The Special Mekong Event Series - Foundation Office Thailand
Event
Details
Early this year, Bangkok Tribune and its partners, in support of Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V. Foundation Office Thailand (KAS Thailand), Thai PBS, and Bangkok Art and Cultural Centre (BACC), organized a two week-long event series of the photo essay exhibition, a book launch, as well as the special forum, The Songkhram River Basin (ลุ่มน้ำสงคราม), the Mekong’s Womb to raise public awareness regarding emerging and ongoing impacts of development projects on the Mekong River and its tributaries, ones which are often overlooked by policy makers when it comes to development despite the fact that they have long supported the Mekong ecosystems and livelihoods.
This is as part of The Mekong’s Womb project run by Bangkok Tribune Online News Agency, under which the photo essay series and a photo book has also been produced and published to serve the same purpose.
In order to consolidate the idea and propose the public possible solutions, the alliance once again plan another event series at Ubon Ratchathani University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts and Tamui Mekong School, Khong Chiam district, Ubon Ratchathani province, where the photo essay exhibition and book launch will be held alongside the documentary screening as well as the forum during June 20-22, 2022.
Program
June 20 - 22
The photo exhibition ลุ่มน้ำสงคราม (the Songkhram River Basin) The Mekong’s Womb (Venue: Ubon Ratchathani University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts, Ubon Ratchathani Province)
June 21
Documentary screening: The Mekong through the lens of Mekong young generation (Venue: Tamui Mekong School, Khong Chiam District, Ubon Ratchathani Province)
June 22
The special forum: Can the Mekong and its tributaries have “legal rights”?
(Hybrid/ On-site and Online: Tamui Mekong School, Khong Chiam District & Zoom program with simultaneous translation in Thai and English)
1 pm (June 22)
1.20 pm (June 22): Welcome Remarks and key notes
Dr. Céline-Agathe Caro, Director Thailand Office, Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS Thailand) (Regional stabilization and security via new legal statuses and rights of the Mekong’s rivers) (Zoom)
Assoc.Prof. Dr. Kanokwan Manorom, Director, the Mekong Sub-Region Social Research Center, Ubon Ratchathani University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts (Setbacks and opportunities to protect the Mekong and its tributaries via new legal tools including legal personhood and rights) (On-site)
Mr. Somkiat Chantrasima, Director, the Office of Networking and Public Engagement, Thai PBS (The challenges of megaprojects in the Mekong Basin, and the needs for public networking and participation) (Zoom)
1.35 pm (June 22): Overview
Environmental personhood; The world’s renown rivers and their legal statuses and rights, how far have they been doing?
Professor Emeritus Dr. Philip Hirsch, University of Sydney’s School of Geosciences (Zoom)
1.45 pm (June 22): Discussion: Can the Mekong and its tributaries have “legal rights”?
Speakers:
(Round 1/ 30 minutes: Community lessons and hopes on new legal tools)
Mr. Niwat Roykaew, chairman of Rak Chiang Khong Conservation Group and 2022 Goldman Environmental Prize winner (Zoom)
Ms. Ormbun Thipsuna, Secretary-General of the Network Association of the Mekong Community Organizations Council of the Seven Northeastern Provinces (Zoom)
Mekong tributaries’ representatives from Mun, Chi, and Songkhram (On-site)
(Round 2/ 50 minutes: The Mekong and tributaries’ legal statuses and rights, an opportunity or repercussion?)
Ms. Sor. Rattanamanee Polkla, Co-Founder, Executive Coordinator, and Lawyer at Community Resources Centre (Zoom)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kanokwan Manorom, Director of the Mekong Sub-Region Social Research Center, Ubon Ratchathani University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts (On-site)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Thanaporn Sriyakul, a committee member of the government appointed Decentralization to the Local Government Organization Committee (On-site)
Mr. Brian Eyler, Senior Fellow and Director, Southeast Asia Program and the Energy, Water, and Sustainability Program, Stimson Center (Zoom)
The Mekong River Commission’s representative (Tentative)
The New Zealand Embassy to Thailand’s representative (Whanganui case)
Moderator
Ms. Wiphaporn Wattanawit, TV host and anchor, Thai PBS
