Connecting Asean DEPA launches “Digital Thailand Big Bang 2019: Asean Connectivity”

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was the guest of honour at the recent launch of the “Digital Thailand Big Bang 2019: ASEAN Connectivity,” an international digital technology symposium that on the concept of ASEAN Connectivity organized the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa) as part of the activities marking Thailand’s chairmanship of the ASEAN Summit.

The premier formally opened the event and gave the keynote speech on the role of Thailand in ASEAN Connectivity before presenting the Prime Minister’s Award. He also took part in the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on international collaboration in the digital economy and society. The four-day event is being held at BITEC Bang Na and stretches over three exhibition zones covering 40,000 sqm offering a variety of digital-driven activities.

The Prime Minister reminded participants that the government’s Thailand 4.0 policy emphasizes the adoption of advanced digital technologies and taking advantage of the government’s big data in order to develop human capital, society and key business segments, including farmers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which represent the largest proportion of the country’s population. Through the use of digital technology, the Thailand 4.0 economic development model will help leverage incomes across segments of society. If the policy is successful, the problems of inequality and disparity will be solved and Thailand will move forward to become an advanced country in accordance with the national strategic plan.

The premier added that the “Digital Thailand Big Bang 2019” was being hosted as part of to match Thailand’s ASEAN chairmanship, adding that its objective was to create an ecosystem that benefits the digital economic development in collaboration with ASEAN member countries. The event demonstrates Thailand’s readiness for the digital transformation, increasing the efficiency of high-speed internet, creating skilled digital manpower through the lifelong-learning approach, the development of digital or electronic payment systems and enhancing the efficiency of logistics to drive the growth of the e-commerce industry. By stressing the ASEAN Connectivity concept, the event will solidify the collaboration between the public and private sectors to facilitate economic development within ASEAN under efficient regulatory frameworks and standards. It will also help strengthen and improve such digital-related aspects as cybersecurity, electronic transactions, personal data protection and global data traffic.

“All factors in the digital transformation will help steer the digital economic development of ASEAN to flourish in a sustainable way. The arrival of digital technology presents opportunities for people to get access to its benefits and advantages. If people help develop a collaborative network to capitalize on the advanced technologies and innovations, ASEAN will grow and prosper with sustainability,” said the prime minister.

Buddhipongse Punnakanta, Minister of Digital Economy and Society, added that he regarded Digital Thailand Big Bang 2019 as integrated bridge created to connect the public and provide people with opportunities to experience a range of digital technologies, which they can adopt and further develop in the future to drive the country’s economic and social development sustainably. The event underlines Thailand’s readiness for digital transformation, which will boost business confidence and attract foreign investments to the country.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha also presented the Prime Minister’s Award to young innovators, digital communities, digital entrepreneurs, digital startups and digital organizations with outstanding digital innovations. The Award is divided into five categories, namely Digital Youth of the Year, Digital Community of the Year, Digital Startup of the Year, Digital Organization of the Year and Digital Entrepreneur of the Year. He also witnessed the signing of an MOU on international collaboration in digital economic and social development between the depa and the State Government of Victoria, Australia Web Summit, Microsoft (Thailand) and Ananda Development. Depa also signed a second MOU with CAT Telecom and the Public Health Ministry.

Digital Thailand Big Bang 2019 brings digital enthusiasts together. The event features a wide range of digital technologies and digital-driven activities divided into three exhibition zones: Digital Economy, Digital Society and Creativity. The “Digital Economy” zone showcases the development of the urban digital economy and the technologies that are anticipated to dictate the future such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data. The “Digital Society” zone presents the importance of digital skills for moving Thailand forward to the digital era in a sustainable manner, especially the digital technologies used to elevate the quality of lives of people in the agricultural sector. The “Creativity” zone, meanwhile, features an array of innovative technologies used for creative industries from various startups and game developers.

The highlights of Digital Thailand Big Bang 2019 are as follows;

● The adoption of unmanned aerial vehicles or drones for use to benefit society such as Rescue Drones, which are increasingly used for emergency services. Visitors can have hands-on experience in riding the passenger drone.

● Visitors can experience Thailand’s first journey to the future with the “Hyperloop”, which aims to break the barriers of distance and time.

● A surprising concert by Robot KUKA and artists from independent music label Smallroom

● Gathering of world-class digital gurus and famous speakers in the digital world such as The Next Web, the largest tech conference organizer in Europe from the Netherlands; Mike Walsh, a futurist speaker; Javier Sobrino, the man who pulled the strings behind the development of FC Barcelona; Ines Caldeira of L’Oreal Thailand; Ray Chan from 9GAG.com; Yasushi Ishihara from Konami as well as representatives from BuzzFeed, AirBNB and other high-profile organizations.

● Startup ASEAN Pitching: Runway to Web Summit Thailand by Web Summit, the organizer of startup expo from Portugal.

● A wide range of solutions for smart city development at Smart City Solution Week 2019 by Messe Frankfurt, one of the world’s leading trade exhibition organizers from Germany.

● Gathering of Thailand’s top speakers at “Creative Talk” show, including the chance to meet with administrators of famous web pages such as Little Monster, Just Doo It (JUSTดูIT), Ad Addict and much more.

● ASEAN Startup HACKATHON brings experts in technology together for brainstorming more creative solutions to the sustainable development of smart city.

● Visitors can also enjoy a wow experience in the E-Edutainment zone and witness the technical advancement of digital media created to promote learning and generate digital manpower. They can play and develop gaming content like professionals, learn how to fix smartphone-addiction problems and transform an unproductive smartphone addiction into a beneficial smartphone addiction for a brighter future.

● ROV e-Sports tournament

● Coding Arena for improving digital skills

● Hebocon robot contest

Digital Thailand Big Bang 2019 is free to the general public and runs until October 31 at Hall EH98 – 104 at the Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Center (BITEC), Bangna, Bangkok.

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/digitalthailandbigbang

Source: The Nation Thailand