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At a press conference in Bangkok’s Royal Hotel the 17th of January, the international think tank La Loko will announce its long term engagement in promoting Thai and Esperanto exchange. It will be hosted by La Loko co-founders Olof Olsson and Daniel Salomon.
Esperanto is an international language, which was devised by the Polish ophthalmologist L L Zamenhof at the end of the 19th century. His intention was to create a neutral language, which was easy to learn, so that different speech communities could communicate instead of fight. Today Esperanto is a living language shared by a diverse community of people who communicate in spite of different mother tongues. It is estimated that around two million people speak Esperanto around the world. In contrast to many other countries in Asia, Esperanto is virtually unknown in Thailand.
La Loko is not an official Esperanto organisation; Olsson and Salomon work as ‘freelance ambassadors’ and promote Esperanto through a wide range of imaginative projects. They both have a background in visual art but prefer to call their work interdisciplinary. La Loko has for instance launched an Esperanto fast food chain, and produced a pilot episode for the world’s first Esperanto sitcom. This summer, during the World Cup in Germany, La Loko will launch an Esperanto football team.
At the press conference Olsson and Salomon will present what Thailand and its citizens can gain from Esperanto; for instance how efficient an international communication tool Esperanto is and how the very idea of Esperanto encompasses values such as hospitality and tolerance, which are values already strongly implemented in the Thai culture.
The press conference will be conducted in Esperanto, English and Thai. After the press conference, an informal reception will take place and a ‘Thai-Esperanto friendship cake’ will be shared.
Time: 17th January, 14.00.
Place: Royal Hotel, 2 Rajdamnern Avenue, Bangkok.
Contact: +66 (0) 5 812 48 00, laloko@laloko.org
Info: www.laloko.org