Report of H E Sukich Nimmanheminda
Minister of Education
to Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn, Prime Minister
at the Inauguration Ceremony of the Darakarn Building
(UNESCO/SEAMES Office)
920 Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok
on Friday, February 19, 1971

Your Excellency,

          My colleagues in the Ministry of Education and myself are deeply appreciative of your kindness in having accepted our invitation to preside at the Inauguration Ceremony of the Darakarn Building, to be used as office of two international educational organizations, namely, the Regional Office for Education in Asia of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or "UNESCO" for short, and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Secretariat or "SEAMES".

          Allow me to present to Your Excellency a brief account of the cooperation between Thailand and the two organizations.

          Thailand became Member State of UNESCO on January 1, 1949.  It could therefore be said that the relationship between Thailand and the Organization dated as far back as 22 years ago.  After Thailand had become a member, UNESCO experts were sent to work for various educational projects, for instance, the Chachoengsao Pilot Project.  As the number of projects increased, so did the number of experts.  It therefore became necessary to establish an Office of UNESCO Chief of Mission to Thailand, which was originally located in the Ministry of Education.  The said Office was moved to several other locations until it was finally installed in one wing of the building, which had formerly housed the now-defunct Ministry of Culture at Sanam Sua Pa.

          In 1960, UNESCO wished to establish its Regional Office for Education in Asia with a view to planning for development of primary education in this region and sought the permission of His Majesty's Government to set up the said Office in Bangkok.  The Office of UNESCO Chief of Mission to Thailand had to be transformed to become the UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Asia, thus there was a need for a new office building to house the UNESCO Regional Office.

          In 1965, UNESCO organized in Bangkok the Second Conference of Ministers of Education and Ministers Responsible for economic Planning of Member States in Asia.  At the close of the Conference, the Ministers of Education of some Southeast Asian countries held a meeting to discuss the possibilities of mutual cooperation in the field of education, resulting in the establishment of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Secretariat or "SEAMES".  This was an interim office with Dr Kaw Swasdi Panich as its acting director.  It was first located in the Ministry of Education and was afterwards moved to the Educational Mateirals Centre in the compound of the Teachers' Council.

          In 1968, at the Third Annual Conference of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Council, a resolution was adopted authorizing the permanent SEAMES Office to be established in Bangkok and appointing myself as its first director.

          I have already made mention of the need to house the Regional Office of UNESCO, and now SEAMES has added a new weight to this need.  The Ministry of Education therefore requested Your Excellency to present the case to the Council of Ministers for consideration.  With your kind support, the Council of Ministers allocated a sum of 15 million baht for the construction of this building, the foundation stone of which was laid by Your Excellency on January 3, 1969.

          The site of the building has an area of 6.2 rai; the building itself is five-storeyed, square-shaped and 35 metres long on each side.  Mr Khian Suwansingh and M.R. Biradej Chakrabandhu are the architects, and Mr Kumut Kiatfeaungfoo and Mr Niyom Riansuwan are the engineers.  The Wiwat Construction Limited Partnership is the constructor.   Since the building is meant for the common use of UNESCO and SEAMES, the building has originally been called "UNESCO/SEAMES Building".  Later, His Excellency M.L. Pin Malakul, who has always been keenly interested in activities of both organizations and has taken the initiative of constructing this building, has given it a most appropriate name of "Darakarn", as it is located in the compound of the Planetarium of the Ministry of Education, which has adopted this name ever since.

          Your Excellency, the auspicious moment has arrived.  I respectfully beg Your Excellency to inaugurate the Darakarn building for the use of UNESCO and SEAMES, which will serve as a symbol of cooperation between Thailand and the two organizations.