Chantharavady Choulamany
Chantharavady Choulamany is a highly qualified Lao psychiatrist - one of just two in Laos - who works at local, national, regional and international levels. For years, she has chosen to consistently work above and beyond what is required of her, using her knowledge and experience to help reduce stigma associated with mental illness. Working with the poorest Lao people in urban and rural grassroots settings. Choulamany also operates on a regional level, sharing lessons learned at World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nation (UN) ASEAN forums and forums in Australia. In addition to delivering practical programmes of training, treatment, and social and economic re-integration for people with mental illness, she has contributed to a valuable national databank, collecting evidence of overall mental health and illness in the Lao PDR.
Do Mattie
Born in California to recent Lao immigrats, Mattie was raised in Los Angeles, but returned to Laos a decade ago after her father retired in Vientaine.
In 2012, Mattie directed her first feature film, CHANTILLY. The film was the ninth feature film produced in the country of Laos, the first feature of film to feature a female protagonist, and the first Lao feature film to be directed by a woman.
Mattie Do's second feature, DEAREST SISTER, premiered this year at Fantastic Fest before screening at BFI's London Film Festival, Singapore International Film Festival and nearly two dozen other film festival . The film was awarded at festivals in Spain, Portugal, and Sweden. As one of the inaugural films included in the launch of AMC's horror platform, Shudder, Dearest Sister became the first Lao film to be distributed outside of Laos and Thailand.
Douangdala Veomany
Social Entrepreneur
Manothip Siripaphanh
Manothip Siripaphanh is founder and designer of NAREE handbags, the first branded bag of the Lao PDR. "NAREE Handbags Project" recited the highest recognition for outstanding business plan in STEPS Young Entrepreneur Marketplace Competition organized by World Bank in 2013. Manothip's dedication has led NAREE to the recipient of numerous prestigious awards and has also brought Lao world recognition in the bag design, production and textile manufacturing industry.
Veomanee Douangdala
Veomanee Douang has become a leading ambassador for Lao textiles, meeting with global dignitaries and teaching young Lao women to empower themselves with their weaving skills. In addition, as co-founder and co-director of OckPopTok, not only does she lea the Weaving and Design Team and oversee the Village Project of over 400 women in 12 provinces with the vision of preserving the Lao textile industry. She is also the only woman on the Board of the Chamber of Commerce.
Veomany Douangdala
Veomany Douangdala has become a leading ambassador for Lao textiles, meeting with global dignitaries and teaching young Lao women to empower themselves with their weaving skills.