"Sabida" drives local soft power by developing Unseen Thai Thai, highlighting the "Thai Song Dam" identity going international and turning culture into income.
On 6 March 2026, Ms. Sabida Thaiset, Minister of Culture, presided over the opening of the "Thai Song Dam Traditional Lifestyle Festival: New Rice, Fat Fish, Continuing the Fermented Rice Pounding, Old Wisdom of Thai Song Dam" at Wat Sa Ban Kluai, Kanchanaburi Province, promoting a model to elevate the community into a global learning center.
Ms. Sabida said this event is part of the "Unseen Thai Thai" policy, which aims to refine lesser-known cultural assets into cultural export products for the international stage. It focuses on transforming cultural strengths into real income to create a sustainable circular economy in communities. She also praised the collaboration of Thai Song Dam networks from various provinces for preserving their strong identity.
Highlights of the event included the Pang Khwan ceremony, a demonstration of traditional fermented rice pounding, the Khan dance performance, and a fashion show of Thai Song Dam costumes reflecting young people's creativity. The Ministry of Culture aims to collect and archive this wisdom as a resource for future generations' learning and commercial development.
