Ms Cheong Yin Fan, reporter of Kwong Wah Yit Poh newspaper in Penang, Malaysia, accepts the plaque of recognition from Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education, Singapore and SEAMEO Council President, and Ms Jan Gough-Watson, Counselor for Education, Science and Training, Australian Embassy, Thailand, during the 41st SEAMEO Council Conference on 22-23 March 2006 in Singapore.

SEAMEO-Australia Press Award 2006

Theme: Issues in Improving Education

The SEAMEO-Australia Press Award recognizes excellent coverage of education issues by journalists in Southeast Asia. Given out 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 of Australia and the Education Section 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 annual SEAMEO High Officials Meeting held at the last quarter of the year. The winner will also receive a round-trip ticket from his/her country to Melbourne for a 3-week internship at the Melbourne Age newspaper, including free accommodations, meals and a stipend.

This year's winner will be notified by the SEAMEO Secretariat and will receive the plaque of recognition during the 29th SEAMEO High Officials Meeting in Thailand.

Qualifications

The applicant must be a national of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

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 1 November 2005 to 1 September 2006.
  • 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.
  • Articles published in academic journals will not be accepted.
  • For winning entries written by more than one author, the prize will be given to only one journalist.

Selection Process

Selection will be based on excellence in journalism as defined by:

  • impact
  • originality
  • investigative effort
  • relevance to Southeast Asia

How to Send Entries (The 2007 awards cycle will be announced soon).

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
2. Hard copy, which should be the original newspaper clipping of the article

Both copies should be sent along with the application form. Click here to download application form.

Electronic copies and submissions to be sent by post to the SEAMEO Secretariat should be marked:

The 2006 SEAMEO-Australia Press Award
SEAMEO Secretariat
Mom Luang Pin Malakul Centenary Building
920 Sukhumvit Road
Bangkok 10110, THAILAND


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