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CEA Forum 2026

Empower Creative Thailand, Ignite Economic Impact

The Creative Economy Agency (Public Organization) or CEA, plays a key role in advancing Thailand’s creative economy by fostering an ecosystem that supports the growth of creative people, creative places, and creative industries, contributing to sustainable economic, social, and cultural development.

CEA Forum 2026 is CEA’s annual flagship platform to communicate its vision, strategic direction, and action plans for 2026, while reaffirming CEA’s role as a Creative Economy Ecosystem Enabler — connecting people, places, cities, and creative industries across Thailand.

Under the theme “Empower Creative Thailand, Ignite Economic Impact,” the Forum reflects CEA’s commitment to empowering Thai creatives to compete in the future global landscape, strengthening ecosystems for creative businesses and cities, and transforming creativity into tangible economic, social, and cultural impact.

More than a policy announcement, CEA Forum 2026 serves as an annual gathering of creative industry entrepreneurs, designers, creators, artists, urban developers, policymakers, public and private sector representatives, academics, and the media to explore the future of Thailand’s creative economy and address a critical question: How can Thailand accelerate its creative economy to achieve real impact at national and global levels?

Objectives

  • To announce CEA’s vision, mission, and strategic plans for 2026
  • To communicate CEA’s role in driving the creative economy through People / Place / Industry
  • To strengthen collaboration among public and private sector partners, academia, and the media
  • To promote key projects, initiatives, and campaigns under the CEA brand throughout 2026

Key Highlights

Keynote Address: “Creative Nation & Global Outlook 2026”
Mr. Chaiyong Ratana-Angkura
Chairman of the Board, Creative Economy Agency
An overview of Thailand’s creative economy on the global stage, highlighting opportunities and challenges in 2026.

CEA Strategic Direction 2026
Dr. Chakrit Pichyangkul
Executive Director, Creative Economy Agency
Organizational directions and strategies for 2026.

Thematic Talk: Creative Development
Mr. Pichit Virankabutra
Deputy Executive Director, Creative Economy Agency

  • City Branding Framework 2026
  • Vision of the “New TCDC” and strategies to expand accessibility
  • Opening of TCDC Songkhla and the development of creative destinations

Thematic Talk: Creative Industry Development
Mr. Inthaphan Buakeow
Deputy Executive Director, Creative Economy Agency

  • Infrastructure development and new opportunities for creative businesses
  • Overview of the music and content industries in 2026
  • Collaboration among the public sector, private sector, and creators

Panel Discussion
“Creative Nation 2026: How Can We Co-create the Future of the Creative Economy?”
A panel discussion bringing together perspectives from the public sector, academia, entrepreneurs, and creators to explore the future of the creative economy across the dimensions of places, cities, people, and creative businesses, with a focus on real-world collaboration and monetization.

Session 1: Creative Industries & People

  • Ms. Chayapach Sangtabtim
    General Manager, Thai Entertainment Content Trade Association (TECA)
  • Mr. Pollakit Srisamut
    Co-Founder, YUPP! Entertainment
  • Mr. Xiaokun Gao
    Country Manager, Tencent Thailand
  • Mr. Kalp Kaljareuk
    President, Kantana Group Public Company Limited

Session 2: Creative Places & Cities

  • Mr. Sanon Wangsrangboon
    Deputy Governor of Bangkok
  • Mr. Rattawit Angkhasakulkiat
    Chairman, Sisaket Chamber of Commerce
  • Associate Professor Dr. Peeradorn Kaewlai
    Lecturer, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Thammasat University 

Remark: The agenda is subject to change as appropriate.

Date, Time, and Venue

Date: Monday, 12 January 2026
Time: 12.30 - 15.30 hrs.
Venue: Virtual Media Lab, Fl. 4
Thailand Creative & Design Center (TCDC), Bangkok
(Registration at Front Lobby, Fl. 1 | Parking available at NT Bangrak)

Keynote Address: “Creative Nation & Global Outlook 2026”
Mr. Chaiyong Ratana-Angkura
Chairman of the Board, Creative Economy Agency

An overview of Thailand’s creative economy on the global stage, highlighting opportunities and challenges in 2026.

The global landscape and Thailand’s economy are facing simultaneous shocks from four critical forces: geopolitical volatility, climate change becoming a lived reality, prolonged economic stagnation, and rapid disruption driven by technology and AI. The key challenge, therefore, is not merely short-term problem-solving, but the search for an economic model capable of addressing these pressures in an integrated way. The answer lies in the Creative Economy—positioned as a new operating system for Thailand’s economy, one that transforms cultural assets, creativity, and identity into long-term economic capital and sustainable value creation.

The Creative Economy generates value through meaning, not volume. It leverages identity, experience, and trust to create higher value-added outcomes, while easing cost pressures and remaining less vulnerable to external shocks. Within this ecosystem, CEA serves as the operating system enabler, building policy infrastructure, reducing systemic risks, and creating open platforms where people, cities, and creative industries can continuously update mindsets, reskill, and design their own futures. Through this approach, the Creative Economy becomes a key driver in steering Thailand toward growth that is both meaningful and sustainable.

Creative Economy Strategic Direction 2026
Dr. Chakrit Pichyangkul
Executive Director, Creative Economy Agency

Announcing CEA’s Direction and Strategic Framework under the theme “The Year of Accelerating Thailand’s Creative Economy,” encompassing People, Place, and Industry — along with key initiatives throughout the year.

The Creative Economy is increasingly becoming a critical New Growth Engine and New S-Curve for the global economy. At present, it generates a total economic value of more than THB 71.9 trillion, accounting for 3.1% of global GDP, and supports over 50 million jobs worldwide. A key highlight lies in creative services, whose value is twice that of creative goods, reflecting the strong potential of an economy driven by creativity and intellectual property (IP).

For Thailand, the creative industries generate THB 1.44 trillion, or 8.01% of national GDP, and have demonstrated a strong capacity for rapid recovery and growth—particularly in the aftermath of economic crises. This resilience reinforces the role of the creative sector as a significant driving force of the Thai economy.

An analysis of six key trends shaping 2026—ranging from AI, platform power, and the Creator Economy to high-value IP—has led to a new strategic direction for CEA under the theme “From Cultural Capital to Creative IP Economy.” The strategy focuses on transforming cultural capital into a competitive IP-based economy for the global market through the development of people, cities, businesses, and value-creation platforms. The targets include empowering more than 300,000 creators and entrepreneurs, generating at least 350 new IP assets, increasing average entrepreneurial income by over 30%, and driving sustainable growth of Thailand’s creative economy (GVA) at more than 5%.

Thematic Talk: Creative Development
Mr. Pichit Virankabutra
Deputy Executive Director, Creative Economy Agency
Empowering People. Transforming Cities.

Thailand’s creative economy is driven by rich cultural capital embedded across all 77 provinces. Creative city development must therefore be advanced through three interconnected dimensions: Place, which provides an enabling environment; Assets, including cultural and economic resources; and People, the core drivers of creativity. When these elements are strategically aligned, cities become platforms or “City as a Stage”, where creative talents and businesses can generate new value and foster sustainable creative ecosystems.

CEA adopts a Festival-led City Development approach as a key mechanism for activating cities, supported by a nationwide network of design festivals. This is complemented by skills development, creative business enhancement, and the expansion of New TCDC hubs in regional areas to ensure long-term learning and growth opportunities. Alongside city branding, UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) engagement, and decentralization to local stakeholders, CEA aims to integrate impact across Place and People, empowering Creative Thailand to grow with vitality, meaning, and tangible economic and social outcomes.

Thematic Talk: Creative Industry Development
Mr. Inthaphan Buakeow
Deputy Executive Director, Creative Economy Agency
Strengthening Competitiveness for the Next Opportunity

CEA’s strategy for advancing Thailand’s creative industries in 2026 focuses on strengthening creative talents and businesses while expanding domestic and international markets. This approach is built on industry-specific, customized strategies, informed by research and sector-based roadmaps. At the same time, organizational structures are being refined to enhance agility, and partnerships are strengthened at both national and global levels to connect creative industries with broader economic sectors and unlock new growth opportunities. 

In practice, CEA delivers integrated initiatives across the creative value chain, from upstream development through Content Lab, to downstream market expansion via Music Exchange and Music Business Lab, as well as cross-disciplinary capacity building in advertising, design, architecture, and creative products and services. Flagship platforms such as the Bangkok International Content Market (BICM) and participation in international trade fairs further enable global market access. The ultimate goal is to build a robust creative infrastructure that opens new pathways and enables Thailand’s creative industries to compete effectively on the global stage.

Panel Discussion
“Creative Nation 2026: How Can We Co-create the Future of the Creative Economy?”
A panel discussion bringing together perspectives from the public sector, academia, entrepreneurs, and creators to explore the future of the creative economy across the dimensions of places, cities, people, and creative businesses, with a focus on real-world collaboration and monetization.

Session 1: Creative Industries & People
Ms. Chayapach Sangtabtim
General Manager, Thai Entertainment Content Trade Association (TECA)
Mr. Pollakit Srisamut
Co-Founder, YUPP! Entertainment
Mr. Xiaokun Gao
Country Manager, Tencent Thailand
Mr. Kalp Kaljareuk
President, Kantana Group Public Company Limited

Creative Nation 2026: Transforming Cultural Capital into High-Value IP to Drive Thailand's Borderless Creative Economy

Expert speakers highlighted a key strategy: transforming cultural capital into High-Value IP to elevate Thailand’s creative economy to a global stage. The discussion emphasized building an ecosystem that integrates AI as a “growth multiplier”—reducing production costs and breaking language barriers through AI Dubbing. Furthermore, a shift toward a "Borderless Mindset" is essential, emphasizing premium production standards designed for a global audience from the outset. This is exemplified by the global success of Thai series on international platforms and, most recently, the variety show Tasteful Thailand by Tencent, which reinterprets Thai cultural roots through a global lens to add value and attract revenue from tourism and related industries.

However, the sustainability of Thailand’s creative industries requires structural improvements, particularly addressing the burden on artists and creators who currently manage funding, business operations, and rights protection alone. Both the public and private sectors must collaborate to establish clear support mechanisms modeled after South Korea’s success. This involves four key pillars: funding support, knowledge and networking, business negotiation skills, and a robust copyright protection system. Coupled with a campaign for the "Respectful Use of AI" regarding intellectual property, these measures aim to transition Thai creators from "work-for-hire" producers to owners of high-value intellectual property, ultimately driving stable and long-term national economic growth.

Panel Discussion
“Creative Nation 2026: How Can We Co-create the Future of the Creative Economy?”
A panel discussion bringing together perspectives from the public sector, academia, entrepreneurs, and creators to explore the future of the creative economy across the dimensions of places, cities, people, and creative businesses, with a focus on real-world collaboration and monetization.

Session 2: Creative Places & Cities
Mr. Sanon Wangsrangboon
Deputy Governor of Bangkok
Mr. Rattawit Angkhasakulkiat
Chairman, Sisaket Chamber of Commerce
Associate Professor Dr. Peeradorn Kaewlai
Lecturer, Faculty of Architecture and Planning, Thammasat University

Creative Nation 2026: Transforming Cities through Collaboration and Design into a National Economic Engine
The measurement of a creative city is not defined by the public sector alone, but by the ability to "Activate" collaboration between the state and its citizens. The government must recalibrate its role to create space for the private sector and local communities to realize their potential. A key strategy is transforming cultural assets and traditional wisdom into added value. Examples include Bangkok's model, which uses City Identity (CI) design and public spaces to bridge the gap between people and the city, and the case of Sisaket, which has built a creative economic ecosystem through the music and film industries, successfully elevating a secondary city to the global stage despite infrastructure constraints.

Policy recommendations for achieving a sustainable creative nation center on a strong "Political Will" to reform bureaucratic mechanisms toward a "Private Sector Led, Government Supported" approach. This emphasizes synchronized networking across all agencies. The future direction lies in applying design and creativity to upgrade public services and reduce bureaucratic complexity through a "One Stop Service" model. This aims to shift the city's success metrics toward the well-being and convenience of citizens, serving as a primary engine for driving the country’s creative economy forward in a tangible and continuous manner.