Senior journalist and writer, Bidhayak Das, has been made the first International Democratic Goodwill Ambassador by the Korean Development Foundation (KDF).
Das, who hails from Shillong, has worked in over 40 countries over the last 30 years as a journalist, researcher and a clean election and democracy activist, primarily in South and South East Asia. He is one of the first goodwill ambassadors of the newly launched International Democratic Goodwill Ambassadors programme, which has been launched in 16 countries.
The KDF is a nonprofit organisation affiliated to the South Korean government and was set up in 2001 to contribute to the development of democracy and honouring the spirit of those who have committed themselves towards democratisation processes.
Das has worked for reputable international NGOs and media groups in Myanmar from 2008 to 2018 and his work during this period has also taken him to Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He also played a part in the conceptualisation of the Bangkok Declaration on Free and Fair Elections, which was launched at the UN regional office in 2011.
Das’s role as goodwill ambassador will run for two years, until April 2023. The 16 ambassadors will participate in various democracy-related international events and meetings.
An award-winning journalist, Das was associated with several local, regional and national English dailies in Shillong. His forays outside the country began with an invitation by the Asian Network for Free Elections group to observe the provincial elections in Aceh, Indonesia, in 2006 after the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 and the end of the protracted conflict between the government and rebel groups in Aceh.
