Strengthening partnerships with civil society for cultural policy action in CCI sectors in Thailand
In the past 20 years, the creative sector has evolved dramatically in Thailand, driven by efforts of the government, private sector, and civil society. The Royal Government of Thailand has marked its interest in the creative economy, notably with the designation of 2009 as Creative Economy Year and 2010 as Creative Thailand Year, the organization of Thailand International Creative Economy Forum in 2010 and 2012, as well as the establishment of the Thailand Creative Economy Agency.
There remains, however, a certain level of fragmentation and lack of coordination within the sector and there is a need for dialogue mechanisms between public authorities and CSOs to ensure participatory cultural policy making. Furthermore, Thailand has not yet ratified the 2005 Convention, although it has closely followed the operationalization of the 2005 Convention by participating in statutory meetings.
This project seeks to address the challenges identified above by raising awareness and strengthening the inter-sectoral collaboration within the creative sector, by: 1) raising awareness of the principles of the 2005 Convention for the advancement of the governance of culture, 2) facilitating new policy dialogues between the government and CSOs in creative sectors, and 3) designing new cooperation mechanisms and partnerships for action to support creative sectors.
General Aim:
The aim of this project is to strengthen Thailand’s cultural and creative industries and its key stakeholders.
An inter-ministerial meeting has been convened by MoC to raise awareness about the 2005 Convention with the related government entities, share the current operations, set up a working group, future schemes and visions on Thailand's possibility and readiness towards the ratification of the 2005 Convention. UNESCO Bangkok maintains regular contacts with the focal point at MoC Permanent Secretary’s Office. It has also established connection with and among creative industry related governent agencies including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, and Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation.
A member of the 2005 Convention’s Expert Facility with a background in the region will conduct a situational analysis of the policy environment of the creative sectors in Thailand, and its prospects for ratifying the 2005 Convention. This analysis will be developed based on consultations with representatives of relevant ministries and agencies, and civil society actors. The expert will also use these meetings as opportunities to raise awareness and advocate about the Convention and its benefits to participatory cultural governance. The situation analysis will include recommendations for improving the policy environment as well as possible concrete actions to facilitate ratification. Finally, a national consultation will be organized to present the findings from the situation analysis and to discuss the recommendations.
This activity has been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which restricts international travel and impacts the cultural and creative industry worldwide.
To advance on the project despite these conditions, an inter-ministerial meeting has already been convened by MoC in June 2020, to raise awareness about the 2005 Convention with the related government entities, share the current operations, set up a working group, future schemes and visions on Thailand's possibility and readiness towards the ratification of the 2005 Convention.
A series of talks and consultations have been held, attended by both policy makers and emerging artists and cultural professionals. One of the aims of this consultation is to generate an analysis of the creative sector, its challenges as well as priorities, and to identify recommendations for future actions.
Due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, the consultations were held online in May and June 2020, and significant inputs were shared by the participants. The analysis and recommendations are currently underway.
UNESCO Bangkok will organize follow-up activities through regular communication or physical meetings to ensure that Thai policymakers incorporate newly acquired knowledge and information in their work and design new innovative and participatory cultural policies.