Young Ambassadors of Virtue project opens

By The Nation

The Yuwatoodkwamdee Peupalang Phaendin (Young Ambassadors of Virtue for the Power of Motherland) project has been launched to mark His Majesty the King's 84th birthday.

Foreign Ministry Information Department deputy directorgeneral Jessada Katawethin and former Thai ambassador Don Poramatwinai, in his capacity as the project's chairman, hosted a press conference on Tuesday.

The collaboration between the Foreign Ministry's Young Ambassadors of Virtue Foundation and the Education Ministry's Office of Basic Education Commission is to promote Thai children and youth awareness about unity, generosity and a volunteering spirit as Thailand readies for the Asean Community, Jessada said.

The project is being held until April next year. Jessada said a seminar attended by teachers from 84 contestwinning schools will be held at the Foreign Ministry on Thursday, while another seminar for 2,571 schools will be held in Samut Songkhram province from Thursday to Saturday.

Don said the project comprised four activities : the Yuwatoodkwamdee Peupalang Phaendin contest on the love of unity; the Phakhi Yuwatoodkwamdee Rongrianphi Rongriannong to encourage school groups to do social activities together and with foreign embassies in Thailand; the Yuwatoodkwamdee Daoden to promote the young ambassadors of virtuous works, to visit important persons and to host volunteer activities; and the Yuwatoodkwamdee YaoYeun to arrange student exchanges within school groups and with sister schools in other countries.

The "Young Ambassadors of Virtue" project, established in 1999, has 2,571 participant schools and was taken into HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn's royal patronage in 2004. The Foreign Ministry then established the Young Ambassadors of Virtue Foundation in 2007 as the main mechanism to propel the project forwards.

-- The Nation 2011-08-01

It's probably a lovely scheme BUT the title sounds like something from Nazi Germany.

It's probably a lovely scheme BUT the title sounds like something from Nazi Germany.

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That's exactly what I thought on first reading the name.

Hopefully it's just a poor translation to English from the Thai.