Recently staff from the MAP-Asia office joined forces with local and international NGO’s in organizing a first ever youth seminar in the northern region of Thailand’s Andaman Coast.  The event titled “Networking for the Future: Building Capacity Amongst Andaman Coast Youth”, took place between October 23rd – 25th.  The purpose of the seminar as addressed in the title was to bring together local youth groups involved in a variety of environmental and community-based projects in order to facilitate the dissemination of ideas related to the youth’s work in the region.

The event greatly succeeded in achieving its goals.  Over 45 youth members participated from 11 different groups in the region.  During the duration of the seminar the groups were able to share their experiences while also participating in bird watching and sea turtle habitat field trips in the communities of Lion Village, Phra Thong Island and Thung Nam Dam village, Kuraburi District, Phang Nga Province.  Additionally, the seminar helped strengthen and support the relationships between the involved partnering organizations.  It also provided the youth an opportunity to learn about international youth projects from a member of the Youth in Action For Next Generations, Victor Matis from Fekete Sereg, Hungary.  Ultimately, the event shed light on the importance of such gatherings and set the stage for further collaborations in the near future.