BANGKOK, November 23, 2006—As more than 95 disadvantaged children from Chiang Rai and other Northern provinces of Thailand gathered at the “Thailand Street Children Open Space” on November 18 and 19 in Chiang Rai, volunteer teachers as well as representatives from local non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government agencies and youth groups heard some of the most compelling and sincere stories from street children living in Thailand, describing some of the daily concerns and harsh realities they face each day, along with the dreams and goals they hope to achieve.
95 disadvantaged children from Chiang Rai and other Northern provinces of Thailand gathered at the "Thaialnd Street Children Open Space" |
Developing the workshop’s overarching theme, “Challenges and Opportunities: How to create a better future for children in Thailand,” the street children present broke out into groups and engaged in lively discussions on topics such as how to obtain a better education and achieve their dreams; how to better take care of their families and friends; how to become a teacher, doctor, or nurse to help other children and adults in difficult situations; how to ensure disadvantaged children are provided with more opportunities and do not have to endure the same struggles as they do; and how to ensure migrants from countries such as Myanmar have better chances of obtaining a Thai identification card to have more access to services such as health care, education, and employment. “I want to be a teacher when I grow up,” said Yaowaluk, a child assisted by the Mirror Foundation. “I want to share my knowledge with children who lack the opportunity to get an education, such as the hill tribe children. This way when they grow up, they will be educated and have more career opportunities and eventually escape from the hardships they encounter in their daily lives.” Open Space workshops are retreat-style events during which the participants themselves are able to set their own agenda and define the topics of discussion. As part of its youth program this year, the World Bank in the East Asia and Pacific region has held a series of Open Space dialogues across the region to provide interested partners with a real opportunity to listen to the concerns and needs of youth and disadvantaged children from diverse backgrounds, and discover what local and international development agencies can do to respond to them. Open Spaces for both youth and disadvantaged children have taken place in Papua New Guinea, Timor Lest, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Singapore and Mongolia over the last three months. Held at a local school facility in Chiang Rai, the Open Space workshop in Thailand was organized jointly by government agencies such as the Office of Non-Formal Education of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai which is part of the Ministry of Education; local NGOs such as the Mirror Foundation and the Maesai Child life (BanNana in Thai), with support from the World Bank, as well as the Ministry of Social Development and Welfare, youth groups such as AIESEC, and universities such as Chulalongkorn and Thammasat. The partner organizations decided to hold the event—the first of three planned for this year—in Chiang Rai because a large portion of Thailand 's disadvantaged and migrant children from Myanmar, Cambodia, and Lao PDR live in the Northern part of Thailand. The partner organizations also committed to building stronger and collaborative relationships with the World Bank to find viable long-term solutions to concerns raised by the street children participants. 
Khun Tuenjai Deetes, former Senator of Chiang Rai province, welcoming participants to the workshop |
Khun Tuenjai Deetes, former Senator of Chiang Rai province and currently a member of the National Legislative Assembly working closely with the Minister of Social Development and Human Security, said at the workshop, “This type of forum creates an environment in which the children can truly voice their opinion, and thus further enhance development efforts aimed at improving their quality of life and chances of being part of a peaceful society.” She urged the children at the workshop to make the most of this opportunity by truly expressing their needs and concerns, as these could later on guide future policy planning by the Royal Thai Government (RTG). Following Khun Tuenjai Deetes’ speech, volunteers from both the World Bank and partner organizations led the children in ice-breaking activities to enable the children to get to know each other better. These activities included a series of team-building exercises such as drawing a picture together with one pen attached to six strings, racing by running on a rolling tank, and crossing a rope bridge over the pond. The children also performed skits and songs. The participants were also asked to write down (or draw a picture of) their own story on a piece of paper to describe their daily activities, dreams, and hopes for the future. Ms. Alix-Ines Lebec, World Bank Communications Associate in Thailand, acted as a facilitator for the event and also encouraged the children to take advantage of this time to voice their concerns and needs. “Unlike many events or exercises you may have participated in in the past, the main idea behind Open Space is for you to truly have the chance to speak about what is important to you and to convey this to all the people who are here today, as well as others who need to hear what concerns and issues street children in Thailand are facing today. You are the ones who will set the agenda of this meeting.” The key to this event's success will be to translate the results of the Street Children Open Space into inputs which the Bank, other partners, and government agencies can take into consideration, to demonstrate that voices of children do matter and can be heard. The recommendations and suggestions from the “Thailand Street Children Open Space Dialogue” will be compiled into a small report, which will be shared among the Bank and its partners. As part of its follow-up plan, the Bank also hopes to weave some of the first-hand accounts heard during the workshop into its analytical work, as well as provide collaborative support to other agencies that work with disadvantaged children in Thailand. ### For more information about the World Bank’s program in Thailand visit www.worldbank.or.th For more information about the World Bank’s work with youth in the East Asia and Pacific region: www.worldbank.org/eapyouth
Contacts: The World Bank Tel: +66 (0) 2-686-8300 Tinnakorn Sareenun Email: tsareenun@worldbank.org Pichaya Fitts Email: pfitts @worldbank.org |
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