Fong Ritnetikul

Fong Ritnekul is pioneering the building of community associations in Thailand's North, creating more inclusive forms of civic participation that not only promote community problem-solving, but also foster greater trust in the traditionally hostile relationships between citizens from this region and the mainstream.

Fong is creating a new civic institution-the community association-in northern Thailand where the past history of military conflict has left many rural communities disenfranchised. Fong's idea responds to the need for locally grown institutions that can help communities adapt while breaking down the barriers of distrust that have left them out of the mainstream for so long. He brings new partners to reassert and modernize the tradition of community problem-solving, providing an alternative to dependence on the government and outside organizations for solutions to local issues. More importantly, he is bringing to communities that share a commitment to this philosophy a network to tackle jointly the widespread problems that cross village boundaries and thus require broader efforts. By allowing these communities to redefine themselves in terms less divisive than a shared ethnicity or a common enemy, Fong's community associations are reorienting civic participation while fostering greater trust and mutual understanding between participating communities and previously hostile parties, like the military and the government.