The Ministry of Culture will officially open the Asean Cultural Centre tomorrow to promote Thailand as a cultural exchange hub for people in the 10-member bloc.
The launch of the Asean Cultural Centre.
The centre is on the third floor of the Ratchadamnoen Contemporary Art Centre on Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue, not far from Democracy Monument, and was set up with an investment of about 20 million baht.
According to the Minister of Culture Vira Rojpojchanarat, the centre will help educate the public on local knowledge and unique arts of each country. It will feature interactive exhibitions, multimedia presentations and artefacts depicting local identities and ways of life of each country.
Using 600m², the centre is segmented into six exhibition zones. The first zone is a multimedia presentation of the history of Southeast Asia. The information will be presented in Thai and English languages and can accommodate up to 20 visitors per time. The second zone will display information of each Asean member country, especially on cultural aspects, through interactive video-wall display technology.
The tourism zone will have multimedia presentations, photo exhibitions and artefacts from each country. There will be a little gimmick by which visitors can choose a national e-costume from each country for their digital dress and pose in an interactive display. The fourth zone will be an e-library while the fifth zone will be the knowledge lab for workshops. Last is a rotating exhibition.
The ministry plans to host a mobile exhibition to present the culture of Asean people in other provinces in the future. Last week, the ministry launched the Centre of Thai Inspiration called "Sun Ban Dan Thai", also on the third floor of the art centre.
According to the ministry permanent-secretary Apinan Poshyananda, the centre will help promote products inspired by Thainess and showcase samples from 77 provinces, such as applying images of short mackerel on bamboo basket containers, the well-known product of Samut Songkhram, and on bags, magnets or T-shirts.
"If local businesses or communities are inspired by the objects displayed in the centre, they can apply the concept to add more value to their products or souvenirs," he said.
In addition, the centre will also organise a series of exhibitions to showcase 300 products inspired by Thainess and created by Thai designers.
The first exhibition has been hosted on the fifth floor of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre on Rama 1. It will run until Sunday. The next exhibition will be organised at Hof Art at the W District project on Sukhumvit Road (between sois 69-71), from Aug 23-Sept 1.
Call the Ministry of Culture's hotline at 1765.
Hotels update
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has announced a global partnership between Le Méridien Hotels and the LEGO Group to offer a complimentary LEGO toy for children below the age of 12.
Called a Welcome Amenity kit, it comes with choices of a six-piece LEGO Duplo snail for kids between the ages of 18 months to five years, and a Go-Kart Racer with 45 LEGO pieces for older children.
The gift is available at 100 Le Meridien hotels worldwide, including seven properties in Thailand.
Visit www.starwoodhotels.com.
Dusit D2 will be opened in Dabieshan Mountains in Anhui, an eastern province in China.
Called Dusit D2 Hot Springs Resort Dabieshan, the hotel is owned by Huoshan County Huachen Tourism Real Estate Development.
It will offer 300 rooms and villas with hot spring facilities, spa, indoor swimming pool, tennis court, kids' club, ballroom and multi-function rooms.
Scheduled to open by the end of 2018, the hotel will be the first internationally branded resort in Dabieshan. The town is famous for serene bamboo forests, tea plantations and the Dabieshan National Forest Park.
Visit www.dusit.com.
Airlines update
Thai Airways has signed a contract with the Hajj Association Southern Thailand to launch special flights to fly Thai Muslim passengers to Medina in Saudi Arabia. The service will depart from Narathiwat and Hat Yai from Aug 16-22 and the return flights will be on Sept 29 to Oct 13. The flights are part of annual project of the association to fly more than 10,000 Thai pilgrims to Mecca.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Public Health has recently expressed its concern over the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers). The pilgrims will be monitored at least 14 days to a month after their return.
Emirates will give away 10 tickets for the US Open to lucky travellers.
The offer is made to those who book a flight to the US online before Aug 20, for departures until Nov 30. For Thailand, passengers must depart either from Bangkok or Phuket airports.
The airline flies to New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington DC, Seattle, Dallas and Houston, while the flight to its 10th destination in Orlando will start next month.
Tickets to the US Open are for games played between Sept 7-13.
Visit www.emirates.com/th/usopen.
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