The National Committee on Soft Power is dedicated to bringing its various initiatives to fruition this year.
Paethongtarn Shinawatra, leader of the Pheu Thai Party and Vice Chairperson of the National Soft Power Strategy Committee, made a statement during the committee’s first meeting of the year.
Paethongtarn thanked all parties involved in the “Thailand Winter Festivals” activities. She said these events greatly contributed to a more organized approach to soft power in the form of festivals.
In the meeting, she set a goal for 2024 to visibly advance soft power initiatives. The meeting was attended by celebrities and notable figures from the entertainment industry.
After the meeting, Paethongtarn revealed that the committee agreed to promote freedom and support expression in the film industry with three major agendas.
The first is to reconsider film or video censorship by changing the composition of the new Film and Video Board, consisting of 10 groups, with a greater representation from the private sector.
She stated that the committee also aims to amend the ministerial regulation to allow only one type of film that cannot be shown in Thailand, namely those affecting the monarchy, while preparing a new film act to support the film industry and establish audience ratings.
The second agenda is to establish a One Stop Service to facilitate governmental procedures for conducting business in music and films.
The third agenda is to draft the THACCA Act, to be proposed to the parliament between August and September.
The committee had initially requested a budget of 5.16 billion baht, spanning the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years, but has revised it down to 3.5 billion baht for 2024 alone, with a plan to fund a portion of this from the central budget for emergency projects. The new budget plan will be submitted to the next committee meeting next week. (NNT)
