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Today, Friday December 3rd, is a significant date of two of the most important and
successful treaties of the last 20 years, and for the people who were the inspiration for these two
treaties. On the 3rd of December 1997 the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) opened for signature in Ottawa,
Canada. Also on the 3rd of December in 2008 the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) opened
for signature in Oslo, Norway. Both treaties were inspired by all the children, men and women who have been
affected by landmines, cluster munitions, and other explosive remnants of war. In addition to the two other
landmark anniversaries that occur on this date, December the 3rd is also, fittingly, the International Day forPersons
with Disabilities.
To commemorate December 3rd is to celebrate! These three treaties are clear proof of the power that
each person has in shaping a better world. And Thailand's young people want to help.
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December 3 marks the beginning of youth workshops on the importance of media (in this case
film/commercial-making) to raise public awareness within the region, to encourage solidarity amongst youth from
various countries, and to support the youth campaign for these three treaties. And Thailand is taking the lead:

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͞One quarter of cluster-bomb survivors are children͟ cited young scriptwriter and director Charika Aoey
Sarisut, winner of the Youth Cluster Munitions Commercial Contest, as the inspiration for her TV Commercial
script 
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The Youth Cluster Munitions Commercial Contest, a Cluster Munitions Coalition Local Campaign Grants
Project led by Nonviolence International Southeast Asia, sought to empower youth in social responsibility and raise
awareness about the Convention banning cluster munitions. The effort is a humble contribution by the youth in
Thailand, being in the most cluster bombed region of the world. Thailand, a leader in the adoption of the
landmark Mine Ban Treaty in 1997, has not yet become a state party to the Convention banning cluster bombs.
The contest has yielded a winning script for a 30 second commercial, which will be launched
internationally on 8 November 2010 at the Young Leaders Forum of the First Meeting of States Parties to the
Convention on Cluster Munitions in Vientiane, Laos.

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The contest has been an opportunity to bring creative minds together and foster civic consciousness and
engagement among the youth, a timely contribution to this year͛s UN Year of the Youth. Run from 1 September to
1 October 2010, the contest has generated interest within the schools and its public awareness program.
To prepare potential applicants for the script-writing contest, a series of workshops ʹ including creative
writing, production, and art for TV ʹ were facilitated (in Thai and English) by the Faculty of Journalism and Mass
Communication at Thamassat University͛s Rangsit Campus and in close cooperation with facilitators Chulalongkorn
University Language Institute and Spirit Studio (Pittarnin Jeab Disayaniyom and his crew). Likewise, the Thai Film
Foundation supported the contest.
Dean Pornchit Sombutphanich of Thamassat noted, ͞the program͛s objectives are to produce well-
equipped mass media future professionals who have the proper ethical and professional training and skills to be
future media specialists.͟ Aoey has undergone the full commercial process, from creative idea development and
scriptwriting to filming and production. She is a budding young leader in the campaign, and excited to share her
work and passion ͞to help the children͟ in Lao PDR and the rest of the world.

For more information, please visit:

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 Competition: Commercial for the Convention on Cluster
Munitions, X

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 www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsXm3-kQJ_A
seasia@nonviolenceinternational.net