Thailand’s digital sustainability relies on people’s happiness, says expert
Public awareness and happiness are key for Thailand’s drive towards digital sustainability, an expert declared at a forum on Friday.
Napol Kietkongmanee, a senior designer at the Research and Innovation for Sustainability Centre (RISC), was speaking at the “Digital Governance Thailand 2023” event being held at Bangkok’s Samyan Mitrtown until Saturday.
The forum, organised by Electronic Transactions Development Agency, seeks to answer the question: “Can Digital Sustainability become Reality?”
Napol said sustainable development has been applied in architecture for more than 70 years now, but this application has both strong and weak points.
For instance, he said, adding plants to a home brings the residents happiness, but also draws mosquitos.
“So, apart from creating happiness for the residents, what else can we do to build maximum benefits?” he asked.
He said driving Thailand towards digital sustainability would require smart cities and smart life being developed simultaneously.
But this is not happening yet because the technology for smart homes is still quite expensive and there are still concerns about privacy and security.
“Besides, two groups of people – traditionalists and those who put family first – are not too concerned about reducing their carbon footprint. They are more interested in products that can directly meet their needs,” he said.
He added that sustainable development should also focus on people’s happiness, with the first step being boosting confidence until all their needs are met.
“Sustainable development policies can be launched right away, but the government should create awareness among people to gain their confidence,” he said.
Another point that should be considered are the changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. These changes can also cause problems and difficulties.
For instance, he said, working from home may not be that easy for some people due to disturbances from children or pets.
But the pandemic has also had a positive impact, in that many facilities have been developed in Thailand to meet people’s needs post-Covid-19. For instance, he said, now there are sleep pods available and robots for garbage collection.
Meanwhile, RISC is doing its bit by studying air quality, materials and resources, plants and biodiversity, and the sciences of happiness and resilience to find the best solution for society.
With depression fast becoming a problem for many people, RISC is also studying the brain waves of some subjects to see what makes them comfortable, he said. In the study, RISC is applying virtual reality to determine what images or landscapes make people most happy.
“We are hunting for answers as to what can lead people towards a happy sustainable life,” he added.
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