Go Suan Pau

Go is an inaugural Director and President of the Australia Myanmar Institute for Democracy, Human Rights and Peace (AMIDHRP).  He is finalizing his Honours Degree in International Relations at the University of South Australia.

He has completed a degree in International Relations at the University of Adelaide majoring in Political Science where he gained the Curro Faculty of Arts, Business, Law and Economics (ABLE) Scholarship 2020-2022. He has taken an active role in the Student Union and was selected to write a major article in the Student Publication OnDit Magazine on the political situation in Myanmar.

Whilst studying at the University of South Australia in 2019 he was selected to become a Student Mentor (Volunteer). His work there involved supporting students during their transition to university life through the peer mentoring program by devising new methods to generate student interest and participation.

Go has completed Parliamentary Internship 2022 at the Parliament House of South Australia. Within his role as a Parliamentary Intern, he wrote a research paper on the issues faced by the Myanmar diaspora community settling in South Australia on behalf of a Member of Parliament.

He has completed South Australia Youth Parliament Training Program with the YMCA SA and was the recipient of a Rotary Youth Leadership Award in 2019. He completed an internship with Diplomacy Training Program in 2022. He was an Australian-wide Steering Committee for the Myanmar Diaspora, Human Rights Advocacy, Capacity Building Program 2022 organized collaboratively by the Diplomacy Training Program, an affiliation with the University of New South Wales’s Faculty of Law and The National Unity Government of Myanmar Representative of Australia.

As a Myanmar national of the Zomi ethnic group he has developed extensive knowledge of the politics of Myanmar and in particular the northern regions including Chin state as well as the cross border Indian state of Mizoram and Manipur. Having spent many years in India and experiencing religious and ethnic prejudice him and his family applied to the United Nations and were granted refugee status on humanitarian grounds.  Ultimately the family were granted permanent residency in Australia in 2019. His background has provided him with a direct insight into the situation of refugees and the need for support programs for these people.

Go’s current focus with the AMIDHRP is on the development of its services including development humanitarian aid programs.  His research has a focus on asset-based community development and humanitarian aid programs with our partner organisations in Myanmar.