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32 The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume III - 2011 32 Development of the National Language Policy (2006-2010) Committee to Draft the National Language Policy The Royal Institute of Thailand 3.0 The Royal Institute Committee to Draft the National Language Policy (CDNLP) (2006-2010) From the beginning many committee members believed that language should be seen as a resource. This viewpoint, which was influenced by the committeeûs reading of the Australian National Policy on Languages , 3 prompted the CDNLP to ask, çHow can this resource of language be developed to benefit the country as a whole, as well as individuals within the country?é This required an assessment of the current language situation in Thailand and a forecast of future language-related needs. Thus, the committee was divided into six subcommittees, as follows: 1. Thai for Thai Students and Thai Nationals 2. Regional Languages (including ethnic minority languages) 3. Languages of Commerce, Neighboring Languages, and Working Languages 4. Teaching Thai to Migrants Seeking Employment in Thailand 5. Language Needs of the Visually and Hearing Impaired 6. Translation, Interpretation, and Localization Standards To gather information on the current language situation in Thailand, the CDNLP organized multiple academic conferences and public forums, a complete list of which can be found at the end of this paper. These events were held in Bangkok as well as in the northern and southern regions of the country. Stakeholders from many parts of society were involved, including university professors, government officials from several ministries, United Nations staff, ethnic minority people, professional translators, representatives from the blind and deaf communities, foreign diplomats, educators (from both Thai and international schools and universities), business people, etc. More than 1,000 people from more than 30 countries attended 3 Dr. David Bradley, a long friend of Thailand and Dr. Udom, recommended the Australian policy and facilitated contact with its author, Dr. Joseph Lo Bianco. Dr. Lo Bianco was generous in providing advice to the CDNLP via email and his participation in two of the CDNLPûs international events: the çForum on Bilingual and Multilingual Education in the National Language Policyé (2007) and the çInternational Conference on National Language Policy: Language Diversity for National Unity (2008).é 29-44_mac9 4/26/12, 8:30 PM 32