Treasures within Asean’s diversity

Cultural splendour: A Bunditpatanasilpa Institute’s College of Dramatic Arts student showing off his traditional Thai dancing mask and costume.

BANGKOK: Among the challenges facing Thailand this year as chair of Asean is finding ways to tap into the region’s cultural diversity and develop a unified creative industry.

Failure to do so, scholars warn, would damage the bloc’s credibility and hamper its pursuit of Asean 4.0.