Events

Geopolitics in the Cyber Frontier: Building Digital Resilience in A Fragmented World

Geopolitical Challenges and Actionable Policy Recommendations to Strengthen Thailand’s Digital Sovereignty, Supply Chains, Cybersecurity, and Good Governance Frameworks

Technology, data, and innovation have emerged as powerful instruments of strategic competition among major powers. Thailand’s ambitions under the Digital Economy and Society Development Plan and the Thailand 4.0 agenda require deeper integration into global innovation networks. Yet this integration, on the one hand, exposes the country to new geopolitical vulnerabilities from dependence on imported chips and critical network infrastructure to heightened exposure to international cybersecurity threats. On the other hand, deeper integration strengthens the country’s obligation to protect citizens’ rights, particularly the right to privacy, as Thailand must increasingly comply with international data-governance standards.

AI and the Future of Digital Governance: Advancing Public Service Transformation

Policy Recommendations to promote digital governance and increase the quality and efficiency of public service delivery

Thailand’s National AI Strategy and Action Plan (2022–2027) aims to improve quality of life and strengthen economic growth through responsible and inclusive AI adoption. Despite progress, challenges remain. Experience-sharing and dialogue, leading to concrete policy recommendations on policy formulation, budget allocation, and the design of AI-integrated pilot projects, are essential to advancing Thailand’s digital governance transformation.

Advancing the Public Sector and Empowering Local Communities with Generative AI

Path to Effective Digital Local Governance with Knowledge, Skills, and Ethics

Over the past decade, the world has entered an era of rapid technological transformation, particularly with the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has had a broad impact on daily life, the economy, and public administration. One of the technologies that has drawn significant attention is Generative AI. This creates opportunities for government agencies to apply it in enhancing the quality of public services across various dimensions, including prompt responsiveness, accuracy, accessibility, and transparency. However, despite Generative AI’s high potential in enhancing the efficiency of public administration, the adoption of such technology in the public sector still faces several challenges. These include digital inequality, users’ understanding and ability to utilise the technology, data security and safety, as well as issues of ethics and social responsibility. Without proper knowledge, understanding, and skills, the use of AI could lead to errors, misinformation, or even undermine public trust in government agencies. Therefore, it is critically important that public sector personnel and local community leaders receive appropriate training and capacity building on this significant issue.

Enhancing Knowledge and Experience on Politics and the Democratic Governance System

Workshop to Design Augmented Reality (AR) Guiding Tool for Parliament Visit and Studying

Open Government and Policy Innovation for Local Administration and Citizens

4th "OpenGov for Citizen": Participatory Marine Waste Management in the Estuarine Area

The Roadmap for Thai Bureaucratic Development (2023–2027) aims to transform Thailand’s public sector into a “Digital & Innovative Government” and an “Open Government.” The focus is on establishing a modern, trustworthy, and efficient administrative system that truly responds to the needs of the people. The Office of the Public Sector Development Commission (OPDC), as the main agency responsible for promoting open government and public participation, has studied and developed the model of an “Open Government and Meaningful Participation Ecosystem.” It is designed to enhance participation from all sectors in driving integrated and multidimensional public sector development. It comprises eight key components which are 1) Disclosure of government information 2) Policies and laws that support government openness 3) Partnership and collaboration networks 4) Incentive mechanisms 5) Knowledge and resource support 6) Development of technology, innovation, and infrastructure 7) Monitoring and evaluation and 8) Building an organizational culture

KASSID Annual Meeting 2025

Navigating Thailand’s Social Protection in Times of Economic Uncertainties

The year 2025 marks the fifth anniversary of the Konrad Adenauer Scholarship for Social and Innovative Development (KASSID), which has supported 30 scholars across four cohorts nationwide. In line with the objectives of the scholarship program, KAS Thailand will organise a full-day activity for both current KASSID scholars and alumni.

MY BETTER COUNTRY HACKATHON #14

Driving Open Government and Civic Engagement in National Policymaking Process

The 14th MY BETTER COUNTRY HACKATHON organised by the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission (OPDC) with the support of KAS will gather public opinions on approaches to national development, aiming to encourage the participation of citizens and relevant sectors in expressing their views on national-level issues related to public sector reform that are of social interest. This activity will promote a participatory public administration system involving the government, private sector, civil society, and other stakeholders, turning participation into tangible outcomes. Ultimately, this will lead to improved governance in accordance with the principles of good governance and foster greater public trust in the government.

Youth Deliberation Hackathon: Shaping Their Role in Social Protection Systems

Public Participation in Improving Thailand's Social Protection Policies

Inclusive and accountable social protection systems are a cornerstone of equal development and social justice. Welfare programs such as the state welfare card, the universal elderly allowance, child support grants, and unemployment protection mechanisms reflect the government’s recognition of the importance of reducing poverty and inequality. Yet, despite this growing investment, questions remain regarding the inclusivity, legitimacy, and responsiveness of social protection systems. In particular, policymaking and implementation processes tend to be dominated by technocrats, senior officials, and select interest groups, leaving important constituencies—especially youth—largely absent.

Citizen Access to Environmental Justice

Chiang Rai Case Study

Access to environmental justice remains a major challenge in Thailand. Despite the growing impacts of environmental degradation on public health, livelihoods, and the sustainability of local ecosystems, many people still face obstacles in exercising their rights and seeking redress through legal processes. Complex legal procedures, limited access to information, and the need for greater clarity regarding legal mechanisms continue to create a gap between “environmental harm” and “justice.” As a result, affected communities continue to struggle with pollution, deforestation, and unsustainable natural resource management, often without meaningful participation or effective legal protection mechanisms.

Revisiting and Advancing Thailand's Foreign Policy towards the Indo-Pacific Strategy

A Regional Perspective with Closed-group Discussion

Foreign policy formulation has traditionally centred on the perspectives of policymakers operating at the national level. However, shifts in the global economic, political, and security order — particularly the intensifying strategic competition among great powers in Southeast Asia — have revealed multi-dimensional and multi-level impacts on the region. From the vantage point of the central government, foreign policy is developed based on an understanding of the goals and interests of these great powers. Consequently, there is a tendency to seek policy responses that uphold national interests and Thailand’s diplomatic stature. These policy approaches are often grounded in International Relations (IR) theories that prioritise state-centrism, where the state is treated as the principal unit of analysis. The theoretical inquiries within these frameworks largely revolve around how states should behave in the international system. However, when observed from a regional or local perspective, the consequences of great power rivalry manifest in more tangible and immediate ways in the daily lives of people in affected areas.