Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal

Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal
Native name	เนติวิทย์ โชติภัทร์ไพศาล
Born	(1996-09-10) 10 September 1996 Bangkok, Thailand
Nationality	Thai
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Signature

Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal (Thai: เนติวิทย์ โชติภัทร์ไพศาล; born 10 September 1996), aka Frank Netiwit, is a student activist, librarian, conscientious objector, publisher, and author. He is also a founder of TERA (Thailand Educational Revolution Alliance) and Education for Liberation of Siam.^[1] Both groups aim to reform the Thai education system.

In 2018, Netiwit was announced as 1 of 50 Asians to watch in public and social sector by the Straits Times as an honor to his social works, especially on democracy, education and military conscription.^[2]

Netiwit is currently studying at Chulalongkorn University, majoring in political science. He is also the elected student council president at Chulalongkorn University^[3] and a librarian at the Santi Pracha Dhamma Library.

Early life

Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal was born 10 September 1996 in Bangkok, Thailand. He is the second child of a middle-class family of shopkeepers, growing up in Samut Prakan Province.^[4]

TERA

In 2012, Netiwit and a group of fellow students formed TERA (Thailand Education Revolution Alliance). A student led organization, TERA aimed to pressure education authorities to reform the Thai education system. This includes abolishing of the strict uniform codes, increasing the quality of teachers and the curriculum, reducing rote-style education, and increasing the number of public schools.^[5] Netiwit gained public recognition after appearing on a television program to speak about the organization and its cause.^[6]

Education for Liberation of Siam

Education for Liberation of Siam was formed in December 2013 by Netiwit and other student activists. Netiwit serves as the first secretary of the organization. The purpose of the group is to provide a platform for student activism and disseminating questionable actions and misconduct by authority figures in the Thai education system. In 2014, under the secretary general Nattanan Warintarawet, the organization gained prominence for protesting against educational reforms put in place by the Junta.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Activism at Chulalongkorn University

In July 2016, Netiwit and a friend caused controversy by refusing to prostrate before the statue of King Rama V at an annual Chulalongkorn University event citing that King Rama V himself abolished the act. He received both praise and criticism from the act, notably the ire of General Prayut Chan-o-cha, leader of Thailand's junta.^[11][12][13] Netiwit has also spoken out against hazing in a common Thai initiation tradition known as "rub nong" (Thai: รับน้อง; RTGS: rap nong; IPA: [ráp nɔ́ːŋ]).^[14]

In 2016, Netiwit personally invited activist Joshua Wong to speak at an event commemorating the 1976 Thammasat University massacre. Wong was detained for twelve hours upon entering Thailand but managed to speak to attendees via Skype after being deported.^[15][16] In May 2017, Netiwit was elected as Student Council President at Chulalongkorn University.^[17][18]

Removal from student council

Netiwit and seven other members of the student council walked out of an oath-giving ceremony requiring them to prostrate in front of a statue of King Rama VI in symbolic protest. As a result, one of the members was assaulted by a professor, Reungwit Bunjongrat, and the protesting members had their "behavioural scores" cut by the university as punishment. Subsequently, this led to the members, including Netiwit, being removed from their position on the student council.^[19][20] Netiwit has since received support from academics and activists internationally,^[21] including the Noble Prize laureate Roald Hoffmann, the scholar and political activist Noam Chomsky, and the Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker. In January 2018, seven Nobel laureates sent a petition to Chulalongkorn University to appeal for Netiwit and his seven friends and to criticize the university.^[22]

Political case

recognition

• In 2013, Netiwit had been nominated for a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) award, but he rejected it, stating that he doubts whether the NHRC really takes the human rights issues seriously. ^[28]
• In 2018 Netiwit was invited as one of speakers at Oslo Freedom Forum 2018, which sponsored by Human Rights Foundation. ^[29]
• In 2018, Netiwit was announced as 1 of 50 Asians to watch in public and social sector by the Straits Times (Singapore Press) as an honor to his social works, especially on democracy, education and military conscription.^[30]

Work

Netiwit has written many books on the Thai education he experienced.^[31] In 2017, he founded School of Nisit Sam Yan Press with the aim of publishing students' books and Thai translations of foreign political and philosophical works.^[32] He translated Martin Luther King's Letter from Birmingham Jail and Liu Xiaobo's Second June Hunger Strike Declaration to raise funds for the twenty-first birthday of his friend Joshua Wong, who was in jail at the time.^[33] Netiwit has also worked with his friends to translate a selection of Isaiah Berlin's essays into Thai.^[34]

Bibliography

References

External links

• Facebook FanPage "Netiwit Ntw"
• Youtube Channel "เนติวิทย์ โชติภัทร์ไพศาล"
• Goodread "เนติวิทย์ โชติภัทร์ไพศาล"