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The Princess and the pc
Crown Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn
is the first royal to launch a blog in Thailand, and she's making use of the British Council website to host it In a country where the royal family rarely communicates directly with the public, Thai Crown Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has become something of a technological trailblazer.The 51-year-old princess launched the country's first royal blog on Saturday, which she says is aimed at persuading her fellow Thais to embrace English. 'We have witnessed in this past century that English has become a global language without much understanding of the process,' she wrote. 'Nor can we say that we really know the extent of its influence and status as the global language. But we can be sure of one thing: English can be used as a key to better understanding.'The blog appears on the British Council's website. Peter Upton, Director Thailand, said colleagues were honoured that the Princess had agreed to report on their 'Future Perfect' conference with the first ever royal blog. 'We are delighted to have a blog by such an eminent contributor', he said. 'This reflects Her Royal Highness’s commitment to scholarship and understanding using the latest technology to develop dialogue between peoples. For the British Council it is an excellent example of long-term partnership between the UK and Thailand.'
The blog is a continuation of our efforts to improve the teaching of English in Thailand. Earlier this week the Princess presided over the two-day 'Future Perfect’ conference on English language policy for global transition, jointly hosted by the British Council and the Thai Ministry of Education. (You can read more in last week's BC World.) The conference, attended by 450 policy makers and educators in Thailand, stirred public interest and alerted Thai education policy makers on the significance of transforming their ELT policy over the next few decades. The agenda was inspired by David Graddol’s ‘English Next’ report and David himself flew to Bangkok to take part as the keynote speaker for the conference. Thanks to the high level of coverage for this special blog, the number of visitors to the British Council website has increased from 2,000 to over 10,000 in just a few days.
Meanwihle in Thailand, royal watchers said the Thai princess's blog was not that surprising, given that she is known to be technology-savvy and routinely e-mails intellectuals in the region.
Take a look at Crown Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s blog: http://access.britishcouncil.or.th
For more information please contact Nuttaa Mahattana