Creative Economy Agency

Creative Economy Agency (Public Organization), or CEA, a public organization under the supervision of the Prime Minister’s Office, is tasked with advancing Thailand’s creative economy. This mission centers on recognizing the transformative potential of “creativity” — as applied by creators, entrepreneurs, businesses, communities, institutions, and organizations — in designing products, services, and projects that generate both value and positive impact. These impacts — whether economic, social, or environmental — are key to driving sustainable economic growth and life quality enhancement. Guided by this vision, the CEA has launched the Creative Excellence Awards 2025 to celebrate and encourage individuals and organizations whose work exemplifies creative distinction. The awards ceremony will be held in September 2025.

First introduced in 2023, the Creative Excellence Awards returns for its third edition in 2025. This initiative serves as a platform for visionary individuals and organizations across Thailand to showcase their work and share forward-thinking perspectives. These contributions help drive the momentum of creative innovation — transforming it into a powerful force that inspires, improves quality of life, and addresses pressing economic and social challenges. At its core, the Awards exist not only to recognize outstanding creative achievements, but also to foster a vibrant and resilient national creative ecosystem. This ecosystem acts as a catalyst for sustainable development and reinforces Thailand’s expanding role as a leading creative hub within the ASEAN region.

The Creative Excellence Awards 2025 honors outstanding achievements across a wide spectrum of the creative industries — including crafts, music, performing arts, visual arts, film, broadcasting, publishing, software, advertising, design, fashion, and more. Aiming to become an international platform that showcases the potential and creativity of Thai creators, the awards seek to inspire the development of new ideas while promoting global recognition. Through a systematic and standardized selection process, the initiative is designed to elevate Thailand’s creative excellence onto the world stage.

3 Major Categories 

The Creative Excellence Awards 2025 are presented across three major categories, each comprising five distinct subcategories, totaling 15 awards. These categories include the Creative City Awards, the Creative Business Awards, and the Creative Social Impact Awards.

Category 1 Creative City Awards
5 Awards

This category recognizes cities or areas that creatively revitalize, preserve, and celebrate their unique assets — such as traditions, culture, cuisine, and architecture — through storytelling, innovation, and creative thinking, enhancing local economies and fostering sustainable employment.

1.1 Creative Festival Award
An award that honors events or festivals which creatively incorporate local cultural assets — including arts, traditions, and cuisine — to generate a positive impact on neighborhoods, communities, or districts.
1.2 Creative Branding Award
An award for a city or area that leverages its unique identity to establish a clear and distinct positioning, creating memorable images and widespread recognition.
1.3 Creative Cultural Asset Award
An award that recognizes a city or area for effectively promoting and preserving its cultural assets while seamlessly integrating them with creative practices.
1.4 Creative Regeneration Award
An award for outstanding initiatives or projects that revitalize and transform spaces — breathing new life into them, creating fresh atmospheres, and fostering change that supports the development of creative economy districts.
1.5 Creative Advocacy Award
An award for public or private sector organizations that support and provide resources to drive the development of creative economy spaces.

Category 2 Creative Business Awards
5 Awards

This category celebrates businesses, alongside organizations and groups of individuals, that integrate creativity with sustainability in design and production, enhancing commercial value while prioritizing environmental responsibility through products, services, or projects.

2.1 Creative Sustainability Award
An award that recognizes a business for an outstanding product, service, or project that applies creative design and processes to maximize resource efficiency and minimize environmental impact.
2.2 Creative Transformation Award
An award that honors a business for a distinctive, competitive product or service that has a wide-reaching positive impact, resulting from the integration of creativity across its operations.
2.3 Creative Social Responsibility Award
An award for a public or private organization with a community-focused project that demonstrates strong commitment to social and environmental responsibility.
2.4 Creative Collaboration Award
An award that celebrates individuals, organizations, or institutions from different industries who collaborate to create innovative, value-added products, services, or projects through shared knowledge and approaches.
2.5 Creative Technology Award
An award recognizing a business with a pioneering process or approach that creatively integrates technology or innovation, amplifies Thailand’s cultural influence, and demonstrates transformative potential for the creative industries.

Category 3 Creative Social Impact Awards
5 Awards

This category honors endeavors — whether products, services, or projects — of individuals or organizations that creatively address social challenges with measurable, sustainable outcomes at the community, provincial, or national level.

3.1 Creative Community Inclusivity Award
An award for individuals, agencies, organizations, or institutions that creatively address social issues by promoting inclusive participation, broad accessibility for diverse groups, and fostering strong community relationships.
3.2 Creative Well-Being Award
An award recognizing a product, service, activity, or project that promotes holistic well-being — physical, mental, and social — and improving quality of life.
3.3 Creative Equality Award
An award recognizing an initiative that promotes equal opportunities and helps reduce social disparities related to gender, age, socioeconomic status, family background, physical ability, access to information, and more.
3.4 Creative Education Award
An award recognizing a product, service, or project that harnesses creativity as a tool for education — enhancing skills, raising educational standards, and expanding access to knowledge and learning opportunities for all.
3.5 Creative Green Award
An award recognizing a product, service, activity, or project that demonstrates environmental responsibility — through carbon reduction, zero-waste practices, or energy efficiency — integrated throughout design, production, and waste management processes.

Open Call! Submit your creative work now through June 30, 2025, 
for a chance to compete in the Creative Excellence Awards 2025.

Eligibility Criteria for Submissions

• Work must:     
  - Be original, creative, and demonstrate positive potential for the economy, society, and environment;
  - Align with ethical standards and comply with relevant laws;
  - Not infringe on copyright, with its origins clearly stated;
  - Not have received a Creative Excellence Award in 2023 or 2024;
  - Be created between July 2023 and July 2025, or show continuous development with clear, demonstrable progress that is publicly accessible.
• Only one work may be submitted and awarded per subcategory.

Submission Procedure

Interested applicants must thoroughly review the activity details and eligibility requirements before submitting their entries. To apply, please complete the application form via the following link: https://forms.gle/1qo4RoNW3yLDejeV7. The application period is open now through 30 June 2025. Before submitting, please ensure you have all the required information prepared. 

Category 1: Creative City Awards

1. Personal information
2. Target area influenced by the work
3. Objectives and conceptual design
4. Distinctive qualities contributing to economic, social, and environmental value
5. Relevant supporting documents

Category 2: Creative Business Awards

1. Personal information
2. Format of the work
3. Objectives and conceptual design
4. Distinctive qualities contributing to added business value or positive social outcomes
5. Relevant supporting documents

Category 3: Creative Social Impact Awards

1. Personal information
2. Objectives and conceptual design 
3. Evidence of impact on well-being
4. Distinctive qualities contributing to community or societal transformation
5. Relevant supporting documents

For more information regarding event details or submission inquiries, please contact:
Tel: 098-972-7933 (Khun Thames) or 082-597-4178 (Khun Besto)
Email: ceawards.cea@gmail.com

Benefits for Award Winners

- Opportunity to showcase their work at Bangkok Design Week, Chiang Mai Design Week, Isan Creative Festival, and Pakk Tai Design Week.
- Opportunity to submit their work for international award competitions and participate in the Creative House by CEA program. 
- Business matching opportunities.

Judging Process for Creative Excellence Awards 2025

After CEA opens the call for entries through an online submission platform, applications from entrepreneurs, communities, agencies, or organizations will undergo an initial screening process. A pre-selection committee will verify the eligibility of both the works and their creators. Eligible submissions will then be forwarded to the judging panel in each award category for evaluation and final selection. The judging process consists of two main stages:

1. e-Voting
Each member of the judging panel will receive information on the pre-qualified entries via the official website and will score each submission on a scale from 0 to 10, based on creativity, impact, and innovation. The five highest-scoring entries in each category will proceed to the final round: the Presentation stage.

2. Presentation 
Shortlisted finalists (top 5 entries per category) will be invited to present their work directly to the judging panel — either onsite or via an online platform. This stage allows the judging panel to engage in discussion, ask questions, and gain deeper insights into each project’s vision, development process, and overall impact.

Following the presentations, the judging panel will convene to deliberate and select one outstanding winner in each award category, taking into account both the quality of the work and the effectiveness of the presentation.

Schedule for Creative Excellence Awards 2025

Note: Schedule is subject to change as appropriate.