Actionaid

thailand

ACT!ON FOR CHANGE

'Action?.FOR CHANGE' went the rallying cry from a group of young people, as they tore off their masks with ?No Free, More Fair on them to a chorus of camera flashes.

Action for Change is a new and exciting campaigning project initiated by ActionAid Thailand. Action for Change is the stirring war cry to encourage and empower young people in Thailand to take an interest in issues that are affecting people in the rural regions of their country. It also hopes to spur them on to take action and do something about it.

The project is looking at issues to do with the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that Thailand has with China. This includes many different issues such as poor farmers going out of business due to cheap imports, to fisher folk having their way of life destroyed through the development of a river to people living with HIV who are unable to afford the drugs that could help them live positively.

The Action for Change project is kicking of with a series of performances in drama, music, story telling and animation from a group of young Thai people who went through a selection process to join this group. It will culminate in a final performance on the 9^th December to mark White band day 3.

The participants have spent the last month participating in workshops designed to help them improve their skills in their chosen medium as well as hearing from ActionAid Thailand and their partners, RRAFA (Rural Reconstruction Alumni and Friends Association), AIDS Access Association and FTA (Free Trade Agreement) Watch. The students have also visited projects in the North of the country to meet farmers and people living with HIV who are directly affected by the issue of Free Trade.

Youth participation with a charity in Thailand is very poor. A study revealed that only 13% of young people aged 16-24 claimed to have volunteered their time for charity. In Thailand the lack of transparency in the funding of projects has made people wary because corruption is so rife amongst charities. Although many university students are socially aware about issues of poverty, for most young people the most pressing social issues are those that make the headlines - unemployment, price of fuel or violence in the south.

Projects like Action for Change can only help change this. The young people felt very passionate about the issues and couldn wait to start preparing for the final performance.

Meaw, a 22 year old student studying Italian, was really touched by the trip to the north. "Before this trip I did have some knowledge about FTA" she said. "But the people I have met and the sad stories I have heard are terrible and have made me realise the real problems. I hope that through taking part in Action for Change I can play a small part in raising awareness of these issues to my friends and other young people."

Through bringing social issues to the forefront of peoples minds, Action For Change is trying to create a network of active young people that WILL play a part in the future of Thailand and its population. What more could you ask for?