On August 27, 2022, Thiranun “Tyra” Arunwattanakul, Chief Operating Officer of MONIX, joined a sharing session on Leading Women Fund: a life Changing Network at Techsauce Global Summit 2022, alongside with other panelists: Kornkanok Yongsakul (Founder & CEO at RBL Training Academy) and Arunee Achakulwisut (Head of Private Sector Partnerships Service United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR)).
Leading Women Fund (LWF) is a unique community of donors committed to support refugee women all over the world. The core pillars are Give, Learn and Connect. The session's main focus is on the 'Connect' pillar, where Connecting Worlds app was introduced. The main feature is connecting refugee women and donors through the app. The app allows refugee women to text donors and chat about anything in their lives. Because the refugee woman has a life that has been cut off from the outside world for over ten years, it gives her a sense of belonging to the world, which is literally at their fingertips by texting and chatting through the app. This app does not just benefit refugees, but donors also get to talk to and receive positive energy from the refugees.
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As a woman working in the technology field, Tyra shared that she used to believe that technology means nothing when you can't monetize it, but now she believes that technology means much more if we could use it to connect people all around the world for a better purpose. Even though texting via the app seems easy, it is super powerful and could potentially enhance refugees' lives. "Most tech companies operate on a profit. So to see UNHCR develop such an inspiring app with a great vision in mind is quite interesting. My initial thought was that after talking to the refugee, I'd feel like I had to support her more. But in reality, it's the refugee that gives me positive energy and inspires me more." stated Tyra.
Technology is just a tool, but what could make a difference is listening to users and their insights. Technology, along with empathy, can close gaps between humans, no matter how far apart we are.
