In their youthful enthusiasm, Thais filled the ranks of non-government organisations for decades, their social consciences pricked by late 20th century causes like opposition to the Vietnam War, despairing refugees and awakening political and moral beliefs.
NGO members gather round for a discussion of the activities they will be participating in during the course organised to help them launch their careers in volunteer community work.
Baby boomers and subsequent generations were instrumental in pushing the groundswell of opinion for social and political change, but today there are fewer young people willing to take up the cudgel of social activism and the fight for land rights.
Behind the scene of the NGOs is a group called Thai Volunteer Service (TVS), which helps young people to understand the various social causes and then guides them into the ways in which they can use their skills to help society. It has been a worthy cause, but like the society which it seeks to change, it too must adapt as the number of volunteers diminishes and the nature of NGO work is altered.
Well respected, TVS has been involved in the arduous task of recruiting and training NGO workers since April 5, 1980.
Social and community development was a core value of university graduates from the 1980s onwards, giving rise to many NGOs in rural areas and urban environments. TVS set up a training body that functioned as a peer support group on technical issues as well as helping to hone NGO members' analytical skills in deciphering complex social issues.
Throughout its 34 years of working with youths and students, TVS was always ready to change its approach and methodologies where needed. However, much work needs to be done in today's more relaxed environment. After all, understanding and working with young people is not always about fun, NGO insiders concede.
Kannika Kuankachorn, a former director of TVS, says NGO requirements for recruiting young members have changed − and so have the members themselves.
A decade ago, TVS transformed its two-year volunteer programme so that it became more attuned to the legal work of human rights. Now a one-year course, the programme is focused on legal tasks which require specific expertise, and thus it attracts fewer graduates.
Usually, TVS recruits graduates interested in social and political changes with a background in semester-break rural camps for community development.
Intensive screening of university graduates is undertaken and the successful applicants receive a salary from TVS and other NGOs.
The recruits undergo a training course, during which they attend group discussions, are given updates on political and social situations and take part in solidarity activities.
When TVS was formed, it would receive about 100 applications for 20 to 25 spots in each course. Three decades down the road, the interest in NGO work has declined with the number of applicants now at between 60 and 70 for each course.
NGO observers say that in the first 10 years, workers are in the so-called "soul-searching" phase of their lives. After that they come to grips with reality and the technical side of their NGO jobs.
"We also have changed. Different requirements are set by the funding agencies which effectively affect the training," Ms Kannika said.
Training courses are fine-tuned over time in keeping with the changing social trends and political contexts. In certain localities, such as those in the North, NGO movements gradually develop their own training modules, she said.
Over time, pay also becomes an issue with NGO workers. On average, an NGO worker is paid 9,000 baht a month. Of this, TVS pays 20-50% and the rest is covered by the NGOs.
"Some graduates need to repay educational loans, and with this salary, they cannot do it," Ms Kannika said.
The human rights lawyer volunteer programme operates with the assistance of veteran law experts such as Banjerd Singkaneti, Somchai Homla-or and Phairoj Pholphet.
"After five days of orientation, the recruits are trained for four to eight months, and at the end of the year they have to write a paper about what they have learned," Ms Kannika said.
Graduates of law work with such organisations as the Consumers Association of Thailand, Cross Cultural Foundation, Internet Dialogue on Law Reform (iLaw) and Environmental Litigation and Advocacy for the Wants (ENLAWTHAI Foundation).
Graduates with no law background have also been selected in past recruitments for rural NGOs such as Prayong Doklamyai's Sustainable Development Foundation.
Surachai Trongngam, an ENLAWTHAI Foundation executive, said TVS recruits help make up the numbers of specialist workers for NGO projects that need critical thinking and dissection of issues.
"There's already a big gap in terms of age and the number of lawyers supporting rights-violated villagers, especially in ethnic communities, and for land and environmental problems," Mr Surachai said.
Mr Surachai believes NGOs should work more with universities to prepare law students for work on rights issues. But they also have to develop or support the training of para-legal staff from within the villages to help coordinate and communicate legal issues faced by the communities.
"Many law students see a career for themselves as a judge or prosecutor or in a law firm. They do not see themselves becoming human rights lawyers as an alternative choice or as a calling that meets their other needs," said the veteran lawyer.
Yingcheep Atchanont, manager of iLaw and a former volunteer human rights lawyer, said the TVS programme provided a good platform and safety net for young people who want to work for social change and at the same time have a fulfilling life.
"TVS is like a nanny. But they have to quickly adjust to the training/socialising process, to bring out their inner capacity so they can 'find' themselves quickly," Mr Yingcheep said.
For him, hearing stories from the deep South and from those working on natural resources issues during training helps him to understand how a young lawyer can be a part of addressing human rights situations.
Mr Surachai and Mr Yingcheep believe the lawyer volunteer programme could help to bring like-minded people together, even though some have other obligations and priorities.
For now, the NGO volunteers and workers form a skeletal Human Rights Lawyers Association, which has been blowing the whistle on human rights abuses in Thailand.
Only one aspect is missing in Mr Yingcheep's opinion. And that's the lack of interest from middle-class youngsters and intellectuals in working for social causes.
Young NGO recruits receive updates on social situations plus training that enables them to analyse important issues that affect the livelihoods of the people.
NGO volunteers get their hands dirty as they learn to make clay bricks during a field trip.