Creative group starts this June

The Creative Economy Agency, a new public organisation to handle the country’s creative economy development, is scheduled to start operations by mid-June and aims to raise the creative economy’s share of GDP to 15% in the next five years.

Kitiratana Pitipanich, acting managing director of the Thailand Creative & Design Center (TCDC), said the new agency will function as a secretariat office for the National Creative Economy Policy Committee, chaired by the prime minister.

The agency is tasked with directly developing entrepreneurs in the creative economy, designing guidelines and measures to promote creative business, developing new areas of the creative economy, and conducting R&D to support the creative economy.

The creative economy covers a wide range of fields, including traditional Thai culture, music, handicrafts, films, performing arts, fashion and design.

The creative economy contributed 13.6% of GDP in 2017.

The cabinet last September approved a draft royal decree to establish the Creative Economy Agency and the National Creative Economy Policy Committee to push for creative economy development.

The draft is pending the Council of State’s reading, with establishment expected by June this year.

Under the draft royal decree, the TCDC, now under the Office of Knowledge Management and Development, will split off into an independent unit under the Creative Economy Agency.

Mr Kitiratana said the TCDC plans to introduce offices in Khon Kaen and Phuket this year in an effort to promote creative economies in each region.

A Chiang Mai office has already been set up to promote activities in the North, while the office in Bangkok is responsible for promoting the creative economy in the central region.

No agency has been appointed to specifically handle creative economy development.

Mr Kitiratana said the Board of Investment should redesign its promotional privileges to promote creative economy development, similar to what was achieved in South Korea.