From Thailand: A remarkable story of social change and the evolution of an activist

One of the many remarkable people I met at the Evolutionary Salon a couple of weeks ago <http://www.thegreatstory.org/ev-salon2.html> was Chaiwat Thirapantu of Thailand (there's a short bio and picture of him at <http://www.thegreatstory.org/ev-salon2.html#thirapantu>), author of the remarkable article below.  A quiet, earnest, articulate man capable of great passion, Chaiwat shared stories about his work to transform Thai society and his deep caring for his people.

The burning question he brought to the Evolutionary Salon was "How can we develop insights and communicate the evolutionary worldview supported by new sciences and traditional (ancient) wisdom to facilitate creative interaction of a critical mass of co-creators around the word to catalyze and sustain the evolutionary journey to generate enlightened societies?"  He is committed to the co-intelligent evolution of democracy in Thailand and the world -- not just in theory but in real on-the-ground practice.

Late last year, Chaiwat catalyzed and facilitated a "people's assembly" of 2,800 citizens from around Thailand.  This would be a remarkable achievement all by itself.  What makes it even more remarkable is that it was sponsored by the second largest political party in Thailand.  When major political parties start organizing real dialogue and deliberation by the public at large (as has been happening in Brazil, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere), we see a promising new trend emerging.  And I see it as a challenge to activists in the U.S. and around the world to envision a new politics based on the collective intelligence and wisdom that can emerge through public dialogue and deliberation.

He wrote a story of the people's assembly in Thailand, which you can find at http://www.theworldcafe.com/Thailand.html.  The story is also his own story -- a story of a dedicated social change activist and evolutionary agent who has persistently sought ways to better serve the future of his country and humanity, evolving as he goes.  Juanita Brown, co-discoverer of The World Cafe, who originally sent this article to me, said:

"This is a story of a personal and evolutionary journey to create what I would call 'evolutionary politics' in Thailand.  It's long but incredibly beautiful.  I wept my heart out as I read it.  It does honor to pioneering work in Open Space, to the spirit of the World Cafe, to 'The Tao of Democracy' and surely to 'the Great Story' that is unfolding in our time."

Take the time to read it soon.  I think you'll find it inspiring.