SHILLONG, April 19: Writer and former The Shillong Times staffer Bidhayak Das has been recognised as the first International Democratic Goodwill Ambassador by the Korean Development Foundation (KDF), a nonprofit organisation affiliated to the Government of Korea and set up on November 12, 2001, (in accordance with the Korean Democracy Foundation Act, 2001) for his contribution to the development of democracy and honouring the spirit of those committed for the democratisation processes in the country.
The recognition is part of the newly launched ‘International Democratic Goodwill Ambassadors programme’ in 16 countries and Bidhayak Das is the first of the 16 Goodwill Ambassadors. The achievement comes after tireless work as a journalist, researcher and a clean election and democracy activist for the past 30 years in over 40 countries, primarily in South and South East Asia. The International Democratic Goodwill Ambassador is an honorary position, which will be commissioned for two years starting from May 1, 2021, till April 30, 2023. The 16 ambassadors from as many countries will participate in various democracy-related international events and share information related to democracy in each region.
Das has spent considerable time working for highly reputed international NGOs and media groups in Myanmar (2008-2018), during which he worked in almost all South East Asian countries barring Vietnam and Brunei.
He has also worked in Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and has been a key figure in the conceptualisation of the Bangkok Declaration on Free and Fair Elections (launched at the UN regional office in 2011), which is a civil society-led good practices and code of conduct on elections.
Furthermore, Das has facilitated trainings for election stakeholders in East Asia, former Soviet Union countries and South Pacific countries.
He has been an active participant in international forums and conferences on media, democracy and elections in Europe, United States of America and African countries and has also spent time studying and contributing to the Korean democracy movement. He is currently associated with academic research on the issue of citizenship and growing statelessness in India and Asia.
An award-winning journalist, Bidhayak Das worked at The Shillong Times as its Chief Reporter from 1998 to 2001. His forays outside the country began as an international observer for the provincial elections in Aceh (Indonesia) in 2006 post the tsunami and the end of the protracted Free Aceh conflict.
Das has been actively associated with the Shillong Press Club, the Guwahati Press Club and other organisations such as the Foreigners Correspondent Club of Thailand and the East West Center, Hawaii promoting freedom of press and free speech.
