AIU Lecturer Represents Malaysia at ASEAN Regional Workshop on Transformative Human Rights Education
ALOR SETAR, 22 August 2025 — Ms. Farah Syazwani Hayrol Aziz, Lecturer at Albukhary International University (AIU), represented Malaysia as the sole participant from the country at the ASEAN Regional Workshop on Transformative Human Rights Education, held in Bangkok, Thailand, from 18–21 August 2025. Selected through a rigorous process, she joined academics and human rights experts from across ASEAN and the United Nations to discuss innovative approaches to teaching development, migration, and gender.
The workshop was jointly organized by the ASEAN University Network–Human Rights Education (AUN-HRE), Mahidol University, the University of Oslo, Norway and SHAPE-SEA, with resource persons including Prof. Surya Deva, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Development, Mr. William Gois, Regional Coordinator of Migrant Forum Asia, and Dr. Vachararutai Boontinand of Mahidol University.
Reflecting on her experience, Ms. Farah described the sessions as “eye-opening,” noting that they expanded her perspective beyond her research background in gender, entrepreneurship, and cultural diversity. “Prof. Surya Deva’s session on Decoding the Right to Development reframed development not as mere economic growth but as a human right rooted in dignity and equity. This challenged my assumptions and encouraged me to rethink how gender, migration, and development intersect,” she shared.
The highlight of her contribution came during the session on Transformative Pedagogies in Human Rights Education, where she presented on the idea that teaching inequality in classrooms should not always be framed as depressing, but rather as an opportunity for empowerment and positive transformation. Her innovative approach received recognition from the workshop’s resource persons, who commended her as a promising young educator and researcher.
She also emphasized how discussions on epistemic injustice and centering marginalized voices resonated with her ongoing research, inspiring her to explore how migration governance can be integrated into gender and development frameworks to inform social innovation.
Together with fellow participants from Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos, Ms. Farah has already begun framing future research collaborations and joint teaching initiatives, positioning AIU as a contributor to regional knowledge-building in human rights and social development.
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