On 21 August 2023, the Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Thailand, jointly organized the “Train the Trainers: Embracing a Sustainable Thailand” workshop at Vithes Samosorn, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to deepen the understanding about SDGs among teachers and educational personnel, who are the important driving forces in raising awareness of SDGs among young people, as well as to encourage them to become agents of change by coming up with projects aimed at implementing SDGs at the school level.
Mr. Nathapol Khantahiran, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs; and Dr. Niyom Paisopha, Director of the Secondary Educational Service Area Office Bangkok 1, gave welcome remarks to 99 participating teachers and educational personnel from 48 secondary schools and high schools under the Office of the Basic Education Commission.
For the “Train the Trainers” workshop, participating teachers and educational personnel took part in the lecture sessions about the roles of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Thailand, UNESCO Multisectoral Regional Office in Bangkok, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in driving SDGs at the regional and international levels. A case study on Samut Sakhon moving towards a low-carbon city by the Thai Urban Planners’ Society and Khokkham Sub-district Administrative Organization of Samut Sakhon, and Doi Tung Royal Development Project as a success story of SEP for SDGs by Mae Fah Luang Foundation Under Royal Patronage were shared among the participants. In addition to the lecture sessions, there were also presentations of the VC (near) Zero Food Waste project by students from Vajiravudh College and the Young Network Social Development project by students from Bangkok Christian College School as the exemplary projects aimed at achieving SDGs which can be implemented at the school level.
The “Train the Trainers” workshop is an extension of the “Youth for SDGs: Embracing a Sustainable Future” workshop held on 13 – 14 July 2023 at Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote understanding among high school students in Bangkok and Pathumthani that SDGs is a familiar foreign affairs issue and young people can achieve SDGs at the household, school, and community levels. The “Train the Trainers” workshop also extends the network aimed at ensuring cooperation on sustainable development among Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Thailand, concerned public and private agencies and the Thai education sector.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to thank all teachers and educational personnel for participating in the workshop and the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Thailand for co-hosting this event. In addition, sincere appreciation must be extended to UNESCO Bangkok, Khokkham Subdistrict Administrative Organization of Samut Sakhon Province, Mae Fah Luang Foundation Under Royal Patronage, Vajiravudh College, and Bangkok Christian College School for supporting the workshop. The workshop clearly demonstrated the joint efforts and intentions of the concerned agencies in Thailand in promoting sustainable development and the achievement of SDGs among the young generation, who are the agents of change and the main driving forces in transforming Thailand into the country of innovation and sustainability in the near future.