On 23 January 2023, Mrs. Eksiri Pintaruchi, Director-General of Department of International Organizations, together with Ms. Gita Sabharwal, Resident Coordinator for Thailand, and Ms. Atchara Seriputra, Vice President of the United Nations Association of Thailand (UNAT) delivered the opening remarks at the Thai Children’s Day event organized at the United Nations Conference Center under the theme “Youth and Sustainable Development”. Mr. Sanon Wangsrangboon, Deputy Governor of Bangkok also attended the event and gave a keynote speech on the same topic.

In her opening remarks, Director-General Eksiri emphasised the important role of youth in promoting sustainable development and accelerating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She highlighted that SDGs are closely linked to the daily lives of youth in various dimensions and encouraged young people to be involved in Thailand’s implementation of SDGs, especially during the Decade of Action where the international community must achieve these Goals by 2030. The Director-General also commented on one of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ initiatives to promote youth participation in multilateral diplomacy by selecting representatives of the Thai youth to join Thailand’s official delegation at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The Resident Coordinator reaffirmed the commitments of the 21 agencies of the UN Country Team (UNCT) in working closely with the Royal Thai Government. She also added that the initial idea for today’s event came directly from young people she met last year. She commended Thailand’s efforts in promoting sustainable development and achieving SDGs through its home-grown approaches including the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) and the Bio-Circular-Green Economy Model (BCG).

During his keynote remarks, the Deputy Governor of Bangkok highlighted the importance of youth as the future of cities and bearers of their own future. In this regard, he mentioned numerous initiatives by the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) to support the city in achieving SDGs as well as empowering and building capacity for the children and youth of Bangkok. These initiatives include, for example, fostering equitable access to education and creating space for youth to express themselves.

In addition, Mr. Munithorn Wattanayakorn and Ms. Pinda Wiriyapongsri, Thai youth delegates at the UNGA73 (2018) and UNGA77 (2022) shared their experience of representing Thai youth at the UN General Assembly in New York. They also exchange views with the students on the role of youth in promoting sustainable development and SDGs.

The Thai Children’s Day event at UNESCAP is a collaboration between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator, the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority and the United Nations Association of Thailand. The event was well-attended by over 150 students and teachers from 11 middle and high schools under the BMA. Many UN agencies also took part in organizing activity booths, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).