International Conference, "Green Society, Governance and Competitiveness"

(04-05-2013)

The Assistant to the Minister of Education, Dr. Phuangphet Chunlaiad, chaired the opening of the 2nd international "Green Society, Governance and Competitiveness" conference on 30 May 2013 at Jeera Bunmak Auditorium of the National Institute of Development and Administration (NIDA).

After the opening ceremony, Dr. Phuangphet said that the aim of the event was to focus on academic  knowledge exchange through the presentation of various topics that relate to the title of the event. NIDA will select some knowledgeable and interesting topics to be adjusted and applied to modern teaching under the concept of globalization as well as the green society that helps preserve the environment.

The rector of NIDA, Prof. Dr. Sombat Thamrongthanyawong, talked about the Green Society concept that is currently an issue of hot debate because the world is concerned over the global warming and environmental threat. Many nations have declared the concept as important for the national agenda for industrial sectors as well as for society as a whole. This means that society has to campaign for sustainable environmental conservation.

Prof. Dr. Sombat said that the Green Society, Governance and Competitiveness are closely linked because they indicate the capability of all countries for competitiveness. Even a small country like Singapore has a competitiveness capability that is ranked 6th out of all the countries in the world. Thailand needs to develop, extend and apply its own knowledge paradigm to remain competitive.


At present, the Ministry of Education is adjusting the educational curriculum to facilitate Thai students' abilities to think, analyze and use languages in the upcoming ASEAN Community in which English will be used officially. Besides, it will be better if Thai children can speak other ASEAN languages. However, Thailand has to work hard to encourage its people to use English more often as other countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines can use English fluently. Thailand needs to improve itself to be able to compete with its ASEAN neighbours.