Young volunteers on consumer protection get a boost prior to AEC integration

They also plan to strengthen the consumer rights protection network among youth. The move is to prepare Thailand prior to integration into the Asean Economic Community as well as to achieve a safer society.

PM's Office Minister ML Panadda Diskul, who presided over the opening of the Thailand's youth volunteers for consumer protection project in preparation for AEC inauguration, said that there are many reasons that consumer rights are violated. He pointed out that manufacturers are sometimes overconfident in sophisticated production technologies, which causes poor quality and unsafe products to enter the market.

“In the meantime many people are not careful enough when they are buying goods. Moreover, a lot of them are not aware of their rights as consumers,” he noted.
 

AEC integration, which will merge the Asean countries into a single market, will enable low-quality or unsafely products to spread among the member countries faster, according to ML Panadda.

He pointed out that under such circumstances consumer safety is likely to be at stake. Many consumers will become victims of weak consumer protection as they attempt to claim their rights and fight for compensation.

As OCP is in charge of the country's consumer protection, the organization sees the potential of the youth in the improvement of consumer rights. It has decided to join hands with the Education Ministry to create consumer networks in the educational institutions. Under the plan, consumer protection activities have been included in school curricula. The project is also designed to serve as a process of life-time learning so that consumer rights will be enforced. It is an important step for Thailand to move forward as a society that is more concerned about consumer rights and safety.

Mr Ampol Wongsiri, secretary-general of OCPB, said that the organization has set up “Consumer protection clubs” in cooperation with various schools. The clubs’ activities are designed to comply with the central basic curriculum of 2008. OCPB's role is to provide information and knowledge concerning consumer protection to teachers and educational personnel so that they can work as advisors to the clubs. OCPB also provides necessary resources and media that are required by the clubs so that learning is undertaken in an efficient way.

So far, over 7,554 young volunteers nationwide are active under the consumer protection project. Over 832 teachers are acting as advisors to the volunteer groups. They have put together 1,860 consumer rights protection events so far. 

Ten Asean member countries share similar goals as AEC approaches next year: to reinforce consumer protection. They agree that the issue is one of the priorities that all member states will help develop together to reach the same goal. Among the focuses will be the process of filing complaints and compensation and protection across borders. They also agree to support each other in terms of research and to join forces in raising awareness on consumer protection.

The meeting among young volunteers in consumer protection in preparation for AEC is part of the action plan. It aims at empowering youngsters to become smart consumers. At the same time, the young volunteers also have a chance to get connected and exchange ideas on consumer protection. Such activities also inspire educational institutions to see and place greater importance on consumer rights.

The event was participated in by 160 young volunteers and 160 advisors from selected consumer protection clubs who have been judged in accordance with their continuous efforts. Experts in the field from OCPB joined to share their knowledge. Fun-filled activities included "Thai Smart Young Consumer Leaders 2014" and a walk rally. For a seminar, three main topics were addressed by participants – the importance of youth in consumer protection; the sustainable expansion of school networks; and preparations for the upcoming AEC. The event wrapped up with prize presentations for the winner and runner-ups of the young volunteers