My name is Chanoknan Janta, a third-year Political Science student from Thailand. While I’ve travelled extensively across Asia and Europe, my return to the United Kingdom for DEN’s 9th International Student Conference feels particularly significant—not just as a personal journey, but as an opportunity to engage with global peers on challenges my country is urgently facing.

My first encounter with the UK came at age 15, when I spent time at Cambridge as part of an educational exchange programme. I was captivated by the accessibility of public discourse there—the way students and citizens openly debated policy, challenged institutions, and participated in democratic processes. That experience fundamentally shaped my understanding of what engaged citizenship could look like. Since then, I’ve travelled across several European countries, but the UK remained distinct in my memory as a place where student voices genuinely matter in shaping conversations about society’s future.

Now, as I return to the UK as a university student myself, my perspective has shifted dramatically. Thailand is currently navigating an unprecedented oil crisis that has rippled through our economy, our energy systems, and our communities. Fuel shortages have disrupted daily life, affected businesses, and forced difficult conversations about sustainable energy policy and long-term resilience. These aren’t abstract academic debates for me—they’re lived realities affecting my family, my peers, and my nation’s future. This crisis has made me acutely aware of how vulnerable countries like Thailand can be to global market fluctuations and how desperately we need innovative, democratically-informed solutions.

What strikes me most is the absence of meaningful student voices in these critical policy discussions back home. Young people bear the greatest burden of these crises—we will inherit the consequences of today’s decisions—yet we’re often excluded from the tables where solutions are being debated. This is precisely why I’m returning to the UK and why DEN’s conference matters so profoundly to me.

I’m particularly excited to join DEN because I believe that student voices from the Global South are essential in addressing transnational crises like energy insecurity and climate change. The UK’s experience with sustainable transitions, combined with perspectives from students across the world, could generate solutions rooted in both developed and developing contexts. I want to learn from peers facing similar challenges, share Thailand’s experience, and challenge assumptions about how policy-making should work.

During my time at the conference, I hope to explore questions that keep me awake at night: How can democratic processes be strengthened during crises? How do we ensure that young people from developing nations have meaningful seats at the table? What role can international student networks play in advocating for just and sustainable solutions?

I return to the UK not as the curious 15-year-old I once was, but as a student grappling with real-world crises and seeking solutions grounded in democratic dialogue and international collaboration. I believe DEN’s conference offers precisely this—a space where international students can share lived experiences, challenge assumptions, and collectively imagine more just and sustainable futures. I’m ready to listen, learn, and contribute my perspective to this vital conversation. Together, I hope we can demonstrate that student voices aren’t just important—they’re essential to building the democratic and sustainable world we desperately need.

Chanoknan Janta, Faculty of Social Sciences, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, London