Khon Kaen, Thailand – On September 17, 2025, the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts at Khon Kaen University (KKU) hosted a stakeholder focus group as part of a research project aimed at developing a curriculum for “Cultural Festival Innovators.” This initiative seeks to leverage artistic processes to highlight local values and diversify Thailand’s cultural festivals.

The project, led by Associate Professor Dr. Burin Plengdeesakul, Dean of the Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, involves a team of researchers and a network of cultural festival organizers from both public and private sectors. Funding for the research is provided by the Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO) and the Program Management Unit for Human Resources & Institutional Development, Research and Innovation (PMU-B). Its primary objective is to cultivate highly skilled professionals in cultural festival management who can sustainably develop local festivals and create new career opportunities.

Associate Professor Dr. Burin Plengdeesakul emphasized that the core goal is to produce highly skilled cultural festival professionals. The proposed training curriculum will be accessible online, allowing learners to engage with content anytime, anywhere. Participants who successfully complete the training and achieve an intermediate skill assessment will be selected for practical workshops to create real-world cultural festivals, ultimately elevating them to “high-skilled cultural festival innovators.” The research team will provide close mentorship throughout this process.

Assistant Dean for Research, Innovation, and Arts and Culture, Assistant Professor Dr. Pachaya Akkapram, facilitated the focus group discussion, which covered four key areas: analyzing the strengths and limitations of cultural festivals, understanding the roles and challenges faced by festival organizers, exploring the body of knowledge in fine arts and related disciplines, and integrating artistic principles with management and marketing strategies.

The brainstorming session brought together representatives and practitioners from cultural festivals across the Northeastern region. Participants included officials from the Khon Kaen Provincial Cultural Office, the Creative Economy Agency (CEA Khon Kaen), the Khon Kaen Provincial Cultural Council, the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), the Prayoon for Art Foundation, the College of Local Administration at Khon Kaen University, Ban Phai Municipality, the Northeastern Arts and Culture Media Network, the Jum Baan Chiang Group from Udon Thani, the Sakon Hed Group from Sakon Nakhon, and Sinsai Model Co., Ltd. (a social enterprise).

These external partners collaborated with researchers from Khon Kaen University’s Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Faculty of Education, and Faculty of Business Administration and Accountancy, as well as the Faculty of Informatics from Mahasarakham University. Their collective insights will help shape the direction for developing cultural festival personnel at both local and national levels in Thailand.

This activity is a crucial step in developing the “Cultural Festival Innovator” curriculum, designed to meet the needs of all stakeholders. It aims to promote the value of cultural capital, facilitating communication and creating sustainable value from local cultures.