On Wednesday 26 April, Mrs. Thitiporn Chirasawadi, the Director of the Devawongse Varopakarn Institute of Foreign Affairs (DVIFA), assigned Dr. Narat Vidyananda, Minister Counsellor, presided over the opening ceremony of the Oral Communication Course (OCC) 2023.  Dr. Narat delivered his welcoming address to the 21 participants who are government officials from 8 government agencies and state enterprises. These include (1) The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security; (2) The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives; (3) The Ministry of Energy; (4) The Ministry of Justice; (5) The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation; (6) The Ministry of Education; (7) Bangkok Metropolitan Administration; (8) Metropolitan Electricity Authority.

               In his opening remarks, he highlighted the importance of English communication skills in the globalized world and especially the government agencies place importance in the skills development for their personnel. He also encouraged the participants to take this opportunity to maximize their opportunities of using all the skills with the instructors and fellow participants during classes and activities. In addition, he reminded them that this course is also a great platform for them to build networks in addition to enhancing their communication skills

               The course is aimed to improve the basic abilities of government officials who contact and coordinate with international agencies in giving presentations as well as explaining and expressing their ideas in meetings where English is the primary language. The training course will run from 26 April to 26 May 2023, Monday to Friday from 09.00 - 16.00 hrs. and covers 120 hours, which includes training at DVIFA and OCC workshop in Nakhon Pathom.