Blog Ambassador Kees Rade (23)

In the past month, we have again been able to use our historic residence to organize work-related events, of course taking into account Covid-19 prevention measures.

On November 10, we invited representatives of International Crisis Group, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights and iLaw to share their insights on the current political situation in Thailand with about thirty embassies and UN institutions. Lots of information about lawsuits, the developments surrounding the monarchy in Thailand, and the various proposals that are currently before parliament regarding a revision of the constitution. The proposal prepared by iLaw, which was added to the agenda of the parliamentary debate thanks to almost 100.000 signatures, did not receive enough votes to be included in subsequent readings. However, iLaw will be invited to explain this proposal during further debates. Whether this will be enough to reduce the current protests, which see yellow ducks and dinosaurs popping up almost daily in Bangkok's streets, can be doubted. After all, the students have emphatically stated that they do not consider this entire parliamentary review process to be sufficient. So it remains to be seen how this situation will develop further, it could go in many directions.

Two days later, we had an honoring ceremony for Anocha Suwichakornpong, a Thai film director who was one of the prestigious 2019 Prince Claus Laureates. She could have already received her real prize pre-Covid in the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, where practically the entire Royal family was present. The ceremony in Bangkok was for her Thai supporters. As one of the attendees described it, about 80% of the Thai film world was present at this ceremony, a good indicator of the popularity of this courageous and innovative laureate.

In mid-November we had a two-day conference at the residence, organized by our Police Attache together with ECPAT, an NGO dedicated to combating child abuse. The theme of this conference was “grooming”, or the misuse of social media by adults to seduce minors into sexual acts, online or even offline. Key testimony was given by an Australian mother whose daughter had a grooming arrangement with an adult man who killed her during their arrangement. After years of campaigning, this mother succeeded in getting legislation passed that criminalizes grooming. A touching story. We hope that this conference will contribute to the participants from eight Southeast Asian countries making this practice a criminal offense in their countries as well.

At the end of November a completely different group in the residence; a conference on female leadership in the private sector. During this so-called hybrid conference, in other words with a small group of participants in the residence and the other participants who followed the conversation online, three prominent Thai businesswomen shared their experiences on their way to the top. We had organized this event as part of the virtual Dutch trade mission, which is currently taking place in five countries in this region. The reason for choosing this theme is that Thailand scores surprisingly positively in this area. According to a recent survey, women occupy 33% of the CEO/Managing Director positions of major Thai companies. Much more than in the Netherlands, and also almost twice as high as the world average, which is 15%. Thailand also has the highest percentage of female students in higher education institutions, said the (female) head of the Thai stock exchange, one of the speakers. The fact that the president of the Thai Supreme Court is also a woman completes the picture. It should be noted, however, that the picture in the political sector is considerably gloomier, as Thailand is lagging behind many other countries. All in all, an interesting session, which certainly offered a lot of inspiration to the young Thai participants, and perhaps also provided food for thought for the Dutch participants.

Due to lack of space, I will not comment on my participation in the annual Shell forum, always an inspiring conference that clearly showed the enormous impact of the current climate and sustainability developments on the essence of what is still mainly an oil and gas company. Or on my working visit to Phuket, where the governor briefed us on the dramatic economic situation on this island, which is 92% dependent on tourism for its income. Whether there will be a restart of this tourism soon remains to be seen. More generally, it is of course to be hoped that international travel restrictions will be eased somewhat with the progress on a vaccine, many, including many compatriots, are greatly inconvenienced by this.

Finally, I would just like to comment on the annual end-of-year event organized by the bilateral Dutch-Thai Chamber of Commerce NTCC on November 20. Largely set up as usual (albeit with slightly fewer participants to be able to enforce the Covid prevention rules) and organized with great enthusiasm. I was allowed to sit on the jury again, which had to judge the total of eight candidates in four categories. It was interesting to dig a little deeper into how these companies are meeting challenges in these Covid times. All winners as far as I'm concerned. Take Smit Food, which produces chili paste. Many setbacks, many missed appointments, but now a successful company that is about to create some economic activity in the Deep South as well. Good example of Dutch entrepreneurship, as there were many examples on this evening!

Regards,

Keith Rade