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everything. Today, however, teachers don’t have much power to decide what educational tools to use. It’s mostly top-down management that doesn’t always understand what is needed. We first imported educational toys because teachers came to us and suggested we have some interactive toys to use in classes. We get the problems from them and try to find the right solution. It’s a like a partnership really.How is Nanmeebooks preparing for the ASEAN Economic Commu- nity?With the AEC drawing near, we’ve done a few projects to cater for that. The first thing is to improve English language skills. We’ve worked with OBEC (the Office of the Basic Education Commission) to train the directors in English proficiency. We’ve been training all 217 districts, and some districts have asked us to train their head teachers. We see ourselves as content providers preparing children and young adults in Thailand to have 21st-century skills, to be ready and to handle change. There will be more movement of new students from Myanmar, Cambodia or Laos to their schools. This year we created an exhibition called “Why Children’s Books Matter”, where we show that they matter because they instil preferred qualities in kids. We put this idea into our reading club programme that has reached 25,000 schools.You are also involved in a lot of social projects.Our goal is to make a difference through education and books. With that in mind we have created a few social projects with our partners. We believe that Thai children love reading, but they might not be reading now because they haven’t found the right book. We try to increase access to books and the key is to develop‘We try to increase access to books and the key is to develop libraries because not everybody has the money to buy their own books’libraries because not everybody has the money to buy their own books. We’ve done a matching grant project where a company or individual can donate for education. And however much they donate, we match them with books. We’ve been doing this for five years now and have replenished 5,000 libraries in Thailand.What about you? What’s your favourite book?Harry Potter is the book that pulled me back into the world of reading. WhenIwasinGrade5or6Istopped reading anything except Japanese comics. Then my mother asked me to read Harry Potter. I finished book one in three hours because it was so good. There was no book two yet so I had to look for something else and that gotme reading again. I then found many wonderful books that shaped who I am today.In March you will be one of the key speakers at the International Publishers Association Congress in Bangkok.When the Publishers and Book- sellers Association of Thailand approached me to be part of the con- ference, I wondered if I’d be good enough. But when I saw the list of topics, the ones about new business models really hit me because this is the challenge we’ve been facing for the past five years. Our stories, the mistakes we’ve made, might be helpful to fellow publishers.Elite+ 23