Food the initial focus of roadmap for soft power promotion
Around 10,000 Thai chefs will be reskilled this year as part of the strategic roadmap to promote Thai food across the world, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, deputy chair of the National Soft Power Strategy Committee, said on Monday.
Among the 11 soft powers being promoted, food is one industry that the committee hopes to highlight as a cultural export to help strengthen the economy as a whole. Other industries include festivals, tourism, Thai art, design, sports, music, publishing, film and theatre, fashion design and entrepreneurship.
Speaking at a special seminar organised by financial institution KKP, titled "KKP Year Ahead 2024: A Pathway to Prosperity," Paetongtarn spoke of the positive progress made in establishing the Thailand Creative Content Agency (THACCA), a workforce to drive soft power policies.
This move, which will enable the implementation of all soft power policies, includes a chef training programme designed to upskill Thai chefs across the country so that they can become skilled in preparing authentic Thai cuisine.
This will also help the often poorly paid cooks to earn more money, thereby improving their overall quality of life.
Paetongtarn has dubbed the project "One District, One Chef" and says that THACCA intends to register 10,000 chefs to participate in the programme this year.
The committee plans to open registration in April, following the cabinet's approval of the 2024 fiscal budget, she noted.
Furthermore, Paetongtarn expects the reskilling programme to reduce inequity, pointing out that becoming a professional certified chef is costly and thus preventing many talented Thai cooks from pursuing their dreams.
Dr Surapong Suebwonglee, deputy chairman of the committee, added that Thailand currently has approximately 70,000 districts. As a result, the project will reskill 70,000 Thai chiefs within four years.
Aside from reskilling experienced Thai chefs, the programme also plans to educate other Thais interested in becoming professional chefs through online courses.
He explained that the online courses will include a certificate, allowing graduates of the committee programme to apply for chef positions worldwide.
"Having a skilled Thai chef would finally help the committee achieve its goal of increasing Thai restaurants from 20,000 to 100,000 globally," he said, noting that the courses are free of charge.
In addition to the chef training, the programme will be expanded to include other fields related to Thailand's soft power, such as Muay Thai, screenwriting, fashion design, and so on.
Paetongtarn has outlined the government's soft power vision based on three resources: cultural capital, political values, and foreign policy. She told the seminar that this vision can be realised through three strategies: human development, which entails establishing incubator centres across the country to train one million talents; industrial development, which includes establishing the Thailand Creative Content Agency (THACCA) to drive soft power policies; and proactive foreign policy, which focuses on cultural exports.
To ensure that Thailand's soft power becomes concrete, the National Soft Power Strategy Committee has proposed a budget of 5.164 billion baht to promote Thailand across 11 dimensions and drive the country's creative economy, generating revenue for tourism and related industries.
