SEAMEO Secretariat

A. Background

The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) has been established to promote the development of education, science, and culture in Southeast Asian countries for more than a half-decade. SEAMEO as an inter-governmental organization by nature and privilege has followed the direction set by the education ministers of eleven Southeast Asian countries to support countries in achieving national educational objectives as well as a regional educational vision through bilateral and multilateral programs/activities in and beyond Southeast Asia.

Furthermore, SEAMEO has 25 SEAMEO Regional Centres and 1 Network located in 10 countries of Southeast Asia. These Centres and Network have been both think tanks and implementing arms of SEAMEO in its own specialty through policy advocacy, technical/consultancy services, as well as capacity building programmes/activities, fora, research, and other intellectual and practical platforms and networks. As we believe in the power of collectivism yet cherish individualism for its values.

At the 42nd SEAMEO High Officials Meeting in 2019, the proposal on SEAMEO Day to be celebrated every 30 November was presented by the SEAMEO Secretariat in other matters of In-Camera Session with the aims to educate educational practitioners and the public on issues of concern between SEAMEO Member Countries, to mobilize educational will and resources as well as to resolve educational challenges, and to identify and improve the achievement of education in the Southeast Asian region. The creation of SEAMEO Day as an awareness-raising activity of the establishment of the SEAMEO as a powerful advocacy tool. The meeting supported the proposal on SEAMEO Day to be celebrated every 30 November. The proposal was endorsed for submission to SEAMEO Council for approval by referendum.

At the Non-SEAMEC year 2020, the SEAMEO Council approved by Ad-Referendum the Proposal on SEAMEO Day to be celebrated every 30th of November.

Since its establishment in 1965, the organization has taken pride in its achievements over the years as Southeast Asia’s longest regional organization for promoting quality education, science, and culture.

Looking back at its inception on 30 November 1965, SEAMEO celebrated its 10th anniversary in 1975, the 25th silver anniversary in 1990, the 30th anniversary in 1995, the 45th anniversary in 2010, the 50th anniversary in 2015 and the 55th anniversary in 2020 accordingly.

SEAMEO Secretariat will set up a series of activities for the celebration of the 57th SEAMEO Anniversary (SEAMEO Day 2022) with the theme “SEAMEO CARES: Building Back Better in SEAMEO Member Countries”.

B. Objectives

The objectives of the 57th SEAMEO Anniversary celebration (SEAMEO Day 2022) are as follows:

to commemorate the SEAMEO’s achievements and highlight its significant milestone of 57 years;
to enhance the SEAMEO’s profile, recognition and visibility nationally, regionally, and internationally; and
to provide a platform to highlight SEAMEO’s contribution to Member States and beyond.

C. Theme

The theme of the 57th Anniversary on SEAMEO Day 2022 is “SEAMEO CARES: Building Back Better in SEAMEO Member Countries”.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created many unprecedented conditions in all areas and, and it’s time to build back better in Education, Science and Culture after facing the COVID 19 pandemic for almost two years. “Building Back Better” can be defined as a holistic concept using post-disaster reconstruction and recovery as an opportunity to improve a community's physical, social, environmental and economic conditions to create a more resilient community in an effective and efficient way.

SEAMEO Secretariat initiated the SEAMEO CARES (COVID-19 Accessible and Responsive Education Support) to respond the call of the Ministries of Education during the SEAMEO Ministerial Policy e-Forum which was organized on 18 June 2020 to sustain “the development and advancement of resources such as open educational resources in the region that best respond to the education needs of every learner in Southeast Asia.”

SEAMEO CARES is a service that makes SEAMEO online learning resources available to students from pre-primary to higher education. SEAMEO Affiliate Members, SEAMEO Centres, and partners collaborated to create the online educational resources available on this website, which are free to use in schools, polytechnics, universities, vocational education institutions, and informal education settings.

SEAMEO CARES was approved by the 51st SEAMEO Council Conference in June 2021. The 5th Strategic Dialogue for Education Ministers highlighted the determination of SEAMEO in moving toward resilience for educational recovery with the following key points:

Deepening resilience in education systems to respond to challenges;
Fostering an education environment that continues to uplift the marginalized and most vulnerable members of the Southeast Asian education ecosystem;
Supporting capacity building for teachers and education personnel in developing future-ready learners in an ever-evolving world;
Working with SEAMEO Units to promote a spirit of lifelong learning; and
Creating a policy environment that enhances collaboration and partnership among key education actors, to transform education and science in a manner consistent with Southeast Asian identity and culture.

D. Scope of Activities

To achieve the objectives of the celebration, the 57th Anniversary on SEAMEO Day 2022 activities at the regional level will be planned and implemented by SEAMEO Secretariat, in coordination with SEAMEO Units and SEAMEO Member Countries.

The proposed series of activities by the SEAMEO Secretariat for the celebration of the 57th SEAMEO Anniversary (SEAMEO Day 2022) are as follows:

NO	Activities	Timeline	Target Audience
1.	2nd SEAMEO YOUTH Action (SEAYA) Contest on VUCA World	September - October 2022	Youth of Southeast Asian countries
2.	SEAMEO TikTok Challenge	September-October 2022	Teachers of Southeast Asian countries

Contact Person

Dr Aye Chan Mon
Publication and Multimedia Specialist
ayechanmon@seameo.org

Ms Phichaya Sakcharoen
Programme Assistant
phichaya@seameo.org