Hiker Chiu (free from pronouns) is a pioneer in the Asian region for intersex human rights, hails from Taiwan and founded OII-Chinese. OII-Chinese, established in 2008, serves as the first platform for Chinese-speaking intersex individuals to advocate for their rights. Hiker Chiu made history in Taiwan by publicly coming out as an intersex person and spearheading the “Global Free Hugs with Intersex Movement” in 2010. Since 2013, Hiker has dedicated their efforts to fostering intersex connections in Asia, and it has become the foundation for “Intersex Asia,” the first and only regional network of intersex organizations in Asia, established in 2018. Currently, Hiker holds the Executive Director position for Intersex Asia. In addition, Hiker served as an advisor for Asian of Intersex Human Rights Fund since 2015, and was elected as the co-chair of ILGA Asia in the same year.

Wannapong “Nhuun” Yodmuang (she/her) is a Thai transgender and feminist activist with an academic background in International Human Rights Law. As Human Rights and Advocacy Manager at APTN, Nhuun leads legal research, trans leadership programs, and advocacy across sectors, including the United Nations, regional spaces, and donors to advance transgender rights and gender justice. Her work has shaped funding landscapes and key multilateral policy discussions such as the Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development and the United Nations Human Rights Council, as well as amplified trans voices on global, regional, and local stages.

Ryan Joseph Figueiredo (he/they) is the Founder and Executive Director of Equal Asia Foundation, the only LGBTIQ+ think tank and innovations incubator in Asia dedicated to strategic foresight and future-proofing for vulnerable LGBTIQ+ communities. Under his leadership, Equal Asia Foundation has become a regional leader in intersectional advocacy and policy innovation, particularly focusing on issues that remain underexplored in LGBTIQ+ discourse—such as ageing, later life, and end-of-life care for LGBTIQ+ persons. With a career spanning more than two decades across development, academia, and private sector consulting, Ryan brings a multidisciplinary approach to advancing LGBTIQ+ rights. He has held strategic roles at KPMG and PwC, taught public policy and health systems at the University of Leicester, and led programming at global organisations including the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the APCOM Foundation. He has studied at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and the University of Oxford. Equal Asia Foundation’s mission is especially urgent in the Asian context. The region is undergoing a profound demographic shift marked by rapidly ageing populations, yet it remains one of the least prepared globally in terms of social protection infrastructure. Many countries across Asia continue to criminalise LGBTIQ+ identities, further marginalising these communities and limiting their access to livelihood, healthcare, housing, and dignified ageing. Through foresight, coalition-building, and community-led research, Ryan and the Equal Asia Foundation are reimagining what inclusive futures can look like for LGBTIQ+ people in Asia—where dignity, care, and protection are extended across the life course.

Silvester Merchant or also Sylvie (they/them), is the Regional Community Engagement & Networks Lead at IPPF SARO. They are an LGBTQIA activist actively involved with health and rights movements of LGBTQIA+ Communities across South Asia. Interest areas include intersections of HIV & SRHR through an intersectional feminist approach. Sylvie is also part of an Indian consortium advocating for HIV, TB, and Malaria funding and civil society engagement in G20/C20 processes, backed by the Global Fund Advocates Network – Asia Pacific. Founder of Lakshya Trust, a community-based organization working for LGBTQIA+ communities since 2001, which hosts a shelter home for trans people in India.