ROYAL ACTIVITIES
Somdet Phra Srinagarindra Baromarajajanani is known world-wide as the Princess Mother. To the various ethnic groups of the hill tribe people, Her Royal Highness the Princess Mother is Mae Fah Luang (the ‘Royal Mother from the sky’). To the rest of the people in the country, the Princess Mother is Somdet Yaa (the Royal Grandmother). Both appellations signify a deep feeling of reverence, love, and gratitude for her lifelong dedication to the noble cause of betterment of the well-being of the people in remote and isolated areas, particularly hill tribes, the rural poor, the illiterate, the sick, the handicapped, and children.

Philosophical Basis and the Scheme of Work
undertaken by Her Royal Highness
Self-negation and the belief in the noble principle of the dignity and worth of human beings irrespective of birth, sex, race, religion and other status, as well as the moral conviction to work for the improved welfare of humanity - these were the ideals inherent in the Princess Mother, which emanated from His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol of Songkla, the Royal Father of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The Princess Mother's enduring determination to pursue her lifelong humanitarian and development work was also inspired by the course of action taken by His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol.

The Princess Mother's love and study of philosophy, in particular – Certesianism, had endowed her with intellectual talent to determine the nature of the whole by separating it into parts and examining them methodically, as well as her ability to arrive at a methodical and systematic arrangement of separate elements to form a coherent whole. This explains the way in which the Princess Mother had conceived and carried out diverse activities to implement her vision through an orderly combination of related or successive programmes and projects so as to achieve a synergy of various programmes of different types and nature.

The primitive living condition and suffering of the people that the Princess Mother had seen in the remote, rugged, and isolated areas of the country, called her into action. The ultimate goal of Her Royal Highness' activities was to ensure not only their survival but also their self-reliant development and well being. Although literacy itself is a necessity, it was obvious to Her Royal Highness that other needs have to be served: health care, medical treatment for the sick, skills training, apprenticeships, non-formal education programmes in health, nutrition, population and fertility awareness, agricultural techniques, the environment, and values and attitudes. Through her visits, showing attention and concern for their well being, the Princess Mother also provided the much-needed moral support to the villagers, invoking a genuine sense of belonging, security and satisfaction.

The hallmark of the Princess Mother's many achievements in so many fields was her ingenuity and initiatives to do essentially what is needed most. The scope of her activities encompassed the mobilisation of financial and human resources, public, private and voluntary, as well as innovation of effective and relevant delivery systems in order to provide services to meet the needs of the people in those areas.

It was the unique ability of the Princess Mother that she was, with ease, able to secure the ways and means, with the full and willing support and cooperation of all concerned.

The following briefly encapsulates the Princess Mother's three decades of continuous activities and achievements of international significance, which are linked to, and promote, UNESCO's objectives and missions:

GUILDING PRINCIPLES AND IDEAS
Her Royal Highness the Princess Mother's innumerable activities in social work, education, medical care, public health, improvement of living standards, natural and environmental conservation, and promotion of arts and culture clearly reflect her convictions and ideas.

1. She was a humanist. The Princess Mother held that people are born equal, but with conditional difference in name, knowledge, status and rank. Every person should develop towards the essential truth of his or her being, and not be trapped in ignorant appearances. World endowments should be used to the best of each one's ability. She recognised the worth and dignity of humanity in all culture communities. She worked for all people, regardless of nation, religion, race and political affiliation only for humanitarian purposes.
   
   
2. She adhered to the democratic ideals of rights, freedom, equality and non-discrimination as the basis of her work and life. She showed respect of those who worked for her, listened to their opinions and recognised them as important contributors to a successful project.
   
   
3. She was steadfast in the scientific method of critical thinking. Her conceptualisation and analysis is based on wisdom and sound reasoning together with testing before implementation. Being a rationalist she studied profoundly the philosophy and teaching of different religions, especially Buddhism. She spread Dhamma studies to the people in simple terms that could be applied to daily life.
   
   
4. She was an accomplished development worker whose principles were flexibility and harmonisation with the opportunities and environmental circumstances of each place and phase of work. She emphasised that the underprivileged needed assistance that led to self-sufficiency. She was very capable in coordinating the experimental and the practical and in developing human resources based on individual aptitude. She was wise in allowing human pride to work constructively for the success of each development programme.

ROYAL INITIATIVES IN EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Education and Youth Development Programmes
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