Thai government gets creative

       With the ambition of boosting the country's revenue from creative industry,the Government plans to allocate 18 billion baht to a "Creative Thailand"project strategy.
       The budget will come from the Government's economic stimulus package 2.The Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa) and National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec) will draft plans to use IT to add value and promote Thai culture, art and performance, entertainment and fashion design, covering 15 industries worth nearly 800 billion baht, or 10-11 percent of Thailand's Gross Domestic Product.
       There are several key ministries involved in Creative Thailand, ranging from the commerce ministry, industry ministry, science and technology ministry, to the information and communication technology ministry and the culture ministry, said Sipa Director Rungruang Limchoopatipa.
       Digital content and software play an important role not only in creative industry itself but also as tools for transforming and uplifting the 15 industries.
       There are strategic areas that Sipa will execute to achieve the government's policy push towards creative economy.The first area is research and development (R&D), which will see several hun-dreds million baht invested in a cloud computing centre to support all creative industries.
       The agency will increase its capability in entrepreneurship and establish a Digital Creative Centre, with a budget of 600-800 million baht, to be a one-stop shop providing all necessary hardware and software to support creative industries that use IT in their core business.
       The centre will also build networking,with 30 related domestic associations including government agencies such as Nectec, Software Park under National Science and Technology Development Agency, and others.
       Interms of international cooperation, Sipa will launch the Association of Asia Creative Industry, featuring 10 member countries from the Asia Pacific region. This association will form an Asia Fund to invest in the coproduction of software and digital content.
       For example, Japan and Korea may be responsible for story development and techniques, while Thailand could cover production processes and Singapore might be responsible for marketing.
       The agency has discussed with Carnegie Mellon University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and IBM about joining hands on a new degree called "Creative Science Engineering Management" to build a new workforce of creative professionals blending science, engineering, art and management skills. The budget for the bachelor degree curriculum is set at 180 million baht.
       Sipa will submit the project proposals and budget for 2 billion baht over the next three years to support its plan. For the fiscal year ending 2010, Sipa has already secured 200 million baht.
       Meanwhile Nectec Director Pansak Siriruchatapong added that the agency,under Creative Thailand, will support R&D, especially in cloud computing, to facilitate digital content and animation as well as other creative industries.
       Moreover, Nectec will use its technological expertise to add more valued to Otop products and Thai history and culture via digitised content.
       For example, it will develop an e-museum and e-library to showcase the evolution and history of Thai culture.
       If tourists views profile of a locally made product, including how it is made and its historical and cultural significance, its attractiveness to the potential buyer will increase.