Guidelines for Promoting and Developing Families

(03/05/2012)

The Government has a policy to strengthen the family institution, and it has approved measures to promote and develop families. The measures were approved by the National Family Policy and Strategy Committee, during its meeting on 30 April 2012, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Yongyoot Wichaidit. One of the measures seeks to encourage families to spend free time fruitfully together. For example, Sunday should be regarded as the family day for all family members to spend time together. The public and private sectors should open up more space for the family to carry out constructive activities, as well. In these measures, local administrative organizations should be urged to allocate at least 10 percent of its annual budget to help strengthen the family institution. At the same time, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration will be asked to encourage community committees to serve as a mechanism in promoting family ties in the city. Thai cultural value concerning the family tradition will be revived in order to boost family and community relations. Role models should be introduced to promote democratic trends in families and urge family members to be aware of their roles and duties. A curriculum on family study in formal, non-formal, and informal education should be worked out, with educational institutions serving as the center for family development activities. Regarding self-reliant measures, four activities will be given a major boost. The first activity seeks to promote family savings and apply the Sufficiency Economy philosophy to the lives of the people at all levels. Sufficiency Economy is a philosophy developed by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej to provide guidance on how to find contentment through moderation. His Majesty has encouraged the Thai people to be “self-reliant” through the use of technology and in their economy. In the second activity, families will be provided with access to various forms of social security, such as life and health insurance. The third activity seeks to promote families and communities to have access to information and to be equipped with media literacy in order to protect themselves from media abuse. The fourth activity calls for constructive media and sources of knowledge for the family. In this regard, the state and local administrative organizations will offer financial support for the production of constructive media. The meeting of the National Family Policy and Strategy Committee also acknowledged Thailand’s participation in the sixth East Asia Ministerial Forum on Families and the Senior Office Forum on Families in 2012. Held every two years, the East Asia Ministerial Forum is a platform for countries in the East Asia region to share experiences on family issues and explore cooperative partnerships. It provides participating countries opportunities to share and showcase their national efforts to support and help families adapt to a changing and increasingly challenging environment.