As it prepares to take the ASEAN chairmanship in 2019, Thailand is creating initiatives to increase people-to-people cooperation in the ten member countries to implement the ASEAN Community Vision 2025.
“Thailand aims to advance a truly people-centred ASEAN Community with all 10 members moving forward together and leaving no one behind,” said Busadee Santipitaks, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “ASEAN needs to be resilient, dynamic, inclusive and forward-looking. Based on this goal, we will focus on the three core strategic drivers: enhancing connectivity, promoting sustainability and being future-oriented.”
Recognising the important role of the new media in strengthening people-to-people contact, especially through the young generations, Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited 27 bloggers and new media journalists from ASEAN and the Plus Three countries, namely China, Japan and Korea, to participate in its programme.
The participants exchanged views about the region’s historical legacy, its cultural and gastronomic similarities and discussed such issues related to regional cooperation and the constructive role of social media in helping to forge greater people-to-people connectivity in ASEAN.
The bloggers visited the ancient capital of Ayutthaya, with its history of foreign contacts, enjoyed traditional Thai food and cultural performances and toured some of the initiatives, such as the ASEAN Cultural Centre and Marketing Organisation for Farmers Market (Or Tor Kor Market) in Bangkok.
The participants shared views on the changing communication landscape through disruptive technology and addressed some common challenges which include technological gaps that may result in uneven access to information.
The ASEAN Plus Three bloggers and vloggers visited Rayong, one of the three provinces of Thailand designated for the development of the Eastern Economic Corridor which is destined to become a leading regional economic area. There, they toured Kamnoetvidya Science Academy, a high-school established in 2013 to train Thai students in the areas of science and technology. They also visited a rural school under the ASEAN Library Network, a project founded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs aiming to foster greater information and knowledge sharing about ASEAN and to promote better understanding of the region. Participants and local students at both schools had friendly interactions and experienced first-hand how the idea of ASEAN’s promotion of ‘software’ connectivity has contributed to better awareness of ASEAN integration.
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Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thailand
