The Namaste Thailand online quiz saw an overwhelming participation’

Namaste Thailand Online Quiz 2019 concluded on June 8 with the award ceremony at the Royal Thai Embassy, New Delhi.

Aiming to foster closer ties between Thailand and India, the quiz had questions covering various aspects from cuisine, culture, way of life, history, geography, to modern politics. The quiz, which is the first among its kind, started in 2015 using Facebook platform and has been continued annually, now reached its 5th anniversary with 1,36,000 fans from over 150 cities and towns across India. Namaste Thailand Online Quiz is the longest running and most successful social media campaign by an embassy in India. After its success, seven other embassies in New Delhi have followed suit and organised similar projects.

This year, the contest ran for two months from April to May with nearly six lakh page visit, 1,36,042 page likes, 1,69,805 post likes, and 21,964 comments. This theme was “Thailand and the World” which highlighted the country’s role on the international stage, today and in the past. Thailand is the current ASEAN Chair, and the Coordinator of ASEAN-India Dialogue Relations.

The Award Ceremony was attended by esteemed dignitaries including H E Chutintorn Gongsakdi, Ambassador of Thailand to India, Thirapath Mongkolnavin, Minister, Royal Thai Embassy, Thamanoon Kuprasert, general manager, Thai Airways International, India, Aso Lori, marketing officer, Tourism Authority of Thailand, New Delhi Office, embassy diplomats, quizcraft team and the contest’s grand prize winner,  participants along with their families.

The award ceremony commenced with a presentation of report of the Namaste Thailand Online Quiz 2019 followed by Chutintorn Gongsakdi, Ambassador of Thailand congratulating the winners. He talked about the social media, being a powerful medium, helps promote closer ties between the peoples. He hoped that the participants have learned more about Thailand and understood the similarities and linkages between the two countries.

The winners and participants were felicitated with certificates along with gifts from the Royal Thai Embassy, Tourism Authority of Thailand, and Thai Airways. Sai Sandeep Ponnaganti, an engineering student from Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, who stayed persistently on top of the leader board with the maximum number of points, is the Grand Prize Winner. He won a return ticket and holiday package for 2 to Thailand.