Awards recall Wanida's work for the poor

Even one year after her death, Wanida Tantiwittayapitak still inspires others to work for the poor.

The Sanya Dharmasakti Institute for Democracy yesterday presented awards in her name to authors of theses that benefit low-income earners. This is the first time that the Wanida Tantiwittayapitak awards have been handed out.

"The main objective of these awards is to encourage work for the poor - something Wanida devoted her life to," the institute announced.

Wanida had been a prominent activist and has worked with the Assembly of the Poor (AOP) to help the poor and marginalised. More than 100 AOP members attended the ceremony at Thammasat University's Tha Prachan campus yesterday.

Judges said that though there were 23 theses submitted, none were good enough to win the first prize.

The work that won the second prize was a thesis submitted by Kingkarn Samnuanyen, a lecturer at Ubon Ratchathani University's Faculty of Political Science. Kingkarn's thesis focused on a movement to demand land rights for poor people in Lamphun. The author won Bt30,000 in cash and a certificate of honour.

According to Kingkarn, the Lamphun movement failed due to three reasons - the wrong decisions made by the leaders; a lack of unity among members; and not enough people being involved.

A study on the representation of poor people in TV programs won the third prize. The writer, Kwanfa Sripraphan, a teacher at Chiang Mai University's Faculty of Political Science, criticised TV shows like "Game Plod Nee" (the Debt-Clearing Game) for encouraging poor people to wait for help from the middle class.

Kwanfa received Bt20,000 in cash and a certificate of honour.

The consolation prize was won by Ekapon Siangdang, a graduate student from Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Political Science, who wrote about movements involving the poor from 1888 to 2006.

According to the study, poor people's fight for their rights have allowed them to participate in public policies and have encouraged more people to try to defend themselves.