Ms Avigail Olarte receives the plaque of recognition on behalf of the winner, Ms Vinia Datinguinoo-Mukherjee of the Philippine Center for investigative Journalism. Dr Wendy Jarvie, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations of Australia, and YM Tengku Datin Seri Marsilla Tengku Abdullah, wife of Malaysian Education Minister Dato Sri Hishammuddin bin Tun Hussein, handed the award during the 43rd SEAMEO Council Conference on 13 March 2008 in Kuala Lumpur. Ms Mukherjee's winning article is entitled, "Muslim Classes Come Alive".

Theme: Reporting on Education for Sustainable Development in Southeast Asia

The article should provide:

  • analysis, through experiences and insights of people, governments and societies, on educating societies about the changing environmental and social conditions
  • incisive reporting on initiatives to mitigate environmental and social problems
  • strong human feel through the voices of different people and sectors, taking into consideration social attributes and inter-cultural understanding

The SEAMEO-Australia Press Award recognizes excellent coverage of education issues by journalists in Southeast Asia. Given annually since 2000, the Award has recognized seven print journalists who have written outstanding pieces on education issues affecting their countries and the region.

SEAMEO and the Australian Government coordinate to make this recognition possible through the Department of Education, Science and Training in Australia and the Australian Education International of the Australian Embassy in Bangkok, in coordination with the University of Melbourne and its Asia Link Centre.

It is open to print journalists of SEAMEO Member Countries, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

Each year's awardee receives a plaque that is given during the SEAMEO recognition rites in the annual SEAMEO Council Conference. The winner will also receive a round-trip ticket from his/her country to Melbourne for a three-week internship at the Melbourne Age newspaper, including free accommodations, meals and a stipend.

The 2007 winner will be notified by the SEAMEO Secretariat and will receive the plaque of recognition during the 43rd SEAMEO Council Conference in Malaysia in March 2008.

Qualifications

The applicant must be a national of a SEAMEO Member Country. Persons who work for the SEAMEO Secretariat and the SEAMEO Regional Centres or the Ministry or Departments of Education of the SEAMEO Member

Countries are not qualified for this award.

  • This award is open to journalists working in print media only.
  • The article to be submitted for the award must have been published from (to be announced).
  • The article must be original, may be written in English or any Southeast Asian language in which case the entry should be submitted with an English translation.
  • The article may be a single, individual article or a series of related articles.
  • For winning entries written by more than one author, the prize will be given to only one journalist.

Selection Process

The selection committee consists of senior journalists and journalism experts from the print media in Southeast Asia. The selection will be based on excellence in journalism as defined by:

  • Impact
  • Originality
  • Investigative effort
  • Relevance to Southeast Asia

How to Send Entries (to be announced)

Print journalists who are interested in submitting entries for this award can send in their work through nominations by the Ministry of Education of each SEAMEO Member Country, or by the SEAMEO Regional Centres. Individual journalists can also send in their entries directly to the SEAMEO Secretariat.

Entries should be sent in two forms:

1. Electronic copy

Electronic submissions should consist of an electronic copy of the article in MS Word format and the completed application form. Click here to download application form. The documents to be sent by email to the SEAMEO Secretariat should be addressed to: secretariat@seameo.org

2. Print copy

Submissions by post should consist of the print copy that should be the original newspaper clipping or photo copy, and the completed application form. Submissions to be sent by post to the SEAMEO Secretariat should be marked:

The 2007 SEAMEO-Australia Press Award
SEAMEO Secretariat
Mom Luang Pin Malakul Centenary Building
920 Sukhumvit Road
Bangkok 10110, THAILAND


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