Rathchaphol “Weera” Suwannachot

Founder/Director, Thai Youth News Center

Industry : Advocacy

Rathchaphol is the founder and director of Thai Youth News Center, which provides life skills training for young people through TV and social media and links youngsters around Thailand and the world through social media. His organisation has been invited to participate in youth activities in over 50 countries and is the only one in Thailand to have won an International EMMY Award in 2007. Most recently, Access to Human Right International (AHRI) recognised him with its Humanity & Patriotism Award 2020 for his humanitarian contribution in Thailand during the coronavirus pandemic. As a high school student he created a programme that linked his well-off classmates with disadvantaged children in outlying rural areas. At Mahidol University he learned how media—particularly theatre—can be a powerful tool for public issue messages. He used his experience as a television producer to initiate a youth-run media programme based on UNICEF''s annual International Children''s Day of Broadcasting. He hopes to scale up Youth News centres across 77 provinces in Thailand and 10 ASEAN countries.