Student camp aims to promote awareness of Asean community
Students from Asean communities are meeting together in Thailand in a bid to promote a better understanding of their different practices and cultures among their foreign peers.
The six-day camp is being organised under the auspices of the Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec), which aims to build awareness and prepare young people for the Asean Economic Community (AEC) which begins in 2015.
“It’s also to create a closer understanding among all Asean country members,” Obec secretary general Chinnapat Bhumirat said last week at the start of the 2nd International Youth Camp, which attracted 85 students from seven countries. Only a few countries have not participated in the camps.
Based in Nakhon Nayok province, students at the camp aged between 15 and 20 years old have engaged in a variety to teamwork, sharing and networking activities designed to increase the their knowledge of the region and its cultures.
They have also taken part in debates that address issues in a number of areas, including trade. In addition, participating students have undertaken classes in management as they are expected to organise the Asean Festival, during which they will give presentations demonstrating their respective country’s cuisine, arts and culture.
“It’s about co-existence, understanding and the value of being Asean,” Chinnapat said. In addition to students, teachers from Asean countries are also taking part in the camp activities. The 1st International Youth Camp by Obec took place in 2010.
Wongduan Suwansini, lead trainer for the 2nd International Youth Camp, said there were 30 Thai students in the camp, while the rest were foreigners.
Uthraa Lyer, a 12th grader from Malaysia, said she expected all Asean countries to come together and behave like a multicultural community in which everyone could work to save the environment. “One for all and all for one,” she smiled.
Nguyen Viet Hoang, a 12th grader from Vietnam, said he believed the AEC would provide more opportunities for people across the Asean region. He had confidence that the AEC would usher in better standards of education and be more competitive economically. “There will be more opportunity to work in international companies,” he added.
According Chinnapat, Obec has also conducted a variety of activities to prepare its personnel for the AEC. Among them, a project to establish Thailand as an education hub; another to teach Asean languages; and one to raise the standard of Thai education to meet international standards.
