Zoya Phan

Zoya Phan is one of the leading Burma’s democracy activists in Europe.
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Zoya is from the Karen ethnic group in Burma. When she was 14 Burmese army soldiers attacked her village, and she and her family were forced to flee. They hid in the jungle for weeks before finding their way to a refugee camp in Thailand. She is now a refugee living in London.

She has met with former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, several senior government ministers, the leader of the UK Conservative Party, now Prime Minister, David Cameron, and other senior politicians from around the world, to urge them to take action on Burma. She has spoken in several international conferences and she is regularly featured in national and international media including BBC, CNN, Sky, ABC and Al Jazeera.

In 2008 Zoya Phan and her family founded the Phan Foundation, which provides aid for the Karen people, protects Karen culture and promotes human rights.

She is also chair of the European Karen Network, which brings together Karen people across Europe, and she is also on the board of Austria Burma Center, and advisor of the Karen Community Association UK. She is a fellow of TEDGlobal 2009, Rising Talent for Women’s Forum 2009, a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and a member of Young Professionals Network of the UN Association of the UK (UNA-UK).