First Digital Democracy Conference in Bangkok

BANGKOK, November 21 (TNA) - Thailand's Chulalongkorn University hosted the country’s first “Digital Democracy Conference” in Bangkok on Wednesday, bringing together a broad range of academics and professionals to discuss the roles of digital media in a democratic society. Dr. Soraj Hongladarom of Chulalongkorn University’s Department of Philosophy, who was among the panelists, told TNA while digital media affect the society in many aspects, the particular conference focused on politics, as social media have been recently used as tools for political activism, discussions and mobilizations in Thailand. Dr. Soraj said that he hopes the conference will result in increased awareness among educational institutes in Thailand on the importance of social media for domestic political discourses and, perhaps, in encouraging them to introduce new multidisciplinary courses covering the issue in the future. During the public discussions, panelists also pointed out to the usefulness of social media, like Facebook and Twitter, as new mediums with more inclusiveness and interactiveness in Thai politics, but cautioning that the broadening access to information also leaves rooms for political manipulation and experts, thus, see a need for a responsible use of the social media in creating public discussions, rather than generating one-sided propagandas. Furthermore, the panelists acknowledged, the Thai government has not yet been able to capitalize on the popularity of social media despite their obvious growth and massive use among local people. Official statistics, meanwhile, show the rising consumption of digital media in Thailand, particularly among the younger generations in urban areas across the country, as 23.7 per cent of Thais regularly access to the webs via personal computers, mobile phones and other platforms currently although the number is still dwarfed by the percentage of traditional media consumption, namely radio (56.7 per cent) and television (97.5 per cent). The conference’s co-organizer, the Siam Intelligence Unit (SIU), a Thailand-based private think-tank, also broadcast the conference’s discussions via social media in order to promote public debate on the issue. (TNA)