Yohanes V. L. Usbobo

Yohanes is an activist and a researcher at the Institute of Resource Governance and Social Change in Kupang. Yohanes has been working in Indonesia and Myanmar to advocate various issues, such as conflict prevention and peace-building, community development, community rehabilitation, anti-human trafficking, safe migration, interfaith youth dialogue and cooperation. He participated in the Asian Professional Youth Exchange Program that was implemented by Institut Titian Perdamaian (Indonesia), Shalom (Neyin) Foundation (Myanmar), Terayana (Bhutan) and ABC Philippines. He posted to Shalom (Nyein) Foundation which allowed him to meet with several ethnic military leaders in Mytkyina, Kachin State and facilitated peace-building training in several states and regions. In December 2010 he accompanied a Tempo reporter in Yangon to meet Aung San SUU Kyi after she was released from 6 years of house arrest. In 2013 he received a full scholarship from the Australian government and completed his master’s degree in International Development from Flinders University in South Australia. Upon his return, he joined the IRGSC and was involved in some of the research and evaluations. He is interested in issues of peace-building, safe migration and trafficking in persons, indigenous peoples, women’s studies and border studies. LPDP awarded him a scholarship to pursue his doctoral studies, and he is studying at the School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Sydney.