In 2015, on the occasion of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn's 60th Birthday Anniversary, the Princess Maha Chakri Award (PMCA) was established in recognition of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn's contribution to teachers and dedication to education. HRH began working in education when HRH accompanied the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej, King Rama IX and Queen Sirikit to remote areas in Thailand. HRH was tasked to interview people and find out about their education and needs. As a result, HRH has accumulated experiences in educational development for over forty years.

In honour of HRH's devotion to teachers, the Princess Maha Chakri Award is given to outstanding teachers from eleven Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN and Timor Leste) every two years.

The PMCA Award is the beginning of a new journey for the PMCA Recipients. After receiving the Award, the PMCA Foundation works closely with the PMCA Recipients on enhancement programmes which range from scaling up the activities of the PMCA Recipients to other teachers and students, building capacity for the PMCA Recipients, to providing financial support for new initiatives of the PMCA Recipients.

The PMCA Forum is one of the enhancement programmes which the PMCA Foundation set up to be a platform for the PMCA Recipients to share their knowledge and experiences with other teachers and concurrently learn new knowledge. The 1st PMCA Forum was organised in 2017, the 2nd PMCA Forum was conducted in 2019, and this year the 3rd PMCA Forum will showcase the 2019 Princess Maha Chakri Award Recipients' best practices. The PMCA Forum aims to serve as a community of practice for professional development for all teachers in Southeast Asia and beyond.