Chitsanupong “Best” Nithiwana

Founder And Director, Young Pride Club

Industry : Advocacy

Founder and executive director of Young Pride Club, Chitsanupong "Best" Nithiwana is a human rights defender for the rights of transgender and LGBTIQ+ persons and gender equality. Absolutely dedicated to her career path, she started out as a public information assistant consultant at the UN headquarters. She also supported the digital campaign of Youth Peace Security to gain the meaningful participation of women and youth in peace processes worldwide. In 2018, she became the first transgender participant in the US Exchange programme, YSEALI Academic Fellows. An outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, she now runs her own firm, Young Pride Club, which is a safe learning community for young people interested in gender equality and LGBTQ+ community. Established in 2018, the community provides on the ground activities and online content to develop leadership and participation for gender equality advocacy. Young Pride Club was also a main organizer of the Chiang Mai Pride 2019-2020 and collaborated with 50 NGOs in Thailand. In 2021, it reached 40,000 followers, developed 50 young leaders, and worked with international grants. In 2022, Best also became an APCOM Hero Award Honouree (Community Hero) under the theme “Unity & Diversity '''' in recognition of her inspiring work.