Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt has told the city representatives participating in youth exchange programmes with foreign sister cities to gather new experiences, be disciplined, and have a growth mindset during their journey.

Chadchart met with the young students at City Hall in Phra Nakhon district on Wednesday to offer advice and moral support to the city’s representatives.

The governor gave his young audience three pieces of advice for their journey to overseas cities and also for life in general.

First, a person must collect “points” in life and utilise them to the fullest. These points come from new knowledge and experiences that a person gathers throughout the journey of life, the governor said.

“You will gain more points in life from travelling overseas, experiencing new cultures and making new friends,” said Chadchart. “These points will later serve you in life if you learn to use and link them properly to create future opportunities.”

The governor cited the example of Eliud Kipchoge, the Kenyan Olympic marathon champion, the first man to run a marathon (42.195km run) in under two hours. He said Kipchoge was born into poverty but achieved his goal of being a world-class runner through discipline. The governor quoted Kipchoge as saying: “Only the disciplined ones are free in life. If you aren’t disciplined, you are a slave to your moods. You are a slave to your passions. That’s a fact.”

Chadchart recalled his own childhood as a student, when he set a target of reading three hours per day, six days per week until he finished college. “People said that my younger self lacked freedom, but nowadays I have the most freedom in my life,” he said. “Because of the self-discipline in learning and accumulating new knowledge, today I can do whatever I want, including being the Bangkok governor.”

Lastly, Chadchart urged youth representatives to maintain a growth mindset instead of a fixed one.

“Fixed mindset, for example, would be believing that you were selected to be the city’s representative because you are smart and talented. This attitude will hinder your growth and bring fear of failure,” said the governor. “A person with a growth mindset will believe that you are here today because of hard work and diligence, which will prompt you to constantly improve yourself and not be afraid to get up after you fall.”

The youth exchange programmes with Bangkok’s sister cities are an ongoing initiative of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Foreign Affairs and Education departments to promote international relationships through joint activities in education, environment, information technology, and cultural exchange of adolescents.

This year, 48 youth representatives have been selected to take part in activities in three sister cities — Seoul (30 people), Aichi, Japan (13) and Saint Petersburg, Russia (5).

The exchange programme with Saint Petersburg was launched for the first time this year during Scarlet Sails, a Russian festival to celebrate the graduation of high school students with the launch of the frigate, “Shtandart”, adorned with red sails in the Neva River. The festival is well-known to represent the hopes and dreams of the young generation.