"We Love ASEAN" Project

BANGKOK, Apirl 3 (TNA) - To promote the "love of English" among Thai children and youths, Bangkok-based Amarin Printing and Publishing Public Company Limited, has launched the "We Love ASEAN" Project, which is supported by the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of ASEAN Affairs and the Enconcept E-Academy (Enconcept), aimed to encourage the younger Thai generations to read more books and to show off their English skills and knowledge on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to prepare themselves for the formation of the ASEAN Community (AC) by 2015. The "We Love ASEAN" Project is run in a manner of questions and answers contest about the 10-member ASEAN bloc in both Thai and English for youths in Thailand's intermediate school level, with the winner to receive a touring package to neighbouring Singapore, a plaque of honour and an education fund. The project, which has started receiving interested participants since April 3, provides a special tutoring session by Enconcept before the contest, the final round of which is set on July 20, 2013, during the Family’s Book Festival 2013 to be held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre in the Thai capital. For more information on the contest, interested youths can log to [www.amarinpocketbook.com/news/genius]. The "We Love ASEAN" Project was launched at Wednesday's discussion on “Thai Youths Leaping toward ASEAN”, organized by Amarin Printing and Publishing Public Company Limited, in cooperation with the Department of ASEAN Affairs and Enconcept, as part of the ongoing Bangkok International Book Fair 2013 and the 41st National Book Fair 2013 being held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre from March 29-April 8. Earlier in the week, during the 9th National Science and Technology Development Agency or NSTDA Annual conference or NAC 2013, one of its members, the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre or NECTEC, organized a seminar on its initiation of an ASEAN Machine Translator or MT Project, aimed to mitigate language barriers among the 10 ASEAN member states. NECTEC expressed its hope that the outcome of the MT Project is the creation of a reliable multilingual machine translation system, designed to also promote regional competitiveness and green growth, for the 10 ASEAN member countries, while creating a pathway for all ASEAN members to communicate well with one another. NECTEC said it believes that the creation of the MT will also lead to stronger ties among ASEAN member states to support their tougher competition in the world arena in the future. (TNA)