The ID Show

04/07/2019

So I would like to send this sincere message to Thailand and their tourism industry:

If you are going to attempt to profit from LGBTQ+ tourism in your country, it is paramount that you take a good hard look at Thailand's stance towards this same community in your own country. Marriage equality has not been legalized, there are no protections for LGBTQ+ individuals in the workplace and many LGBTQ+ individuals face homelessness or are forced into survival s*x work because of the lack of support for our community among many other discriminatory systems currently in place in Thailand.

Now with that said, Thailand is much more accepting than other countries as it is not illegal to be gay in Thailand and there is a sense that foreigners and Thais in the country are overall able to live and travel here without being arrested or facing other serious penalties.

But in my eyes, there is something fundamentally wrong with promoting Thailand as a destination for gay weddings and travel when LGBTQ+ Thai nationals cannot have weddings of their own.

I challenge Thailand to go forward with their plans to promote LGBTQ+ tourism in Thailand, I think it's a great idea in theory- but while doing so take the time to fight for the rights of your own in the process. It is our duty to be informed as a community on who actually has our best interests in mind and who is trying to play us to make a buck (or baht, as it may be in this case).

I'm not saying Thailand is the only place where this happens, as we have seen many companies in the states and all over the world this past month throw up a rainbow on social media without actually giving any donations to LGBTQ+ charities or generally giving a s**t about us unless there is money to be made.

I'm also not saying that there are not great Thai organizations out there that are fighting really hard for these rights. There are many organizations in this wonderful country who are seeking to educate and break the stigmas that are present in Thai society about our community and fight for the rights of LGBTQ+ Thai nationals.

What I am saying is that Thai tourism should invest and support these types of charities and proposed legislation for LGBTQ+ protections while making their plans to promote international tourism to our community. Trust me on this one, it is the right thing to do and you owe it to your own people to fight for them as you welcome those from outside the country into Thailand. ✨Zaak

The Tourism Authority of Thailand has used a New York rally to raise awareness on equality of s*xual orientation to lure tourists to the kingdom.

02/07/2019

A big topic for this month is success. How do you personally define success? Is there anyone in your own generation who inspires you and who’s success you would like to emulate?
Happy July everyone! This month one theme on the ID Platform is going to be discussing the topic of success. The interesting thing about success is that every person defines it for themselves and most of us have personal goals we want to accomplish that will, in theory, lead us towards this idea we have in our minds of what success is. But I often wonder if we are actually defining what success looks like for ourselves, forging our own path forward towards our dreams, or if the constant bombardment of “success” in the form of and showing the best sides of ourselves on Instagram is giving us unrealistic expectations of how successful we should be and how quickly we should get there. On IG everyone seems successful, but what happens when you aren’t seeing success in your day to day life? Who are some people out there at the moment you look up to and hope to emulate? Do you think our generation has people who are laying down a blueprint that can (or should be) followed towards success? Are we looking in the right places and to the right people as we mold our ideas of what success looks like for ourselves? How can we make sure we are living a life that sets us up for success? That’s a lot of questions. I’m really interested to see what you think and try to demystify and unpack success. You with me? 😉 ⭐️Zaak .

01/07/2019

The original pride flag was created in 1978 by San Francisco-based artist Gilbert Baker. Baker’s design originally included eight colors- hot pink, red, orange, yellow, green turquoise, indigo and violet. I think it’s important to look back at the meaning Baker assigned to each color as only one color represents s*x or s*xuality. The rest of the colors represent other important aspects of life, all seen through the lense and expression of LGBTQ+ life. Gilbert Baker passed away in 2017. His creation, the rainbow pride flag, still resonates with many LGBTQ+ individuals (including myself) and is almost instantly recognizable as a positive symbol which unites our wonderfully diverse community.

01/07/2019

(I finally figured out photoshop enough to make this simple profile photo at the very end of pride month lol) But in all seriousness, I’m so happy we have a whole month to celebrate the community I am so proud to be apart of, not just for a month, but 365 days per year. I could have never imagined I would have the opportunity to meet so many people from all over the world who have helped me build this great little forum to talk about issues that impact our generation. One of those serious issues is the discrimination, violence and hate that our community continues to face all over the world. For my LGBTQ+ peeps all over the world, whether you are out or in the closet, enjoying acceptance or still facing extreme persecution, just know you are worth fighting for. Love yourself first, have pride in who you are because there is nothing wrong with you- you are perfect not despite the fact that you are apart of this community, but including the fact that you are one of us. After all, if there is no rain there can be no rainbow 🌈❤️😍

28/05/2019

If you are free tomorrow please come support this event at Stamford International University to raise awareness about environmental issues and how to reduce single-use plastic waste. Entrance is free and there will be green products available to purchase so you can take your first step towards a more sustainable lifestyle. It's a great way to end our this term!

19/04/2019

This is a really cool company we had a change to meet this week that provides sustainable options in Thailand for products that we use everyday! Check out Zero Waste Thailand to keep up with their journey and projects. 🌿😍

11/04/2019

Big thanks to Aadi Ugale for the great outlook on the hotel and hospitality industry’s impact on our environment. Check it out below and on our story! 🌿

06/04/2019

Today’s takeover contributer is 🌿
Environmental Sustainability isn’t black and white. Our conversations around them shouldn’t be either.
Thank you for allowing me to make this post in hopes to help spread a broader understanding that will allow us to be more effective in empowering people to change the world! .
Growing up in Southeast Asia, I have first hand exposure to the environmental and social challenges many communities face. When I moved to Canada for University, the drastic change between the two worlds hit me hard. It was crazy to think that the people who have contributed the least to the environmental crisis are the ones who are going to be most affected. Clean air, water, and land should not be reserved for the affluent.⁣ .
Environmental Justice is a movement which, at its core, believes that everyone should have the right to live in a clean and healthy environment. It articulates and fights against the fact that racism, inequity, and historical legacies of colonialism are still very much mixed up in the structures that govern environmental impacts (such as laws, regulations, policies, and corporate influence). We live in a world where we think we can buy or build our way out of a crisis that has been created by buying and building things in the first place. .
We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. 🌏🌍🌎 If my generation is upset, it is because it is a crisis not of our own making. It is the world that we have been handed and a world we should fight for.

We can turn individuals into movements. A little effort goes a long way, so start small if you are daunted by the commitment. .

03/04/2019

Suhant Mehta : I went scuba diving for the first time 2 years ago in the Maldives and it was one of the major reasons I decided to try and live a zero waste life, it was absolutely gutting to see plastic among other waste floating in and around arguably the most beautiful place on Earth! The first step to going waste free for me was getting a metal straw, it was a really simple first step but it helped develop a mindset which made me more conscious in everyday decisions/situations. What'll be your first step?
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I agreed to share a day in my life with because I believe it's really important to show people that it isn't very difficult to adapt your lifestyle in a way that has a much lower impact on the environment.
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01/04/2019

More pictures taken by Tarika Mittal on site at yesterday's ID Trashtag Challenge! Feel free to tag yourself and share this with your friends ❤️😃🌿 Looking forward to sharing more content for our this month! Stay tuned...

31/03/2019

Hi guys! Just wanted to thank everyone who came out today and made our ID challenge a success! We were able to make a great dent in the trash on the street where we were working and talk about trying to reduce single use plastic consumption. If you are interested in what you can do to reduce your plastic use, follow us for the month of April for our 🌱❤️