The Changwon/UNESCO Asia Pacific Regional Education Conference 2016

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9 – 11 May, 2016

Phuket, Thailand

The Research Center of Communication and Development Knowledge Management (CCDKM), presented at the Changwon/UNESCO Asia Pacific Regional Education Conference 2016 on Very Local Trip: Promoting Economic Empowerment Through ICT and E-Business Solutions.

ICT have created enormous possibilities for community organizations and individuals to promote local tourism and crafts through online platforms, which represent a source of income generation and job opportunities.

Since 2006, CCDKM has trained both offline and online 348.820 Thai marginalized people.
From 2013-2015, 80.000 people have been trained on digital literacy and entrepreneurship skills.
This was made possible by leveraging the network of over 2.000 Telecentres scattered all over the country.

E-services play a significant role in development by accelerating public service delivery, improving government accountability, encouraging civil participation in decision making processes, boosting the digital economy, among others. However, unless rural people are empowered with digital literacy and entrepreneurial skills, they will remain digitally excluded and marginalized in terms of access and use of ICT. CCDKM has developed culture and context sensitive curricula on entrepreneurship skills for rural communities, using simple and effective strategies to help them join global market places and link with buyers to sell their products nationally and internationally through mobile technology. Through multi-stakeholders’ partnerships, training of the trainers courses have been conducted nationwide and rural communities are increasingly using ICT to reach out and collaborate with national, regional and international organizations to implement their local sustainable development projects and initiatives.

The Very Local Trip Community Based Tourism project integrates the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of development by enhancing the capacities of local artisans and farmers to use ICT and media, to promote and conserve cultural and environmental heritage, including arts and crafts and sustainable Thai agriculture and organic farming methods. The project also contributes to the promotion of Thailand’s digital economy, in particular ICT, Tourism and Sustainable Development by facilitating the involvement of Thai local people and communities in tourism development around natural and cultural heritage sites; establishing business linkages (online and offline) between local communities, tourism enterprises and visitors; providing communication and marketing e-services on local tourism in Thailand; improving the quality of tourism experiences at the local level; and strengthening the capacities of local guides on how to use ICT to promote their local experiences on Very Local Trip web-platform.

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