Emerging Young Leaders Award and Exchange Program

Back to Stories

Participant Story

Emerging Young Leaders Award - Thinzar Shunlei Yi

thinzar-shunlei-yi-150x210.jpg

Thinzar Shunlei Yi Thinzar Shunlei Yi
Thinzar Shunlei Yi’s focus is on youth development and dialogue. She is the coordinator of Burma’s National Youth Congress and the Yangon Youth Network. In 2014, she helped organize the ASEAN Youth Forum, and held a highly successful UN International Youth Day celebration reaching thousands of young people and raising awareness on mental health issues.

Thinzar is a founder of the diversity campaign #myfriend, and seeks to combat intolerance and extremism in Burma, particularly through the voices of youth. The campaign brought young people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds together online as friends in support of peace and diversity in advance of national elections and garnered significant local and international media attention. She is also an active member of the first-ever Ambassador’s Youth Council at U.S. Embassy Rangoon, which meets monthly to advise the Ambassador on youth perspectives and needs in Burma. 

Program Profile