Multiple Cultures - One Country

Yesterday I went to the final day of the OTOP Mid-Year Sale. It is not the first time I've been to one of these major OTOP sales. I like to go because you can buy a gift items from across Thailand at one time and then save them for when people come to visit from overseas. This event was much like previous ones I've been to - but I think that the volume of shoppers was greater than the last time I was there.

What struck me about the event was the extensive cultural diversity evident in the displays from the various regions of Thailand. The types of products, sources of inspiration and materials used are really quite different between the southern region with its Islamic/Malay influence and Issan with its Lao traditions and the north which represents the traditional Lanna culture. Further, the people manning the booths also represented a relatively broad spectrum of ethnic types and one could assume cultural backgrounds.

Thus, under one roof we could see the rich cultural diversity that is a hallmark of contemporary Thailand. With this diversity contained within one nation-state we can see that intercultural communications does not have to be reserved for relations between Caucasians, Arabs, Japanese or Africans and Thais. Rather intercultural communications in Thailand can take place everyday among Thai the citizens themselves. This fact should serve to empower Thai people to be more effective intercultural communicators than people from a more homogeneous cultural background.