Courage in Continuity: Music, Community, and Sustainable Futures in Southern Thailand

This discussion circle examines the potential of participatory music research, conducted through an interdisciplinary project in Thailand’s Southern Border Provinces, to promote sustainable local communities beyond artistic achievements. The project investigates the roles of music, community knowledge, youth engagement, and institutional collaboration in supporting local ownership, knowledge transfer, and cultural participation after funded research activities conclude. It demonstrates that creative music practices can generate lasting impact by enhancing the capacity of local communities to sustain and adapt artistic practices within their specific contexts.

Initiated in 2025, the research involved young musicians from Yala, Pattani, and Narathiwat collaborating with researchers and local artists in activities including collaborative composition, folk-cultural exchange, and public performances. Dontri Bandal Jai (Music Inspiration Camp) produced music grounded in local narratives and multicultural experiences, providing participants with opportunities to express their identities and share traditions. The project employed participatory action research, field observation, interviews, and feedback from public performances. The findings indicate that the project enhanced youth confidence, enriched intercultural collaboration, and underscored the essential roles of teachers, local artists, and partner institutions in sustaining creative music practices.

In alignment with the PGVIS 2026 theme, ‘Curiosity and Courage’, this session conceptualises continuity as a process that connects tradition with contemporary practices. Curiosity motivates the investigation of how communities create, remember, and sustain meaning, while courage is reflected in a research design that empowers teachers, youth, and local partners as co-stewards of creative music practices.

The session addresses the ways in which interdisciplinary music research facilitates knowledge transfer, local ownership, and sustained cultural participation within complex local contexts. The project’s findings have the potential to inform policy recommendations and future development, positioning music research as both a form of artistic expression and a collaborative approach to achieving sustainable futures.

 

Funding

This research is funded by the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) 2026