Aiming to foster closer ties between Thailand and India, “Namaste Thailand Online Quiz” asked questions about Thailand covering various aspects from cuisine, culture, way of life, history, geography, to modern politics. The quiz, which is the first among its kind, started in 2015 using Facebook platform and has been continued annually, now reached its 5th anniversary with 136,000 fans from over 150 cities and towns across India. Namaste Thailand Online Quiz is the longest running and most successful social media campaign by an embassy in India. After its success, 7 other embassies in New Delhi have followed suit and organized similar projects.
This year, the contest ran for 2 months from April to May 2019, with nearly 6 lakh page visit, 136,042 page likes, 169,805 post likes, and 21,964 comments. This year’s Quiz is under the theme “Thailand and the World” which highlighted Thailand’s role at the international stage, today and in the past. Thailand is the current ASEAN Chair, and the Coordinator of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations.
The Award Ceremony was attended by esteemed dignitaries including H.E Mr. Chutintorn Gongsakdi, Ambassador of Thailand to India, Mr. Thirapath Mongkolnavin, Minister, Royal Thai Embassy, Mr. Thamanoon Kuprasert, General Manager, Thai Airways International, India, Mr. Aso Lori, Marketing Officer, Tourism Authority of Thailand, New Delhi Office, Embassy Diplomats, Quizcraft team and the contest’s Grand Prize Winner and amazing participants along with their families.
The award ceremony commenced with a presentation of report of the Namaste Thailand Online Quiz 2019, then H.E. Mr. Chutintorn Gongsakdi, Ambassador of Thailand to India, congratulated the winners and conveyed his appreciation for the interest Indians have in knowing Thailand and ASEAN. He talked about how social media, being a powerful medium, helps promote closer ties between the peoples. He hoped that from the Quiz, the participants have learned more about Thailand and realize the similarities and linkages between Thailand and India, and hoped that the students will continue to be active supporters of Thai-Indian friendship, as the people-to-people relation is an important foundation of the bilateral relations.
The winners and amazing participants were felicitated with certificates along with gifts from the Royal Thai Embassy, Tourism Authority of Thailand, and Thai Airways. Mr. Sai Sandeep Ponnaganti, an Engineering student from Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, who stayed persistently on top of the leader board with the maximum number of points, is the Grand Prize Winner. He won a return ticket and holiday package for 2 to Thailand.
