Sustainability

How mobile operator can play role in safeguarding and promoting human rights in the digital age

After the conclusion of World War II, the global community came to realize the devastating effects of war and genocide. As a result, international laws protecting human rights were developed on the principle that all individuals possess inherent equality in rights and dignity. On December 10th, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly officially adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which serves as the foundation for the global protection of human rights. Today, human rights continue to be a global concern, but as more and more individuals access the digital realm, new opportunities and challenges related to human rights have emerged. The digital transformation has brought about both positive and negative impacts on human rights, from the ability to freely express oneself online to the rise of cyberbullying and online harassment. dtacblog spoke with Rachaya Kulnapongse, dtac’s Head of Sustainability, about the mobile operator’s stance in protecting and promoting human rights, the human rights due diligence process, and emerging human rights risks that come with digital advancement. Connectivity is a Basic Right “Digital inclusion or digital access is always a significant focus in the field of telecommunication. We focus on three areas to promote this: ensuring access to internet-enabled…

How to Maximize Capabilities of Mobility Data: Case Studies of Samut Songkhram and Phatthalung Provinces

Data has massive value today, but what is also important is the tool to simplify and understand data. Aware of this fact, dtac has decided to partner with the Chulalongkorn University’s (CU) Faculty of Architecture and Boonmee Lab in developing Mobility Data Dashboard as a platform for interested groups to explore more about domestic tourists’ behaviors. dtacblog recently sat down with Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattapong Punnoi, a key man behind the Mobility Data Dashboard. While he is a full-time lecturer at the faculty’s Department of Urban & Regional Planning, he also heads the “Project to Study Thai Tourists’ Mobility and Concentration during COVID-19 Situation”. According to him, Mobility Data Dashboardprovides insight on tourism data at three levels: Cluster level: The dashboard shows secondary-city clusters to guide each secondary city about which neighboring provinces it should partner with and develop tour routes and tourism activities that best suit tourists’ behaviors. Generally, tourists visit several provinces in the same trip. Central government agencies thus should use the cluster-level information to boost the efficiency of tourism-campaign designs. Provincial level: This provides insights on provincial tourism trends, including the profiles of its inbound and outbound tourists. The profiles specify gender, age, and hometown of…

Meet the two finalist teams from the “Battle for Better” inter-school debate competitions

The “Battle for Better” #BraveAgainstCyberbullying debate tournament, which was the collaboration between dtac and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), has already concluded. Hailing from the private sector, dtac has supported the competition in the Month of Youth under the “BKK Rangers: Children for Better Urban Changes” theme. The last round of the debate pitched the Matthayom Prachanitwet School’s team against the Wat Pak Bor School’s team, where the former emerged as winners. dtacblog sat down with the two finalist teams to dive into the behind the scenes and how they got themselves prepared for the competition. From the Matthayom Prachanitwet School are Juthawat Bintasurasee, Piyapat Niyomsit, Ailada Khumtrakul, and their mentor and teacher Tanawit Saengnarin. The counterparts from the Wat Pak Bor School team are Sasiwan Suaipring, Kawin Changkham, Thanakorn Pimpho, and their teacher-mentor Darat Chukong. First Time Joining Debate Competition “All my team members are interested in public speaking, and we were quick to apply upon hearing about the debate competition. But the path to the contest was not rosy. More than 10 students in our school submitted their application for the competition. So, we all had to go through some internal selection process,” Juthawat from the Matthayom Prachanitwet…

“Always Do the Right Thing”: dtac’s Anti-Corruption Policy in Focus

Today's world is faced with challenges that are complex and difficult to solve, many of which are interconnected and undermining security, prosperity, and social resilience. Ranking among these challenges is corruption, which in the long run weakens social and economic wellbeing, democracy, and the rule of law. To raise awareness of corruption and enlist public support in the battle against corruption, the United Nations (UN) has designated December 9 as International Anti-Corruption Day. Thailand’s corruption has worsened in the past years. According to a report by Transparency International (TI), in 2021, the country ranked 110th out of 180 countries on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) — falling six spots down the global rankings since 2020. The report also pointed out that cooperation between political bodies and the private sector is the key to combating corruption. dtacblog spoke to Stephen Helwig, Interim Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of dtac, to find out more about the mobile operator’s best practices in preventing corrupt practices and fostering an anti-corruption culture. Do the Right Thing and Be Respectful “At dtac, we always encourage our people to do the right thing and show mutual respect,” Mr. Helwig said. “As a result, we conduct our businesses and…

How Digital Skills Help a Formerly Incarcerated Mom Launch a Successful Business

“Take nothing, get nothing, but bear the brunt” is a common Thai saying. It refers to situations in which people receive no benefits from their involvement, but instead suffer all the negative consequences. This saying perfectly encapsulates what happened to Suwimon “Dear” Suk-udomchokechai. An Accidental Criminal A few years ago, Ms. Suwimon worked as a teacher at a small primary school. But when the accountant resigned, certain school executives requested her to take on accounting duties on top of her teaching load, and she agreed. She certified certain key documents as part of her new role. But due to her implicit trust in the school executives, as well as her fledgling accounting knowledge, Ms. Suwimon soon unwittingly became party to corrupt dealings. Irregularities in the school’s accounting papers began to surface in late 2016. A probe identified Ms. Suwimon as the person who certified the documents under investigation. She was charged with embezzlement and was convicted in February 2019. Her sentence could have been as long as 48 years, but being a first-time offender who confessed to her accidental crimes, she was sentenced 20 years – a daunting prospect nonetheless. To make matters worse, during her admission to the Central…

How one former prisoner is changing lives with her online bakery

We have all made mistakes. But some of us have made mistakes so serious and irreversible that they have deprived us of future opportunities. Chon Buri native Sansanee Tanakarnkowit made one such mistake when, 12 years ago, she got involved with drugs. At the tender age of 20, she started working at nightclubs. Due to the nature of her profession, she spent lots of time with friends and partied wildly every night. One night, a friend invited her to do “something fun”. She agreed and tried narcotics for the first time. Within four years, Ms. Sansanee became heavily addicted and began selling drugs to her friends. Eventually she was arrested and sentenced to two years in jail. Losing Freedom Twice As a person who thrived on city living and the company of friends, Ms. Sansanee became desperately lonely in prison. “Life behind bars was very difficult for me especially during the first few weeks. I had to adjust a lot. The prison was crowded. The bathroom was an open-plan with no privacy. I was stressed out and experiencing withdrawal symptoms. I even collapsed at one point,” she recalls. “But after a few months, I finally settled into a routine. I…

Mobility data unveils 19 tourism clusters that can attract more tourists to second-tier provinces and reduce economic inequality

In the past four decades, Thailand has been struggling with the challenge of area-based inequalities. Before the Covid-19 crisis, the Thai economy was worth 16.9 trillion baht, but 70 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) came from just 15 provinces, which are those of the Bangkok Metropolitan Area, Chon Buri, Rayong, Chachoengsao, Phuket, Songkhla, Surat Thani, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Khon Kaen, while the rest 62 provinces contributed only 30 percent to GDP. Area-Based Inequalities A deeper analysis of Thailand’s economic drivers reveals that the same 15 provinces have generated 88 per cent of tourism revenue, while the other 62 provinces, also known as second-tier provinces, have contributed just 12 percent of gross tourism revenue. Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattapong Punnoi, a lecturer at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning of Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Architecture, said, “Area-based inequalities have prevailed in Thai tourism for a long time. Most tourists choose to visit only major provinces, which led to resource degradation and significant income equality.” According to a report published by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the average length of stay for each domestic trip is 2.5 days, suggesting that Thais usually travel during weekends or…

How a mobile operator, a university, and a data expert harness the untapped potential of mobility data to rebuild Thai tourism and promote social good

“Our project started out of our belief in the power of data. We have already seen so many use cases involving commercial data. So, won’t it be better to bring experts from various fields together to solve social problems through data? dtac decided to do this project after just a one-hour talk with Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Architecture and Boonmee Lab,” said On-uma Rerkpattanapipat, Head of Communication & Sustainability at dtac. She is the key person behind the “Study Project on Mobility and Concentration of Thai Tourists during COVID-19 Outbreak based on Mobility Data” with the code name Project Phatthalung. Ms. On-uma believes that the telecom industry is an important “data enabler" because only a few industries have access to such massive amounts of customer data. In the beginning, the three partners of the project thought about conducting the study in Phatthalung province only. But after reviewing the potential of mobility data, they agreed to conduct the study on a national scale. Billions of Datasets It took nearly two years for the Phatthalung Project to take off, though. The three partners spent considerable time assessing and reviewing the risks involved in mobility-data handling during the research process. Over a one-and-a-half-year…

How mobility data can improve public policymaking for tourism promotion in second-tier provinces

The transition into a digital society has rapidly changed the social landscape, with the private sector actively using big data for commercial purposes. Many governments are discussing how to apply big data in a similar manner for the formulation of public policies. According to Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattapong Punnoi, a lecturer at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning of Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Architecture, there are widespread debates on the use of big data for policy formulation in many countries. Norway, Sweden, France, and Slovakia, for example, use mobility data to analyze travel patterns to develop tourism strategies. Likewise, the collaboration between dtac, Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Architecture, and Boonmee Lab also reveals the potential of mobility data in public-policy formulation. When compared with data from surveys, mobility data is much more extensive and the process of data collection is much more cost and time efficient. If used in policymaking, mobility data can drive massive impacts and innovations for sustainable economic, social and environmental development. “Access to mobility data does not just allow the public sector and researchers to better understand social circumstances in a timely manner, but it also enables civil society, communities, and small-scale business owners to…

Mobility data reveals second-tier provinces with potential to develop overnight tourism

Another tourism-promotion strategy that came out of the study on movement patterns and concentration of Thai tourists during COVID-19 outbreak based on mobility data focuses on developing experience-based overnight tourism. Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattapong Punnoi, Urban and Regional Planning Department, Faculty of Architecture, Chulalongkorn University, said, “Overnight stay is an indicator of tourism success. Cities with many overnight tourists are considered successful because overnight tourism can generate higher revenue and economic value than same-day tourism.” Overnight tourism also creates higher positive social impacts as tourists have more opportunities to interact and engage with local communities. The longer the visit, the higher chance they are exposed to a cultural exchange experience. The aim of experience-based overnight tourism development is to build a “fanbase” of a city, which leads to quality tourism and repeat visits. Also, tourists will continue to purchase products from those areas even after they have returned to their hometown. This is the importance of experience-based overnight tourism development and how it can pave way for sustainable tourism economy. “Tourism can generate a positive economic and social impact to local community, especially in regards to experiences and cultural exchanges,” Asst. Prof. Dr. Nattapong added. Three Overnight-Tourism Trends The study…

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