37 advocates. 9 countries. 1 Institute sending ripples across Asia-Pacific.
Organized by APCASO under the Regional Gender Justice and Sexual Rights Initiative (REGENERATE), the 2nd Leadership & Learning Institute, held from June 21 to 26, 2026 in Hanoi, Viet Nam, brought together 37 civil society and community advocates from across the Asia-Pacific region, all working at the intersection of HIV, TB, malaria, gender justice, and sexual rights, for learning, honest conversation, and movement building.
The Institute opened on the evening of June 21 with APCASO’s Executive Director, Ms. R.D. Marte, setting the stakes early. She reminded participants that in a world where civic space for women, girls, and people of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) is shrinking, the space REGENERATE creates is both a privilege and a responsibility. Ms. Khuat Thi Hai Oanh, Executive Director of SCDI, took participants back to where REGENERATE began: years of proposals that went nowhere, rejections that kept coming, and a small group’s stubborn belief that this initiative was worth fighting for.