8th SEAMEO-ASEAN Secretariats Coordination Meeting

The SEAMEO Secretariat and ASEAN Secretariat convened the 8^th SEAMEO-ASEAN Secretariats Coordination Meeting on 12 May 2019 at the Shangri-La Hotel, Chiang-Mai, Thailand. The annual meeting is part of the SEAMEO and ASEAN mechanisms to coordinate and synergize efforts to address and pursue shared regional goals and priorities on education.

Among others, the two Secretariats provided updates on their respective priorities and activities on education and discussed ways to support SEAMEO-ASEAN joint initiatives.  The current SEAMEO and ASEAN Secretariat programmes and activities were presented during the meeting.  Proposals/Initiatives from the SEAMEO Secretariat and SEAMEO Regional Centres (SEAMEO INNOTECH, SEAMEO RIHED, and SEAMEO VOCTECH) were also presented as part of the planning to identify possible funding mechanisms and potential Dialogue Partners.

Participants in the meeting included key officials and officers of SEAMEO and ASEAN Secretariats. The ASEAN Secretariat’s team was led by H E Mr Kung Phoak, Deputy Secretary-General for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, while the SEAMEO Secretariat team was led by and Dr Ethel Agnes P Valenzuela, Director, SEAMEO Secretariat. The representatives from SEAMEO RIHED and SEAMEO INNOTECH also attended the meeting.

The annual meeting of the SEAMEO and ASEAN Secretariats was initiated in 2011 and it serves as a mechanism for collaboration on the activities of SEAMEO and ASEAN on education, science and culture in the Southeast Asian region.