On Thursday, January 12, 2023, at 2:30 PM, the 1st Meeting of the Subcommittee on Youth Power for Driving Sustainable Development in 2023 was held under the Committee for Sustainable Development (CSD) at the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) and via teleconferencing system. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Suwit Mesinthree, with participation from Prof. Dr. Sanit Aksornkaew, Chairman of the National Economic and Social Development Council, Mr. Meechai Weerawaitaya, Expert Member, Prof. Dr. Suphachai Patumanakul, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, Dr. Wichar Simachaya, Director of the Thailand Environment Institute, and representatives from government agencies, private sector, civil society, and NESDC staff serving as the secretariat. <\/p>\n\n
The meeting discussed approaches to improving educational curricula to align with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implementation. There was consensus that the focus should be on making curricula more relevant to students’ daily lives, emphasizing continuous learning combined with practical training, instilling attitudes and values to support global changes in the 21st century (Transformative Mindset for 21st Century), and providing opportunities for learners to participate in determining educational curricula.<\/p>\n\n
Additionally, the meeting discussed approaches to connecting networks (Collaborative Platform) of children and youth councils with other existing networks related to children and youth. The objective is to create greater momentum for driving public policies by children and youth to the national policy level. There was also consensus on the need to enhance knowledge for children and youth networks simultaneously. The ultimate goal is to enable children and youth to think about and formulate policies related to children and youth with their own participation and self-direction, potentially starting with educational curricula, human rights, and gender diversity issues.<\/p>\n\n
For the next steps, NESDC and relevant agencies will jointly study the details of curriculum development to further align with SDGs, as well as approaches for formulating public policies by children and youth, to be presented to the next meeting of the Subcommittee. <\/p>\n