wish to attend, please proceed to the event check-in table in front of the Bechtel Conference Center, Encina Hall.

The College Freedom Forum connects university students with world-renowned activists working to promote democracy and human rights in authoritarian regimes. During this event, students will gain exposure to some of today’s most pressing human rights issues, resources to enhance their academic endeavors, and connections for professional growth.

Programming will focus on human rights, democratic movements, and activism in countries ruled by authoritarian regimes in the Asia-Pacific region. Speakers will shed light on some of the region’s most pressing human rights issues, from the Chinese Communist Party’s repression of the Uyghur people to Kim Jong-un’s totalitarian regime in North Korea to crackdowns on free speech in Vietnam, among others. Activists will convene to share their personal stories and highlight what the international community can do to stand in solidarity with their causes.

Confirmed Speakers:

• Jewher Ilham, Uyghur advocate and daughter of imprisoned scholar Ilham Tohti
• Mai Khoi, Vietnamese pop star and political activist
• Eunhee Park, North Korean defector
• Lobsang Sangay, Former Prime Minister of the Central Tibetan Administration’s government-in-exile

We will also have a panel discussion with Stanford faculty on authoritarian repression in the Asia-Pacific region and the responses of civil society and pro-democracy movements.

At a catered reception following the event, students will have the opportunity to meet and talk with the speakers.

This event is hosted by the Human Rights Foundation, and co-sponsored with Stanford's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and the Center for Human Rights and International Justice.