Strengthening Partnerships and Peacebuilding in Thailand

February – April 2025

Advancing Youth Engagement and Strategic Partnerships in Thailand

February 2025

Peacemakers Network staff with FCA Thailand Foundation. Bangkok, Thailand. 2025.

Earlier this year, the Peacemakers Network’s Director of Programme and Operations, Matthias Wevelsiep,  visited Bangkok to strengthen strategic partnerships with Network members and supporters as well as  launch the “Youth on the Move” project.

A leadership meeting was held at Mahidol University, Salaya Campus, with representatives from Network member Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies (IHRP) including Assistant Professor Dr. Naparat Kranrattanasuit, Assistant Professor Dr. Padtheera Nakurairattana, and Dr. Suphatmet Yunyasit. The IHRP team shared their active role in peacebuilding in Thailand’s Deep South through the Research Center for Peacebuilding, an institution known for its participatory research, dialogue facilitation, and community-level engagement. Their notable partnerships with Network members and supporters including ETH Zurich and KAICIID demonstrate the cross-collaboration for research and programming.

To conclude the week, a meeting with Network member Somboon Chungprampree (Khun Moo), Executive Director of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) and President of FCA Thailand Foundation, focused on collaborative opportunities for the Youth on the Move initiative, particularly in promoting youth resilience through interfaith and community-based approaches. This visit helped lay important groundwork for deeper cooperation with academic and faith-based institutions in Thailand and reinforced regional momentum for peace-focused youth programming.

Enhancing Peace, Partnership, and Program Quality in Thailand and Myanmar

April 2025

FCA and Peacemakers Network leadership and staff with FCA Thailand Foundation. Bangkok, Thailand. 2025.

FCA Thailand had the pleasure of welcoming Dr. Ikali Karvinen, Deputy Executive Director of FCA Global, to its Bangkok office. Dr. Karvinen met Mr. Somboon and INEB colleagues to discuss peacebuilding efforts in Thailand and Myanmar. The Spirit in Education Movement (SEM), a part of Sathrakoses Nagapradipa Foundation (SNF), has worked on Myanmar-related issues since 1995.

During the visit, SEM’s Nonglak Kaeophoka shared updates on community-led initiatives, emphasizing mental health and the urgent need for people-to-people engagement, especially in the context of post-earthquake recovery in Myanmar. Dr. Karvinen reiterated that ongoing global funding challenges in development and humanitarian aid cuts, will not stop the efforts to continue in advocating for a shift in language and strategy to sustain donor interest and the heightened need to collaborate. Partners highlighted the importance of religious sites, civil society partnerships, and structured support mechanisms. This included long-term donation platforms to ensure sustainable program delivery.

Dr. Karvinen also met with H.E. Kristiina Kuvaja-Xanthopoulos, Ambassador of Finland, at the Embassy of Finland. Their conversation covered FCA’s new Global Programme, which uses a phenomena-based and localized approach; FCA’s humanitarian and peacebuilding work in Myanmar; Joint programming efforts across Asia; FCA’s contributions to peace through the Peacemakers Network in Thailand and the broader region.