Submitted to "Thai Women of Tomorrow" Project
Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiangmai University and ILO - IPEC

By Pramote Prasartkul, PhD.
Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University
            The "Thai Women of Tomorrow (TWT)" Project that has been conducted by the Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiangmai University since 1993 aimed at constructing a working model, which will be used to resolve the problem of child prostitution in Thailand, in particular, in the upper part parents or guardians against prostitution.  Children in high-risk groups such as poor families, orphans, broken homes, or those that their older sisters have already taken jobs outside the villages, should be encouraged to continue with their education immediately after completing their mandatory primary education.  One way to encourage the continuing of education is to providing the children in these high-risk group with the scholarships.  The volunteered teachers in the 12 districts of 4 provinces of the Project's operational area, on behalf of suitable students for scholarships.
            After a period of the TWT's operation, it has become obvious that the development of an information or a resource center for the purpose of supporting the work of TWT Project is necessary.  Thus the project on the Development of a Technical Resource Center for Campaigns against Child Prostitute in Northern Thailand (TRCC) has been established by the TWT Project.  The Technical Resource Center had supported the work TWT in three major areas.
            1)  TRCC serves as the information center concerning child prostitution and childlabor;
            2)  TRCC develops information systems, which will help promote attitude change against prostitution;
            3)  TRCC renders support services to the network of public and private sectors.
            ILO - IPEC has given financial support to TRCC project during the one-year initial period between September 15, 1997 through September 14, 1998, and has been extended until July 31, 1999.
            ILO - IPEC and TWT have for the evaluation of the TRCC at the conclusion of the project.  The time frame of the evaluated period is September 1997 through July1999.  The evaluation was conducted during the months of August through September 1999.
            The evaluation aimed to assess the mechanism as well as to measure the outcome of the TRCC project.  The evaluation methodology used was the qualitative method.  The team of evaluators collected data from documents related to the project and the peroject and the conversationl interviews with related people.  The interviewees were both the Project's personnel such as project's workers, volunteered teachers and the Project's target groups such as students and their guardians, community leaders and network members.  The result of the evaluation is presented in two forms, an evaluation report of the TRCC Project as presenting herewith and the group discussion.  The group discussion, which will composed of organizations' representatives and related personnel will be held in Chiangmai approximately by the end of October 1999.

4.1  Conclusion of the evaluation result
            The finacial support provided by ILO - IPEC to the TRCC project has resulted in the success of the TRCC and TWT projects simultaneously.  The smooth operation of the TWT in the past 20 months is a direct result of this financial support that has been used in the project, and the scholarship related data collection expenditure.  It can be said that one of the successful outcomes of TRCC is the success of the TWT project.
            Over 3,000 scholarships given to girl students and over 400 female youths received the vocational training in the past 6 years are among the successfu results of the TWT.  The 38 volunteered teachers who have dedicated their time and effort in resolving the problems of child prostitution added trenebdiyskt to the success of the project.  These teachers who worked in the villages of 12 districts in the 4 northern provinces have productively changed the attitude of the children and their parents.  Althogh it can not be measured in terms of quantity at this time, the success of the TWT project can be seen sound strategy in resolving child prostitution problem.  This strategy has become a working model for the public and private sectors that want to work toward resolving this problem.

4.1.1  The achievement in establishing Child Labor and Child Prostitute Information Center in Northern Thailand.
            TWT has built a small library in which the documents , prints and other types of publication pertaining to the issues of child labor and child prostitution are collected.  The Center is well equipped with audio-visual equipment and computers.  TRCC has potential and capacity in terms of infrastructure to establish the database for the issued of child prostitute and child labor.  What TRCC needs are the planning and the database for the planning and the system for data collection.

4.1.2  The resources development for attitude change.
            For the purposes of attitude change among youths and their parents, TWT Project has reserved in the Center a variety of publication and media such as videotapes and pringts related to the issues produced by different organizations.  The Project does produce their own media as well such as newsletter, documents about the Projects, Videotapes.  In short, TWT is well equipped, and potentially ready to be the "Resource Center" for solving the child prostitute problems.

4.1.3  The service for the networks for the cooperation in resolving the problems.
            TWT has become a core of public and privated sectors networking in the campaign against child labor and child prostitution in Northern Thailand.  Other than the volunteered teacher's network, TWT is building networks of private sectors thata share the same ideology in the campaign against child labor and child prostitution.  TWT has taken an active role in drafting the operational plan on the issues of children and youth in Chiangmai  and Chiangrai.  TWT has established and readied the networks of organizations and people to resolbe the child prostitution problem.
            In conclusion, TWT has acceptably attained the primary goal in developing the Resource Center to deal with issues related to child labor and child prostitution although some target activities have not been accomplished and some activities achieved late results.  Mistakes and obstacles are the lessons to be learned for further improvement.

4.2  Recommendations for the Resource Center
4.2.1  The objectives of the Project.
            In solving the problems related to child prostitution, facts and figures about the issues are crucial for decision making and work plan.  As much as the facts and figures are important to TWT project, they are as important to the organizations that have taken parts in solving the child prostitution problems.  The objective of TRCC, which is to establish a resource center where neessary technical information for campaigning aghainst child prostitution will be available, is most valuable.  TRCC should uphold this objective.

4.2.2  The Resource Center as a Center where the information related to child labor and child prostitution is collected.
            TRCC should design a better system for data collection.  Concerned scholars, planners and organization's representatives who have been involved with the issues should participate in selecting the data.  The data should include, in particular, the information about TWT's work in progress, the data related to the problems and ways of solving the problems concering child labor and child prostitution in the upper part areas of Northern Thailand.  Appropriate and up-to-date data, which is systematically collected are useful for the Projects' operation as well as being the indication of how well the Projects have progressed.  TWT library already existed should be developed to achieve the status of more comprehensive library.  More importantly, this library should be able to be integrated into the library of the Social Sciences Faculty and the University's central library system.  In order to maximize the benefit for users of the Project's library, the same cataloging system with the central library is necessary.  The TWT library can then library can then be computerized and linked to the main library's net work.

4.2.3  The dissemination of the information.
            TRCC should have a well-thought-of information dissemination.  There has to be a clear idea and purposes of what information to be sent to whom.  This is to have a good measurenment of efficient and appropriate means of communication.  The target groups to be considerd are as follows:
            (1)  The organizations and individuals from within Thailand and abroad who have probided the scholarships via the TWT's network.
            (2)  The networks' members who have worked together in trying to solve the problems including volunteered teachers and community leders.
            (3)  Children and their parents including community's members and general public.

4.2.4  The recommendations concerning the volunteered teachers.
            The volunteered teachers are valuable human resources of TWT project.  TRCC should always have the information available to the teachers.  This is to help the teachers be well informed and for them to continue their relationships in the networks.  In addition, regular contacts with the teachers will motivate and aspire the teachers to continue their work in dealing with the issues of child prostitution and child labors.  The motivation for the volunteered teachers can be in the following forms:
            *  training,
            *  field trip,
            *  short training course,
            *  visiting the TRCC and experimenting in using the services of TRCC,
            *  financial support for the activities in schools and communities,
            *  adding role and responsibility in follow up with the scholarship receivers,
            *  showing the significance roles of the volunteered teachers in TWT to their administrators at all levels,
            *  providing media support for campaigns in schools and communities,
            *  a meeting of all the teachers or smaller groups meetings for the teachers to exchange their experiences.
            In addition, TWT should consider expanding the operational areas and increasing the number of the volunteered teachers.
            Media used for the purposes of attitude change.
            The Resource Center should empasize and bring to use the available media for the purposes of changing attitude.  The available media can be from local, or from the bigger public domain.  If the media is produced by the Resource Center, the appropriate personnel such as the teachers should participate in the production.  The participation from involved people who are in the situation will make the production appropriate to the circumstances.

4.2.6  The research conducted by the Project.
            The project should take an active role in supporting the applied research aimed at solving the child prostitute problems directly.  TRCC should open up opportunities for more faculty members and students to participate in questioning and searching for answers with the issues.  The important role of TRCC in this aspect is to be the Center that collects and encapsulates the research done in this area.  It is more important for the Center to use, and utilize the complete researches than to do the research.

4.2.7  Administration.
            It is definite that TWT project must have a new administration system.  Should the project continue its operation, a steering committee is crucial for the direction of the project.  The steering committee should be composed of the Facultyt's and University's personnel.  This is to increase the participation of the University in the direction of the Project.  The steering committee's meeting should adhere to the schedule.  The compensation for the steering committee can be in the form of the meeting's perdiem.  TWT's Director who acts as the TRCC Director should give at least 50% of his time to the Project and should be compensated in the form of supplement.  The operation's budgeting should include these expenses in the annual budget appropriation.

            TWT should not, by itself, sonduct all the academic works.  TWT should hire special area consultant to complete a project where by the terms of refernces and time frame are determined by TWT.  TWT should be coordinating for the completion of the projects such as library developement project, research projects, database establishment, and the development of the media for attitude change.  TWT should also be the quality controller of the works.

            There should be enough personnel who can do the job as necessary.  The existing personnel should be trained to have skills suitable for their responsibilities such as computer and some audio-visual skills.  There should be more usage of computer in data collections and financial administration.

            In conclusion, the child prostitute problem remains a serious problem in the rural areas of the North.  There are still a great number of young girls who forced into prostitution.  There are still a great numbers of parents who consider prostituition is beneficial to them and there is nothing wrong with it.  It is still necessary to find a more effective strategy in campaigning against child prostitution.  The Resource Center under TWT Project that has been in operation since 1997 remains a form of the campaign that deals with the issues totally and directly.  TWT has had a long history of working with the issues and has already established infrastructure for working in the forms of continue with its work on "the Project on the Development of a Technical Resource Center for Campaigns against Child Prostitute in Northern Thailand."