Nabdao Ongapichart

Founder & President, NFD Nabdao Co., Ltd. & Nabdao Foundation for Deaf and Society Thailand

Industry : Advocacy

For Nabdao Ongapichart, representation begins with access. A deaf transgender activist, she has spent years creating spaces where deaf and LGBTQ+ communities can gain knowledge, understand their rights and participate more confidently in society. Her perspective is grounded in lived experience of the barriers that arise when communication inequalities intersect with gender identity.

As former president of the Thai Rainbow Deaf Club, Nabdao supported deaf people with diverse gender identities through education, community activities and cultural exchanges with deaf communities overseas. Much of that work centres on areas where reliable, accessible information can be difficult to obtain, including health, legal rights and personal safety. Her public-health advocacy has also included collaborations with SWING Thailand to make information on HIV, sexually transmitted infections and self-care more accessible to deaf communities.

Nabdao has taken that commitment to visibility into a very different arena as director of Miss & Mister, Miss Queen & Mrs. Deaf Thailand. Inspired by her own childhood dream of entering a pageant, she helped turn an ambition once closed to her into a platform for others.

Across both advocacy and pageantry, the principle remains consistent: inclusion means more than being seen. It means having the knowledge, confidence and opportunity to take part.