ABOUT US
- handmade chiang mai is a joint collaboration between the British Council and the Chiang Mai Creative City Initiative, represented by the College of Arts Media and Technology (CAMT), Chiang Mai University, the Technology Development Centre for Industry (TDCI), Chiang Mai University, and the Northern Handicrafts Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NOHMEX).
- Despite its strengths, Chiang Mai’s craft industry faces a number of challenges, many a result of a lack of investment in innovation, and digital technologies. With the support of the British Council, handmade chiang mai aims to help promote Chiang Mai’s creative industries, particularly in the tourism and crafts sectors. It does so by integrating creativity, technology and local wisdom, allowing local businesses to become more competitive in their own right. The project also encourages the development of the creative economy through an active collaboration between Thailand and the U.K in an exchange of knowledge, practice, expertise and technology.
- The project represents a significant long term investment and commitment from the British Council in Thailand, and is a great example of how the UK’s cultural relations organisation works in practise to support the creative economy.
- As well as investing grant funding from it’s Creative and Cultural Economy programme fund, the British Council has also facilitated a range of UK experts from the sector to help shape and develop the project. To date, leading UK creative sector companies including Cockpit Arts, CultureLabel and Inition have been to Chiang Mai to advise the project team on different aspects of the project delivery. These direct UK inputs will continue throughout the life of the project.
PROJECT PARTNERS
The British Council is the United Kingdom’s organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. Our purpose is to create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide. We do this by sharing the UK’s great cultural assets – the English language, educational opportunities, our world-class arts and creative industries and our openness and pluralism as a society. We connect people from the UK with people from around the world through shared cultural interests. This creates lasting ties between them which cut across national and cultural divides. It builds awareness and understanding of the UK which contributes to the UK’s long-term prosperity, security and standing worldwide. It benefits people in the countries where we work by offering them international opportunities and supporting development and stability. Through our work we share and learn from each other. Founded in 1934 and incorporated by Royal Charter in 1940, the British Council is a registered charity in England, Wales and Scotland. We are also a public corporation and a non-departmental public body (NDPB) sponsored by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
The British Council is the partner and funding organization of the handmade chiang mai project and has also sourced international experts who work alongside local experts.
The CMCC Development Committee – a think tank, network and sharing platform – will be the catalyst for these proposed changes. Its members include 50 representatives from a range of organisations including universities and local and national government agencies. The initiative’s primary focus will be upon creative industry: IT, software, digitalisation, but it will also address urban, green and social development. CMCC is not a project, but a long-term vision that will provide sustainable solutions. Furthermore, CMCC encourages everybody to take action and work together to continue to develop and improve Chiang Mai.
The College of Arts, Media and Technology, Chiang Mai University, is a leading college that aims for excellence in creative technologies and innovation. CAMT frequently works with local digital content and crafts industries. CAMT is responsible for the repair of technical issues regarding story-telling and digitalization.
Technology Development Centre for Industry (TDCI), Chiang Mai University is a one-stop service centre, supporting cooperation between Chiang Mai University and industry. The TDCI is also the secretariat of Chiang Mai Creative City (CMCC) Development Committee. The TDCI is responsible for liaisons between CMCC Development Committee members, strategic reviews, and other important aspects of the initiative.
The Northern Handicrafts Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NOHMEX) was launched in 1991 and has over 250 members across 11 craft subsectors. The majority of pilot companies are NOHMEX members and NOHMEX will support the project by increasing the visibility amongst its member. NOHMEX will work closely with the TDCI on defining the scope of work for the project’s second Phase.