Executives from companies supporting Nation Multimedia Group’s ‘Thailand’s Tomorrow’ mobile exhibition project pose with NMG executives at a press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel yesterday.

Nation Multimedia Group (NMG) in cooperation with 12 top companies yesterday announced a plan to launch a mobile multimedia exhibition intended to offer an educational, reflective and entertaining walk down memory lane and into the future of Thailand.

The exhibition marking the 36th anniversary of NMG's flagship English-language daily The Nation will kick off in Chiang Mai on March 2.

Visitors will take a journey through Thailand's modern history, the present and the future in a unique presentation focusing on 12 selected themes that have shaped - and will continue to influence - the course of the Kingdom.

The themes are The King, Politics, Urbanisation, Brain Power, Lifestyles, Sports, Energy, Economy, Finance, How We Communicate, Food & Farms, Automobiles, Happiness and Forces of Social Harmony.

The partners are leading companies who have all played significant roles in Thailand's social and economic evolutions and part of several "defining moments" in the history of modern Thailand.

They are Assumption University (ABAC), BankThai, Boonrawd Trading, Charoen Pokphand Foods, Kasikornbank, Nestle (Thai), PTT Group, Saha Group, Samart Corporation, Thai Life Insurance, Toyota Motor Thailand and True Move.

"Every one of our partners sees immense knowledge value in the recollection of Thailand's history through the past 36 years. It will take this generation of Thais to the future," said Thanachai Santi-chaikul, NMG group president.

For example, visitors will see how the Thai farm sector has evolved and has the potential to "feed the world", how the energy industry fought against all odds, and the soul-searching in the Thai education system to find the right blend of brain power.

Daranee Tanchaiswasd, first senior vice president of Kasikornbank, said at yesterday's joint press conference on the exhibition that the bank had a 60-year history of doing business and had allied itself with The Nation for a long period of time.

"At the road-show exhibition, we will demonstrate the development of the banking industry in Thailand to the future era of cyber banking, and the re-engineering of our services," said Daranee.

BankThai senior vice president Thapthim Singhaseni also welcomed the exhibition. saying the evolution of Thai finance had been exciting over the past three and a half decades.

Wichien Emprasertsuk, senior vice president, Toyota Motor Thailand, said that Toyota had been in Thailand for almost 50 years and was now the number one car maker in the Kingdom in terms of sales. What's more important, he said, was the valuable knowledge transfer that is a result of the emphasis on promoting local human-resource development.

"We will display our historical past at the exhibition, starting from the opening of our first showroom for imported Toyota vehicles from Japan, to the establishment of a semi-knock down (SKD) assembling plant 40 years ago, to the opening of a complete knock down (CKD) facility in the Kingdom and then to local parts manufacturing. Today, almost 95 per cent of the parts in the Hilux Vigo pickup truck have been produced in Thailand," said Wichien.

He added that with the exception of the president and executive vice president, who were Jap-anese, most of the 60 directors and 1,000 engineers at Toyota Motor Thailand were Thais.

Boonrawd Trading executive director Chutinant Bhirombhakdi said his company was proud to be a part of local sports development at grass-roots levels.

The exhibition will also feature the changing concepts of "happiness".

"To Thai people nowadays, it's not only about healthy food, it's also about positive thinking and right attitudes," said Montacha Sudamphan, Nestle (Thai) corporate communications manager.

Saha Group's director Thamarat Chokwatana said the company as a leading consumer conglomerate will take part in the exhibition to reflect the changing lifestyle of Thai people.

True Move's director of brand management and marketing communications Rungfa Kiatipoj said the company will emphasise the "tomorrow" of the country's communications, which are changing from one-to-one to one-to-many and many-to-one. The convergence of media will play a great role in the near future and the company has been a pioneer in the region.

The exhibition will take place in five cities - Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Hat Yai, Pattaya and Bangkok. The first event will take place in Chiang Mai at Central Airport Plaza on March 2-4.

The following events are at The Mall, Nakhon Ratchasima, on March 23-25; Lee Garden Plaza, Hat Yai, on May 18-20; Royal Garden, Pattaya, on June 9-11; and CentralWorld Plaza, Bangkok, by the beginning of July.

Alongside the exhibition, Nation Group will hold a business seminar on the "Thai Economic Outlook and Stock Market Trends" for local business leaders and investors.