Digital Courage Award 2019 for people fighting for freedom winner announced
The 2019 Digital Courage Award winner was announced on Wednesday, November 27 at 6 p.m. Yangon.
Honoring people fighting for freedom in digital age, Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) granted Digital Courage Award 2019 to U Ye Myat Thu with a Gala dinner reception at Park Royal Hotel.
In the past, there were many unsung heroes fighting for rights and freedom of the people in Myanmar. Unknown to the public, they have not received the deserved acknowledgement of and their tales submerged in the tide of history.
Mobile technologies have recently increased information access and enabled freedom fighters to reach other people more efficiently. In this way, not only prominent political figures but also normal people have become agents of change in the fight for freedom.
FNF acknowledges the importance of these change agents and the usage of mobile technologies for the transition towards an open society.
Therefore, FNF wants to reward their effort and motivate others in their fight for freedom and rights. The Digital Courage Award will be awarded to the most courageous freedom fighters in Myanmar every year.
This year award was given to U Ye Myat Thu (Member of MCDC) because FNF believe that he could show extraordinary courage in the digital society to promote the freedom and quality of the digital space.
“ Few things have changed our daily lives as radical as digitalisations. As liberals, we see technological advancements always as a chance to increase freedom - without being blind for potential threads for democracy and human rights. With the Digital Courage award we honor outstanding women and men to use modern technology as a tool to promote freedom in the real world and digital world “ said Mr.Frederic Spohr , Head of Myanmar and Thailand (Friedrich Naumann Foundation ) .
U Ye Myat Thu is the one working for the benefit of the people in digital community.
The winner was selected out of 10 finalists based on 3 criteria namely working for digital, courageous and fighting for freedom, role model for others.
