In conjunction with the Education Fair 2000, which was held from 9 to 26 March 2000, SEAMEO and the Department of General Education, Ministry of Education, Thailand (MOE, Thailand) jointly conducted the SEAMEO-MOE Thailand Sister Schools Project as part of the event’s main activities. The Project was held from 7-17 March 2000 at the IMPACT Convention Centre, Muang Thong Thani Village, Bangkok, Thailand. The Project’s significant contribution lies on the reward of intercultural learning. Cultural diversity in the region is a potential resource when understanding cut across these differences to provide a wider global perspective among its constituents.

Twenty delegates from ten SEAMEO Member Countries, namely: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam and Hong Kong participated in the Project. Only Myanmar was not represented in this undertaking. The Participants were accompanied by chaperones.

The collaborative Project was expected to promote educational development and solidarity in the region through the cooperation of SEAMEO Member Countries and the participation of senior secondary school students as young ambassadors of their respective countries. Specifically, the Project aimed to achieve the following:

Activities

The delegates presented country reports and participated in the workshop session to develop and declare their visions on education focusing on their ideal student, ideal teacher, ideal facilities and ideal curriculum. They also enjoyed their brief homestay with Thai families, as well as their participation in the Education Fair 2000, which included outdoor activities, debates, sports competition and quiz. They also had sight-seeing tours and visits to historical and cultural sites. The Cultural Evening, which was combined with a farewell dinner was conducted with the participants' mixed feelings of gladness and sadness. At the Closing Programme, the participants presented their Southeast Asian Declaration 2000. A copy of the Muang Thong Thani Southeast Asian Student’s Declaration 2000 is in Appendix IV.

Sponsors

The success of the Project was due to the support and cooperation of the following:

• Thai International Airway Public Company Limited for giving free air tickets to Southeast Asian student delegates and their chaperones;
  
  
• Bangkok Land Public Company Limited for sponsoring the hotel accommodations of the chaperones and organizers at Eastin Lakeside Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand and for providing the venue at IMPACT Exhibition Hall;
  
  

• Thai families for willingly hosting the student delegates; and

• Thai Secondary Schools for providing transportation, food and sponsoring the farewell dinner.