About
About PEF
The People’s Empowerment Foundation (PEF) is a national non-governmental organization that works to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms by addressing the needs of grassroots and vulnerable groups in Thailand.
Benefiting from the support of the Open Society Foundation (OSF), PEF was established two years after the Thai coup d’état of 2006 with the aim to reinforce democracy and human rights in the country. Convinced that the best way to prevent future military coups is to empower people’s movements and to educate the general public on democracy and human rights, PEF has established one the largest network of grassroots organisations in Thailand and has promoted democracy and human rights at the national, regional and international level. A decade after its creation, PEF has gathered more than 60 grassroots organisations under its network and has enhanced their claims for justice and democracy.
Supporting people's movements, strengthening democracy.
Our Vision
PEF believes in a world where democracy and human rights is achieved for all, and where local communities are respected and included in national and international policy-making processes. It believes in a society where everyone, and especially young people, are empowered to create sustainable change, and where vulnerable groups’ rights are protected.
Ultimately, PEF envisions a world where every member of the Thai and ASEAN population, regardless of their race and gender, can fully participate in a democratic society based on the respect of human rights.
Our Mission
PEF works to ensure that human rights are respected and achieved for all, with a special focus on Thailand and other ASEAN countries. Considering that local communities are the best experts of their own realities, PEF aims to build bridges between grassroots and vulnerable communities—often excluded from political processes—and national, regional and international institutions and human rights mechanisms in order to ensure that their voices are listened to.
PEF’s strategy is to build the capacity of its network partners in order to provide them with the tools and knowledge they need to make their voices heard at the national, regional, and international levels. This is why PEF organizes capacity-building workshops and people-to-people exchanges and invites grassroots organizations to participate in international fora.
Organization Chart
