Thai Life Insurance Launches Fifth Year of Read For Life Program

Thai Life Insurance Public Company Limited, Thailand's first life insurance company, is continuing its "Thai Life Insurance Read For Life: Delivering Knowledge to Communities" program for 2025, marking its fifth year of operation.

Working with the Matichon media group, the company carefully selects quality books from Matichon Publishing and delivers them through company sales personnel to 24 community centers across the country near branch locations. The program aims to promote lifelong learning and advance equitable access to education in accordance with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Tithima Liaengpanich, Director of Communications and Organizational Sustainability at Thai Life Insurance, revealed that the Read For Life program has been running since 2021 and has distributed books to 216 community locations across all regions of Thailand. This year, the company selected books covering diverse subjects including self-development, health, finance, history, and arts and culture, delivering them to community centers through the company's nationwide branch network to distribute knowledge from the center outward to communities across different areas.

Tithima explained that the program targets all age groups and demographics. Although each area has different physical and geographic characteristics, the program remains aligned with the context and interests of each community group. For example, children and youth are interested in skill-building and foundational learning materials, working-age adults prefer life skills and financial books, while general communities value practical knowledge applicable to daily life.

"Over the past four years, the program has focused on promoting reading to create equal access to knowledge, which is central to sustainable development in line with global SDGs. Thai society still has significant gaps in opportunity and learning, especially in rural and remote areas and among vulnerable groups. We believe that access to knowledge is the starting point for reducing inequality and building sustainable quality of life," Tithima said.

Tithima shared an impressive case study showing that after book distribution, communities demonstrated increased reading awareness, leading to reading promotion activities such as storytelling circles and group discussion sessions. Some communities even expanded their library facilities, demonstrating that the books were put to real use and created tangible behavioral changes within those communities.

"The company considers the needs and participation of community members because we believe that valuable knowledge must begin with understanding the recipient. Our sales team, who work closely with communities, surveys and reflects community needs, then selects books appropriate to each location's context so every book can truly inspire, facilitate learning, and provide real benefit," she added.

Regarding changes in Thai reading behavior in the digital age, Tithima noted that Thai society is experiencing an information overload era, with people reading shorter materials and spending more time with digital media. However, the program remains confident that content quality has greater value and importance than the quantity of information.