Last night at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand, Just’Fund held its public launch with a discussion that was direct, urgent, and grounded in the realities of doing civil-society work in Thailand today.
The conversation covered ground that rarely gets public attention: what it actually takes to sustain independent institutions, and what is at stake when that support runs out.
On Legal Advocacy and the Constitutional Reform Process
Yingcheep Atchanont of iLaw spoke about the Senate fraud case, in which iLaw has documented evidence against 229 individuals and is pushing for the Election Commission to proceed with prosecution before 14 September 2026. He said the campaign is not driven by animosity, but by principle. Without accountability in the Senate selection process, the path to a genuinely people-driven constitution remains blocked. Public participation in the coming days, he said, is critical. Just’Fund, he added, provides the resource so that the hundreds of people working behind the scenes on campaigns like this one do not have to fight alone.
On independent media and the importance of local voices
Hathairat Phaholtap, Editor-in-Chief of The Isaan Record, spoke about why independent regional media matters to the broader movement for rights and justice. The work of outlets like The Isaan Record, Prachatai and LANNER demonstrates what independent journalism can do when it is free to report without the constraints that mainstream media operates under. Her newsroom has faced lawsuits, police intimidation and threats targeting her family, and operates under state surveillance. She was candid about the financial precarity of independent media, but clear about what drives the work: a conviction that every community deserves to be heard, and a dream that one day every province will have its own media outlet. Just’Fund, she said, is the kind of support that makes that future possible.
On Just Fund and the Power of Public Support
Narathip Jaidet, Director of Thai Volunteer Service Foundation, introduced Just’Fund as a coalition of 25 civil-society organisations, legal-aid groups and independent media outlets united by a shared commitment to rights, freedom and democratic participation. He noted that Thais are incredibly generous people who readily donate to temples and traditional causes, and asked society to channel that same generosity into the people doing crucial social work. Established in 2025 and administered by the Thai Volunteer Service Foundation in partnership with its network of member organisations, Just’Fund is designed to build a people-powered resource base for organisations doing public-interest work in Thailand. Donations to Just Fund are tax-deductible, making direct public support more accessible to anyone who wants to stand behind this work. When you see the Just’Fund logo, he said, know that you are funding a network of people who have never given up on this country, from the grassroots to the structural level. The system, he added, has been built to make that support count.
The Q&A session made the stakes of this work concrete. Panellists described facing legal threats, surveillance and targeted harassment as a routine part of their work.
As noted by our moderator, Nadthasiri Bergman, Just’Fund is not just about pooling money; it is about changing the infrastructure of how civil society survives. With the Thai Volunteer Service Foundation (TVS) administering the fund and providing the vital digital and administrative backend required to process tax-deductible donations, a secure, transparent mechanism is finally in place. We are not just maintaining the status quo; we are building a sustainable ecosystem for democratic participation.
This conversation was just the beginning. The next step is translating this shared vision into action through new legal initiatives, public campaigns, and community work.
Everyone is welcome to be part of this foundation. Discover how you can directly support this work at https://linktr.ee/JustFundTH
To donate directly
Siam Commercial Bank (SCB)
Account name: กองทุนมูลนิธิอาสาสมัครเพื่อสังคม
Administered by Thai Volunteer Service Foundation
Account number: 075-214-2483
#JustFund #ThaiCivilSociety #HumanRights #IndependentMedia #Justice #DemocracyThailand
Words: Manunya (Thai Volunteer Service)
Photos: Tanchanok (Thai Volunteer Service)
English 
Thai