Continuing its commitment to advancing inclusive and equitable education, the SEAMEO Secretariat actively champions the needs of out-of-school children and youth (OOSCY) across Southeast Asia and beyond. Addressing the intersectional barriers that contribute to exclusion—such as poverty, gender, disability, and geography—remains a key priority in ensuring that no learner is left behind.

In October 2025, the Secretariat contributed to two significant regional and global platforms: the ASEAN Seminar on Education: From Margin to Centre – Bridging Out-of-School Children and Youth (OOSCY) in Malaysia, and the World Congress on Inclusive Education in Kazakhstan. Hosted respectively by the Ministry of Education Malaysia with UNICEF Malaysia, and by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, both events provided valuable opportunities to share insights from SEAMEO’s Rapid Scoping Study on OOSCY and to exchange regional strategies that strengthen policy dialogue, innovation, and youth engagement for sustainable inclusion.