Bangkok--7 Sep--4D Communications
The Ministry of Education (Office of the Education Council) and British Council Thailand, echoing the vision of Thailand’s 11th National Economic and Development Plan, will jointly host a regional conference ‘ASEAN Creative Economies: Educating Tomorrow’s Leaders — Thailand Forum’ on 6-7 September at Landmark Hotel in order to involve Thailand’s East Asian leaders in the formation of creative economies. OEC Deputy Secretary-General, Dr. Cherapan Poonnakaseam also suggests educational reform in Thailand will be a key to success.
This regional conference reflects the shared ambition of OEC and British Council Thailand to bring a creative economic agenda to the attention of Thailand and its regional neighbours. To fulfil the aspiration, the leaders need to start with human resource preparation and allow knowledge societies to develop. Together, government, artists, non-profit organisations, and creative businesses can produce and distribute goods and services that impact on the economy by generating jobs, revenue and quality of life.
Many countries in the world, the UK, for example, have realised the essential role of creative industries as a key driving force to enable them to enhance their global economic competence. OEC Deputy Secretary-General, Dr. Cherapan Poonnakaseam adds “We need to begin with our human assets first to enter a balanced development of creative economy, innovative and knowledge society. People who think outside the box are the strong foundation for this type of society. Needless to say, we must not overlook education reform. The conference will be a fertile ground where policy makers, the education sector and businesses across the region can exchange and cultivate ideas on how we can move forward. Moreover, we will explore how Thailand can lead in ASEAN’s creative economy initiatives.”
Prior to this conference, the British Council Thailand helped arrange a trip to connect the two countries’ authorities. OEC, accompanied by the College of Innovation, Thammasat University, visited the United Kingdom to research and explore the creative economy prototype. The British Council Deputy Director, Duncan Wilson, said, “The British Council is proud to be a part of this initiative with the OEC. More than that, we are delighted to see that the Thai government and education sector were inspired by the trip and have put a substantial amount of effort into implementing the creative economy scheme. We note that this conference is the first time that Thailand has brought up this agenda and shown its effort to push it forward to ASEAN”
This conference offers an opportunity for participants from public, private and educational sectors from across East Asia and the United Kingdom to network and explore the advantages and challenges of creative economy transformation. These challenges, such as human capital, government regulations and infrastructure, need to be addressed and discussed before the country starts outlining the macro policy.
For more information, please contact
Yupapone Vorapongsukonth, Manager Marketing Communications, British Council Thailand
Tel: 0-2657-5608, Email:
[email protected]