Bangkok--3 Aug--Hill & Knowlton Awards aim to promote young social entrepreneurs in Thailand working with new and innovative methods and practices for positive social change DHL, the world’s leading express and logistics company, today announced that Ms Kritaya Sreesunpagit has been honored with Thailand’s first DHL Young Entrepreneurs for Sustainability (YES) Awards 2007. The three finalists of the DHL YES Awards — Ms Kritaya Sreesunpagit, Ms Phairin Phongsura and Mr. Sasin Chalermlarp — were selected by the Awards’ Screening Organization, based on their ability to establish and successfully steer their respective organizations to the benefit of their communities, despite the challenges they faced. Their initiatives were also aligned with one or more of the eight UN Millennium Development Goals* - a pre-requisite of the DHL YES Awards. Through the DHL YES Awards, DHL hopes to create and promote a platform for social entrepreneurs to share their best practices and resources within Thailand and Asia Pacific. DHL was built on the entrepreneurial spirit and recognizes this spirit as a core value in its business. Social entrepreneurs embody this spirit as they look at and address social issues using innovative approaches and business models. Ms Kritaya emerged as the winner of the DHL YES Awards after a stringent two-phase screening process, which involved an independent Screening Organization and a National Jury composed of prominent leaders in the social, development, business and government sectors. She will now enter the regional round with national winners from the other participating countries - Singapore, Philippines, Pakistan and Bangladesh - to be held in Singapore in September this year. At the age of 28, Ms Kritiya believes strongly in the ability of young people to play an important part in social development. She has played an instrumental role in stimulating a successful learning environment for young people to turn their ideas into reality with new approaches that make her project stand out of the crowd. Overcoming the challenge of obtaining cooperation from people involved in the project is also a significant feature of her work. In just three years of project running, the awarded project, Youth Innovation Marketplace (YIM), has grown a network of more than 7,000 young people nationwide. These participants have benefited from fresh advice, mentoring, funding and professional management. The project has inspired many young people to turn their ideas into practice under the leadership of Ms Kritaya. Mr Paiboon Wattanasiritham, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social Development and Human Security, said, “The DHL Young Entrepreneurs for Sustainability Awards (YES) 2007 are very much in accord with the government’s policy in encouraging and supporting young entrepreneurs. I am therefore very pleased to see organizations from the private sector such as DHL setting such an inspiring example that others can now follow.” Mr Herbert Vongpusanachai, Managing Director, Indochina Region — DHL Express, said, “DHL is one of the few companies to advance systematic change to benefit communities in which we operate by investing in, connecting with and celebrating Social entrepreneurs. The social entrepreneur is the life and breath of any society. As an organization with a global reach and network we are privileged to lend our support to encourage those with the vision and determination to succeed in this important area of endeavour.” The DHL YES Awards supports social entrepreneurs whose works evidence commitment towards the achievement of one or more of the UN Millennium Development Goals and evaluate key elements related to leadership, innovation, social impact, the potential to expand and replicate their work elsewhere, the sustainability of the initiative and overcoming challenges. The UN Millennium Campaign was established by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2002. The Millennium Campaign supports citizens’ efforts around the world to hold their governments to account for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. To read more on the 3 awardees, please visit www.dhl.com/yesawards Press contacts: DHL Express International (Thailand) Ltd. Ms. Piyalak P. or Ms. Passarin L. Tel: 0-2345-5602 or 5608 Fax: 0-2285-5732 Email: [email protected] [email protected] Hill & Knowlton ThailandMs. Dutduan J. or Ms. Visa C.Tel: 0-2627-3501 ext 114 or 107Fax: 0-2627-3510 Email: [email protected]@th.hillandknowlton.com