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What if Street Food Disappears?
7 July, 2018 @ 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
On 7 July at 5PM SEA Junction will launch a new series on street food and its many dimensions in Southeast Asia entitled “Beyond Food”. The series, highlighting how street food vending is linked to other urban dimensions such as use and design of public spaces, urban safety, urban formal economy, right to the city, etc., has been shaped in collaboration with Jorge Carrillo-Rodriguez (http://www.facebook.com/beyondfood.bkk), a former officer with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific based in Bangkok with a keen interest in how street food is embedded in the functioning of cities and peri-urban areas.
This first event will discuss the implication of an eventual disappearance of street food in Bangkok mainly from an economic perspective. While still ubiquitous in the city, the decision by the Bangkok Metropolitan Authority to remove street food vendors from many city locations has caught the imagination of journalists, foodies and the public at large. Much of the discussion is focused on the food itself: how street vendors represent the varieties of Thai food, it gives “character” to the city, and it should be preserved particularly in touristic areas, etc. The negative sides highlight concerns with food safety, the environment, and obstruction of the pavement. The panel hopes to enrich this discussion by exploring the economic impact on consumers as well as on sellers.
The program is as follows:
Panel Discussion
7 July at 5.00 PM – 6.30 PM
Moderator:
Introduction to the panel
Rosalia Sciortino
Director SEA Junction & Assoc. Professor, Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR), Mahidol University
Topics & Panelists:
Video: “Voices from the Sidewok” (BK Magazine)
Main finding of the report “If street food disappears – projecting the costs for consumers in Bangkok” (Jorge Carrillo-Rodriguez and Sarah Orleans Reed, 2018, Resource Document 9, WIEGO)
Jorge Carrillo-Rodriguez
Independent expert
Contribution of street food vending to the sellers’ livelihoods
Narumol Nirathron, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Administration, Thammasat University
Download link for the report on the cost for consumers: http://www.wiego.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/Carrillo-Rodriguez-Reed-Bangkok-Street-Vendor-WIEGO-Resource-Document-9.pdf
Photo: Street food seller ’on the move’ by Fiorentino Conte
For information/reservation for our events please email southeastasiajunction@gmail.com or phone/wa: +66970024140
NB: Events are free, but donation most welcome!
Organizer:
SEA Junction, OUR Venue on Southeast Asia
SEA Junction aims to foster understanding and appreciation of Southeast Asia in all its socio-cultural dimensions –from arts and lifestyles to economy and development. Conveniently located at Room 408 of the Bangkok Arts and Culture Centre or BACC (across MBK, BTS National Stadium) SEA junction facilitates public access to knowledge resources and exchanges among students, practitioners and Southeast Asia lovers. For more information see www.seajunction.org and join the Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1693055870976440/
