At the age of 19 (1981) he decided to quit school and explored his “destiny” for the next few years finding himself involved with the Student Christian Movement in Malaysia and even spent half a year in a Theological Seminary. He finally found himself “passionately” involved as a community organiser among the urban poor communities in Malaysia.
In 1986 he was given a chance to pursue a BA degree in Mass Communications (Journalism) in the University of the Philippines. As an “overaged” freshman in College, Jo Hann also worked as a freelance journalist and writer to help support his life in the Philippines. He often churned out articles and photographs for regional news agencies & also local Malaysian publications covering social & human interest subjects including national events such as the Pinatubo Volcano Eruption; the numerous Coup E’tat in the Philippines; and the great Earthquake of 1990.
In 1991, Jo Hann together with several other community orgainser-trainers from different Southeast Asian countries, founded the “Southeast Asia Popular Communications Programme”, a regional network of grassroots movements working with urban poor, farmers, fishermen and indigenous peoples in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma, Philippines and East Timor.
After returning from the Philippines in 1993, Jo Hann continued his organizing work in his organization, an urban poor movement called Persatuan Masyarakat Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan or PERMAS (Community Residents’ Association) and was elected to be the President in the year 2000 & has been re-elected for the 3rd term in 2008.
In 1993, Jo Hann together with some colleagues had established Pusat KOMAS a Malaysian human rights organization using popular communications to work with NGO’s and grassroots communities Malaysia.
Today Jo Hann is a consultant for community organizing and media productions and skills, and he is regularly invited to help develop the capacity of grassroots NGOs and communities in different Asian countries. Jo Hann’s specialisation includes developing community organising perspective, strategies & skills; developing campaigns strategies and grassroots advocacy of issues; promotion and use of popular communications media forms such as audio visual, graphics and photography, videography & grassroots journalism.
Tan Jo Hann with emergency relief and reconstruction teams in the Yogjakarta, Indonesia Earthquake of 2005.
Jo Hann’s solo photo exhibition entitled “Rights & Wrongs” Images of Human Rights in Malaysia, held at the Summit Shopping complex in 2006
Jo Hann as co-coordinator of the Special Committee for Housing and Urban Pioneers (Squatters) meeting with YB Islandar Abdul Samad, Selangor Exco for squatters, housing and building maintenance, 2008
Jo Hann with PERMAS leaders, having an urgent meeting with Jinjang Utara longhouse dwellers to seek solutions to their housing situations.
Jo Hann, as President of PERMAS with KL urban poor communities submitting their protest against the KL Plan 2020 in DBKL August 2008
