Bangkok: ETDA opens the AI Governance Week 2026, moving from policy to practical implementation, aiming to position Thailand as a regional hub for AI Governance. The Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) announced Thailand's readiness to establish itself as a hub for AI Governance for the second consecutive year. This will be driven through ETDA's AI Governance Center (AIGC), which will be upgraded to the AI Governance Practice Center (AIGPC) to support the expanded role of promoting the ethical use of AI in the country. This will encompass the organizational level and serve as a central hub for AI experts. ETDA will also host the international AI Governance Week 2026 (AIGW 2026) from June 29th to July 3rd, 2026, a five-day event bringing together experts from government, business, academia, finance, the justice system, and interested citizens.
According to Thai News Agency, Ms. Rojana Lamlert, ETDA Advisor and Head of the AIGC Center, stated that ETDA has continuously driven AI Governance work through the Artificial Intelligence Governance Center (AIGC), a key national mechanism for studying, developing knowledge, best practices, tools, and recommendations on AI governance. This is coupled with capacity building, consultation, and networking with government, private sector, educational institutions, and international organizations to support the safe, responsible, and internationally compliant adoption of AI in Thailand. However, as AI is no longer just a technology of the future but a practical tool used in many sectors, the challenge of AI Governance has shifted from simply understanding "what AI Governance is" to a more crucial question: "How can organizations actually implement AI Governance?" Upgrading from AIGC to AIGPC (AI Governance Practice Center) is therefore a significant step for ETDA in expanding its mission from conceptual to practic al level, helping organizations design and manage AI appropriately based on their context, readiness, and risks.
AIGPC will serve as an AI Governance operations center, linking global principles, frameworks, and knowledge with the development of tools, best practices, training, consulting, and practical experiments to support organizations in implementing AI Governance effectively. This encompasses everything from readiness assessment and risk analysis to impact assessment, governance design, and post-implementation monitoring and review. Furthermore, AIGPC will support countries in the region in learning and adapting AI Governance to their own contexts, without directly copying frameworks from other countries. This is because each country and organization has different levels of readiness, infrastructure, laws, technological culture, and AI risks. Therefore, driving AI Governance is not about a single standard applicable to all contexts, but rather about designing appropriate, practical, and trustworthy approaches for the long term.
'AIGPC represents a significant step in elevating Thailand to become a regional hub for AI Governance, through its role in connecting global knowledge with the development of tools, best practices, and support mechanisms that enable responsible use of AI in both the Thai and regional contexts,' Ms. Rojana said.
Regarding the progress of AIGPC's establishment, ETDA is currently expanding its mission and restructuring the center to support its new role as a regional AI Governance operations center. This is being done in parallel with the push for AIGPC to become a UNESCO Category 2 Center, a long-term process involving several steps including feasibility studies, committee reviews, and UNESCO review. This process is expected to continue until early 2028. However, ETDA affirms its commitment to continuously drive AIGPC forward so that Thailand can achieve practical results in AI Governance starting today.
This commitment will be concretely reflected at AI Governance Week 2026 (AIGW 2026), held from June 29th to July 3rd, 2026. In particular, the first day, June 29th, 2026, the AIGPC Annual Conference will be a key platform signaling Thailand's next steps in building a trustworthy, secure, and responsible AI ecosystem. This will be achieved through the AIGPC Center, which will serve as a central mechanism for connecting knowledge from experts and global organizations, coupled with the development of tools, best practices, and practical support that organizations can implement. The conference will explore how the country, organizations, and various sectors can truly implement AI Governance to reflect the nation's potential for secure, transparent, responsible, and trustworthy growth.