SEAMEO Centre Directors 2014 Convened

Sunday, 22 August 2021 |

The CDM serves as platform for discussions among SEAMEO Centres on programmatic and operational issues, as well as a venue to engage partners for collaborative initiatives for the region. Over the years, the CDM has evolved in its pursuit to remain relevant particularly in expanding the scope of the annual meeting to include collaborative and networking sessions with partners.

The result of the Centre Directors Meeting 2014 will be submitted to subsequent relevant SEAMEO meetings such as the SEAMEO High Officials Meeting and SEAMEO Council Conference. Relevant agenda items and agreements will also be presented to the Governing Boards of the SEAMEO Centres that are expected to take place from August to October 2014.

The Meeting was organized by the SEAMEO Secretariat and was attended by 80 participants including directors and key staff of SEAMEO Centres and the Secretariat, representatives of Affiliate Members, and invited partners. For this year, all the 20 SEAMEO Centres and the SEAMEO TROPMED Network Office participated in the meeting which made a perfect attendance.

Other meeting attendees include representatives from SEAMEO Affiliate Members, namely, the British Council and the University of Tsukuba. Invited presenters and observers also participated including the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, the ASEAN Secretariat, UNICEF EAPRO, ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), UNESCO International Science, Technology and Innovation Centre for South-South Cooperation (UNESCO ISTIC) based in Malaysia, Regional Association of Vocational Teacher Education in East and Southeast Asia (RAVTE) based in Thailand; and China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE) based in China.

The Centre Directors Meeting 2014 was chaired by the SEAMEO Secretariat Director.

Dr Witaya Jeradechakul, Director of SEAMEO Secretariat (inset) chaired the meeting and emphasized the need for unity and to adhere to
the œOne SEAMEO  spirit especially in the move towards the 50th Anniversary of SEAMEO in 2015 and beyond.

Centre Directors and key officials of SEAMEO Centres and the Secretariat discuss with invited partners certain areas of mutual interest and cooperation. The Collaborative Meeting during the Centre Directors Meeting provides more collaboration and networking opportunities for both the SEAMEO Centres and Network and the partner organizations. Invited partners including SEAMEO Affiliate Members present their priorities and interests in relation to the operations of the SEAMEO Centres and Network. The Collaborative Meeting usually extends to a Networking Session which provides all concerned with opportunities for further discussions. During the Centre Directors Meeting 2014, twenty-three simultaneous networking sessions were arranged and held on 25 June 2014 between and among the SEAMEO Centres and seven invited partners.

Six invited institutions and organizations present proposals on potential areas of collaboration with SEAMEO.
These include (from left), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, University of Tsukuba,
ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), the UNESCO International Science, Technology and Innovation Centre for South-South Cooperation (UNESCO ISTIC),
the Regional Association of Vocational Teacher Education in East and Southeast Asia (RAVTE),
and the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE).

The official photograph of the SEAMEO Centre Directors Meeting 2014 with perfect attendance