This year, the Devawongse Varopakarn Institute of Foreign Affairs (DVIFA) in cooperation with the Embassy of Colombia to Thailand again organized an online Spanish language course for Thai Civil Servants. This annual course was first established in 2019 to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between Thailand and Colombia. The continued cooperation between the Embassy of Colombia to Thailand and DVIFA resulted in the fourth such course in 2022.

               The project aims to develop both knowledge of Spanish and to promote Colombian cultural understanding in order to strengthen beneficial relationships between people of the two countries and expanding future cooperation. This year, 140 participants from 36 public agencies are taking part; 5 participants were from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 36 participants are from other public organizations such as the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, the Royal Thai Police, the Office of the Civil Service Commission and the Metropolitan Electricity Authority, amongst others.

               On 16 August 2022, before the commencement of the training course, Ms. Thitiporn Chirasawadi, the Director of the Devawonge Varopakarn Institute of Foreign Affairs, presided over the course introductory online session with the participants to inform them of the training schedule which started on 22 August and ran until December 2022 (Mondays to Fridays two days per week after working hours) for a total of 136 hours. The Director pointed out that all of the participants were helping to strengthen relations between Thailand and Colombia. Consequently, Ms. Thitiporn encouraged the participants to actively participate in the class, as well as be responsible for their own self-directed learning, in order to optimize the benefits of the training course.

               On 25 September 2022 Ms. Thitiporn presided over the opening of a special cultural event at DVIFA. This extracurricular activity was initiated by Ms. Ana Maria Prieto Abad, Ambassador of Colombia to Thailand, with the aim of exposing the participants to Colombian arts and culture to foster a deeper knowledge of Colombia, together with developing their Spanish language skills, leading to further collaboration between the Thai participants. This also encouraged participants to learn Spanish through the experience of learning about art and culture. In this regard, DVIFA worked extensively with the Embassy of Colombia to Thailand in organizing this event.

               At the event, participants sampled some gastronomic delights, such as Colombian coffee and traditional Colombian pastries and Ambassador Ana Maria shared some experiences from her diplomatic and consular career. This provided a great opportunity for participants to join in friendly conversations with the ambassador, which made a great impression on the course participants.