By THA SC
Bangkok, Thailand, 29 June 2021 -- Bro. Thanad Anan, SDB, the Salesian delegate for the past pupils of Thailand, together with 3 representatives of the past pupils, joined the online 12th Congress of the Salesian Past Pupils of Asia-Oceania Region from 25-26 June 2021, under the theme "Moved By Hope".
On this occasion, the past pupils of Thailand were privileged to be given the technical responsibility for the online linkages together with the alumni of Japan and the Philippine Provinces. Bro. Thanad assigned Mr. Poonyawee Manosantipap to lead the technicians from the Thai side together with two others, namely, Mr. Nattawut Watcharasakpaisan and Mr. Phuwadon Chaisomboon, with Fr. Ekasit Talhakultorn as adviser for planning and management.
After the initial meeting with Fr. Ekasit, the working team chose Saeng Thong Vitthaya School - Hatyai as the main technical base for the live broadcast, connecting 3 languages, namely, Bahasa Indonesia, Tetun - Timor L'este, and Thai. This base was chosen for convenience since Bro. Thanad and Mr. Poonyawee work in this school. They put up the technical team, composed of:
Thai Technical Team:
1. Mr.Poonyawee Manosantipap
2. Mr.Monton Uerwongprawit
3. Mr.Eakkasit Janpeng
4. Mr.Chinatip Putson
5. Mr.Nattawut Watcharasakpaisan
6. Mr.Phuwadon Chaisomboon
After the orientation, the technical team tested the system initially by themselves, and followed up by testing with the teams from Japan and the Philippines. This was done many times in order to assure the smooth procedure during the Congress proper.
Aside from the technical group, another important person was Fr. Aaron Alcoseba who was invited to be the 'translator' into the Thai language. He attended the orientation meeting together with the other translators. He prepared the data to be translated well beforehand, which helped the participants to understand the messages clearly and easily.
Way before the designated date of the Congress, Bro. Thanad informed the various associations of the salesian past pupils about this event, informing the chairpersons and their committees about the details and the linkages available through the Facebook, Line and other platforms, at the Province, school and group levels.
Due to the prevailing Covid - 19 pandemic which has affected widely the country for the third wave, the possibility of gathering a good number of past pupils present together could not be done. This time we could not arrange a significant gathering just like during the event of the Salesian Family last January 2021. Most of the alumni participants followed through the YouTube channel. However, the working team gathered some alumni representatives at two locations, namely, 4 alumni in Saeng Thong Vitthaya School, and another 15 people at the Salesian Provincial Office - Bangkok.
The alumni gathered at the Provincial House were those who came out from the formation houses and who were living in Bangkok area. They may be considered a part of the GEX group. Invited by Fr. Andrew Ekasit, these alumni were very enthusiastic to have an active part in the various events of the Salesians. Last August 2020, 120 of them participated in the assembly of former seminarians in Hua-Hin for two days. Probably this was the first event of them being together for the past 20 years. They also gave some donations and volunteered to hand out 'food bags' during the height of this pandemic, hand-in-hand with the PDO Office - Thailand. Slowly this group is becoming cohesive. Right after participating in the 12th Asia-Oceania Alumni Congress online, they immediately laid out the plan of activities for the gathering of the former seminarians.
As an overall picture, the Congress has opened the minds and understanding of the Salesian Past Pupils of Thailand. Of course, there is still a lot of room for development in order to live truly the Salesian spirit to be "good christians and honest citizens"
The Salesian Past Pupils of Thailand would like to express heartfelt gratitude to all the members of the organizing committee for their expertise and sacrifices in order that the Congress would proceed smoothly and fruitfully.
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