Global UGRAD inspired one student to fight for LGBTQ+ rights on the international stage

November 7, 2024

By Eric House

For Anan Bouapha, the founder of Proud to Be Us Laos (PTBUL), establishing the first-ever LGBTQ+ rights organization in his home country of Laos has been a journey 14 years in the making, but one that has inspired a new generation of proud activists.

Anan was one of 50 attendees of the Global UGRAD ASEAN Alumni Connections Seminar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, this past July. The seminar was an opportunity for Global UGRAD alumni from the 10 ASEAN member countries to participate in networking, professional development workshops, and sessions on civic engagement and community project management.

When we caught up with Anan at the seminar, he shared about the impact PTBUL has had on LGBTQ+ rights in Southeast Asia and the progress that’s been made.

“I see how young people are so much more confident now, and I think, ‘Oh, I wish I were like them 14 years ago,’” he said. “But I’m happy that Proud to Be Us Laos paved the way for younger generations to express what they feel, what they want to say, and what they believe in. Now they say, ‘This is me. No one’s going to take it away from me. This is who I am.’”

Anan credits PTBUL’s success to his personal network, team members, and the friends he met during his time as a Global UGRAD at the University of Wyoming from 2009 to 2010.

“Laramie, Wyoming, is very small,” Anan said. “The American friends I met showed me the way, and I got to be who I am with their help and support. I couldn’t imagine how my experience would have been if I hadn’t met them. That is thanks to the hospitality and generosity of my friends there.”

At the seminar, Anan reflected on what the Global UGRAD Program means to him.

“Global UGRAD is not just a passport for you to go to a new place,” he said. “It’s a passport for you to grow, develop yourself, to find yourself. It’ll allow you to do many good things and to discover your potential and your ability. When you finish Global UGRAD, it’s just the beginning of everything.”

Fourteen years ago, it was hard for Anan to imagine what that beginning would lead to.

In Wyoming, Anan volunteered with the Laramie Reproductive Health Organization. He attributes this community service, a component of the Global UGRAD Program, to helping inform his work in HIV/AIDS prevention and LGBTQ+ activism. And by attending the University of Wyoming, he learned about the tragic story of Matthew Shepard, a student at the university in 1998 who was fatally attacked for his sexuality. Matthew’s story, and the foundation his parents founded in his name, inspired a new generation of queer activism in the United States.

Anan was also inspired to act. When he returned to Laos after completing his Global UGRAD semester, he and his fellow LGBTQ+ advocates organized an event in 2010 to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS prevention among marginalized populations. The event garnered the attention of international journalists and was considered to be Laos’ first-ever major LGBTQ+ Pride initiative.

“You can imagine, 14 years ago, talking about gay Pride in one of the communist states was quite a big deal,” Anan said. “But it was an opportunity at the same time. That’s when people came to know about the LGBTQ+ community in Laos. I wanted to turn that opportunity into something bigger, to make an official organization.”

While homosexuality was legal in Laos, discrimination still existed. Anan and his fellow advocates knew that the road to forming an organization would be long, but they were determined to organize events that empowered the LGBTQ+ community through education, particularly around HIV/AIDS prevention. Additionally, they used the events to educate the general Laotian population to further tolerance and lower discrimination.

“When you finish Global UGRAD, it’s just the beginning of everything.“

Anan encouraged new local partners to join his efforts so that all sectors of the LGBTQ+ community, especially the most marginalized, were heard. They also organized concerts where participants had a platform to showcase their authentic selves and abilities.

“It was not just a health talk. It was about empowering the community to express themselves. We told them, ‘You are not just a victim of HIV/AIDS, you are yourself.’”

Laos had never seen anything like it, leading Anan and his fellow advocates to be granted safe zones for these events. By 2012, the events culminated in the formation of PTBUL, Laos’ first-ever official LGBTQ+ organization.

The hard work continued, and by the time PTBUL organized Laos’ first international day against homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia in 2015, international partners, including the European Union and U.S.-based donors and civil society organizations, had flocked to the organization to help it get off the ground. With the help of a major grant, PTBUL formed its official structure in 2017 and has since counted USAID, Oxfam, and others as funders and partners.

The road to progress was not always smooth. Anan described how at first, community members were reluctant to be involved, and many who were involved chose to stay behind the scenes. “Don’t get me wrong, now is so much better. But in Laos, it’s a guessing game, because you never know what obstacles you will encounter when talking about the human rights of the queer community,” Anan said. “There is no specific guideline. You just follow your passion.”

Even with PTBUL in full swing, he’s still hard at work planning for the future. Today, same-sex marriage remains illegal in Laos, and there are no legal protections against acts of LGBTQ+ discrimination.

“It’s an ambitious dream and goal, but I want to see that Laos has a full anti-discrimination policy,” he said. “I feel like we will get there one day if we have a strategic intervention with partners from civil society organizations and the government. And I believe Proud to Be Us Laos has the potential to reach that goal.”

The Global UGRAD Program enables college students from around the world to study at a U.S. higher education institution for a semester. As they experience higher education in the United States, they gain new skills and explore new cultures and values. The program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by World Learning.