There are currently about 80 eye-catching cubes on display at Siam Paragon, Siam Discovery, CentralWorld and 12 other places. And they may be ushering in a revolution.
Co-founders Arch "Boom" Wongchindawest (L) and Aliza "Alice" Napartiva-umnuay
No, they aren't mind-controlling devices that secretly give out a signal to make Thai people more addicted to department stores than they already are; nor are they mere props used by clever marketers to attract photo whores.
And while we wish they were ice cubes to help in this heat, the boxes are actually representations of positive ideas to better Thai society. They are part of a project called Ideacubes organised by a non-profit group, My Social Motion. The group is about to embark on an awareness-raising event called Idea Mob Bangkok that will take place tomorrow (May 12) at Siam Discovery (from 2pm). Guru sits down with two co-founders of the group to talk about how they are making doing good fun again.
"Make a sad person smile"
RETHINKING DOING GOOD
Arch "Boom" Wongchindawest, 25, comes across as your average unassuming guy but when he opens his mouth some rather profound things come out for a person of his age. The holder of a bachelor's degree in management from Warwick University has set out to change the world, nothing less.
"We want ordinary people to do a little more. We've been trying to solve the world's problems over the past hundreds of years by donating money to the one per cent of people who work in non-profit or social organisations and hope the problems get solved. It seems the problems have been increasing no matter how much we give," he says about the idea that gave birth to My Social Motion in Jan 2010.
"I think that we should promote CSR, where 'C' stands for 'citizen'. People should take responsibility into their own hands and try to make a difference," says the petite 28-year-old Aliza "Alice" Napartiva-umnuay. Alice appears professional yet exudes a youthful enthusiasm. She holds a master's degree in supply engineering and logistics from Warwick University.
Seeing flaws in the usual approach of solving global issues, Boom first turned to social networking to reshape the way we usually do good. "Ever since I saw how effective social media is, I wanted to use it to connect people with non-profit and ethical businesses. Our overall vision is to create a go-to website [www.mysocialmotion.org] for everything good that uses social networking as a platform." The group aims to recruit the power of the 99 per cent to change the world.
Their website was created, in Boom's words, "as a way of building a community to engage people and create something that people would welcome into their lifestyle". Ideacubes is the first major project by the group. It consists of an iPhone app of the same name, the physical cubes, the Idea Mob Bangkok event on May 12 and a yet-to-be-named treasure hunt on May 19.
Boom and Alice with some idea cubes at Siam Discovery
"We want to create a lifestyle, not just a tool. With every project we launch, we create an application. Each app makes doing good easier, more effective and fun," says Boom. For example, the Ideacubes application, which was launched around Oct 2010, allows people to share good ideas, take action on them and record their results. The app links to the website to amplify the impact of a single small action.
"People can check out new ideas while, at the same time, take action or say they've done something. This may inspire more people to do the same," adds Alice. "If people feel they're the only ones doing good, they may feel their action is pointless since it isn't going to bring about change. But one person's commitment to small but positive action can inspire others to follow through the app. We're trying to create that chain."
THINKING OUTSIDE THE CUBE
My Social Motion then looked for a way to engage the public further. "We started the social-networking website and later realised people would become bored with it," recalls Boom, "so we thought about a physical Ideacubes project and built the app to go with it.
"We aim for proactive action. We want to say, 'Hey, what can you or anyone do?' That's the basis for Ideacubes. What can an ordinary person do that could actually make a difference instead of putting responsibility on the government, a company or somebody else," continues Boom.
Where did the cubes come from? "Someone in the team suggested that they should turn the ideas into cubes because they're symbols of individuality. The cubes are also a self-expression of the owners of these ideas - a canvas for the artists to create on," Boom says.
The group didn't have any resources and all they could do was share the idea with friends. Through word of mouth, people contacted them to offer help. Artists invited more artists to partake in the project.
Ideacubes is now registered as a project under the Thai Health Promotion Foundation. In total, 100 artists from various backgrounds - cartoonists, architects, designers, fine artists, disabled artists and more - are expected to contribute to the project by displaying their individual ideas on their cubes. Boom and Alice's job is to recruit artists, collect the cubes, and install them with help from other volunteers.
Some of the cubes are quite striking. They lure people in and, hopefully, people will take time to read the messages behind them. One contains sperms trapped inside glasses. It was done by freelance artist Tanwin Kumngam and the message is to always use a condom (or perhaps it depicts a futuristic sperm-bank). Another is a white dining table by a National Artist Preecha Thaotong whose positive idea is to eat breakfast every day (or else you may be in crappy mood, we presume). On a different tangent, student Tarin Yuangtrakul created a cube with big eyes on each side to convey that you shouldn't judge people by their appearance.
"Make a new bag from old clothing"
When asked how to get the attention of Thai people, "make it photographable", jokes Boom.
"Thai people love something fun and something they can do with friends," says Alice, "and something that is not too difficult. We start with something simple before moving towards something more socially conscious. We aim to achieve awareness on different issues, which is our first step."
When asked about their favourite ideas, Boom says, "If you buy a takeaway coffee don't take the lid. A lot of people buy takeaway coffee and don't use reusable cups. So the next best thing is to say 'No' to the lid."
"I love 'Eat ice cream from a waffle cone instead of a cup'", says Alice. "It reduces waste right away. I remember a five-year-old girl said she flattens out her juice boxes to save space in the garbage bag and so that it can be recycled."
NO GOOD DEEDS GO UNPUNISHED
Besides collecting these cubes for over a year, the group has faced its fair share of obstacles along their quest for goodness. "There were a few times when I lost inspiration, when people who said they would help us didn't. Some even made things worse and things haven't always gone according to plan. On the other hand, participating artists have invited their friends to be a part of the project, which has helped a lot. These things keep us going," says Boom.
"We're a non-profit group. We make sure we manage our funds very well," says Alice. "However, two of the places which shall remain nameless asked us to pay 'rent' to place our cubes. When this kind of thing happens, I try to focus on the people who have helped us. Given what has happened in Thailand the past few years and the flood, I think a lot of volunteers are ready and willing to make a difference in society so I think our progress grows much faster these days because people want to be part of the change."
While looking at different cubes with Boom and Alice, I noticed that some contain interactive elements and some people seem to have taken too many liberties in their interaction with them. Some pieces were removed from their original spots. Alice said some had even been stolen, which gave us the idea for our very own cube: Don't take things that aren't yours, jerks!
When asked about the future, Boom answers, "I'm quite hopeful. I see this as only the first step. But it's a very important step and, like we've said, doing something small could lead people to do more in the future."
"I think it takes time to see the effects," says Alice. "At least I hope it makes people realise they can both relax and enjoy doing something good at the same time. I'm pretty optimistic about what we do."
The group also plans to hold another event one week after Idea Mob Bangkok on May 19. It will be a kind of treasure hunt in which people can win prizes by hunting down the cubes around town. The group also aims to have one million actions taken on the 100 ideas on their website before the end of 2013. You can help make it happen.
