(C) U.S. State Dept
This story was originally published by U.S. State Dept and is unaltered.
 . . . . . . . . . .



Cultural exchange program amplifies environmental issues through art [1]

[]

Date: 2023-08-08  

By Kanchalee “Kelly” Jitjang

Embassy Bangkok launched the cultural exchange program, “A Tale of Two Rivers”—referring to the Mekong and Mississippi rivers—bringing together community leaders and students to engage in an open discussion about water management and the environmental effects of dams along Thailand’s Mekong River.

Despite Embassy Bangkok’s audience research that indicated low interest in environmental issues in the country, Mission Thailand was determined to find unique ways to engage communities on river issues. To support the Mekong-U.S. Partnership, the Mission brought together local leaders and American artists and filmmakers to amplify activism for environmental protection along the Mekong. Highlighting the voices of the local community and empowering them to tell their stories to the wider public through dance, music, and film workshops, American and Thai artists collaborated with youth groups from diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds and communities to co-create multimedia performances in Bangkok and Chiang Rai province, along the Mekong River. The performances created a public space to raise the unique environmental challenges of Thailand’s most important waterway through an artform, without projecting negativity on the sensitive transnational issue.

The art-driven initiative used films about the Mississippi and the Mekong to creatively bridge not only these two rivers, but also the Thai government and a cross generational swath of its people. The program integrated situational and audience analysis, youth empowerment, and community engagement.

“This new arts collaboration has created a space where this dam issue is being raised in the public space,” said Niwat Roykaew, a Thai environmental defender known for his efforts to protect the Mekong river.

This program confirmed that empowering communities to create art to express their problems is an effective model to create dialogue and echo the issues at a national level.

Kanchalee “Kelly” Jitjang is the public engagement specialist at Embassy Bangkok.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://statemag.state.gov/2023/08/0823itn01/

Published and (C) by U.S. State Dept
Content appears here under this condition or license: Public Domain.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/usstate/