Thais use Change.org to campaign

The Thai branch of Change.org exists 1 year. Citizens can place petitions and seek support on the digital platform. Some actions are successful, some are ignored. Bangkok Post highlights five 'that have made an impact in the past year'.

Walking and standing still on escalators

Chatcharapon Penchom (37) uses the site to campaign for two passenger flows on the subway escalators. On the one hand, the people who are standing still, on the other hand, the people who are walking up or down. Within months, 6.032 people signed a petition, which went to BTS in April. Chatcharapon points out that arrows on the platforms indicate where travelers should wait, so that boarding and disembarking is orderly and quick. Why not also arrows on the escalator? The BTS has not yet responded.

Violent movies in interliner

Sajin Prachason campaigns against showing violent films in interliners. She often travels from the Northeast to Bangkok and always saw the same movie with a lot of blood, a slit throat and a girl being raped. The driver said he had no other films, the company only responded after Sajin had collected 300 signatures. She would ask the driver not to show the film again. The article does not state whether this has happened and also applies to other buses.

Every item at 7-Eleven in a plastic bag

7-Eleven staff puts every item, no matter how small, in a plastic bag. Waranana Rattanarat thinks that customers should be asked whether the groceries should be packed. A small gesture to reduce the mountain of waste. She started an online campaign on Change.org and had 3.000 signatures after a year. The company's customer service has not yet responded.

Homosexuality is a disease

'Homosexuality is a disease in which people do not act according to their sexual orientation' and 'Homosexual relationships usually do not last long and usually end in jealousy and violence'. This can be read in a textbook used in the first grade of secondary school. In one photo, contestants in a transgender beauty pageant have a black bar over their eyes. Rattanawat Janamnuaysook finds text and photo offensive and misleading. A coordinator of the Thai Transgender Alliance started a campaign for her on Change.org, but not a word about it in the article.

Exotic animals on the top floor of a shopping mall

The private zoo Pata Zoo with exotic animals on the top floor of a shopping mall in Pin Klao has angered Sinjira Apitan. She started a campaign on Change.org two months ago. Although the zoo has a permit, it does not think it is right to house wild animals in this way. Two thousand people agree with her and signed her petition. Recently, the Thai TV channel PBS and some foreign media have paid attention to the case.

Background

Change.org is a for-profit website founded in 2007 by two Americans with the goal 'Empowering everyone, everywhere to start, support and win campaigns for social change'. ‘Doing business for a good causel' is the slogan on the website. Popular topics are: economic law and criminal law, human rights, education, environment, animal protection, health and sustainable food. Money is earned from sponsored petitions from, for example, Amnesty International.

The site employs 100 employees and 170 staff in 18 countries. There are 10 million members and many more visitors from 196 countries. There is strict moderation with a clear explanation on the website of what is and is not allowed. The site has been accused of misleading its users by concealing the fact that it is profit-oriented.

Change.org has a system for hiding the sender, but that only works if the user has an account on the site. The Thai-language site has been around for a year.

(Sources: bangkok mail, September 23, 2013, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/change.org, courtesy of Tino Kuis who viewed the Thai-language website)