SEAMEO Emblem and Seal

The scroll, on top of which is a lighted lamp, symbolizes eternal learning. It is placed inside a circle, a red sun, giver of life, whose seven rays symbolize the founding Council Members of SEAMEO, namely, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and the then Republic of South Viet Nam. The SEAMEO Emblem and Seal was chosen and adopted officially during the First Extraordinary Session (12-14 May 1970) of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Council (p.9).

The Original Logo

	The Original SEAMEO Flag
	The design of the SEAMEO flag was chosen at the 6th SEAMEO Council Conference (11-14 January 1971). The adopted design has the SEAMEO emblem in the centre with a light or sky blue (azure) background. The dimensions of the flag are 1.42 metres by 2.20 metres and the diameter of the emblem is 0.85 metres.

The then Khmer Republic (Cambodia) was accepted as Member Country during the Sixth SEAMEO Council Conference held in Saigon, 1971 with immediate effect. However, the Council agreed not to change the SEAMEO emblem through the addition of another "branch" to the existing seven "branches". It was to be understood and accepted that the seven "branches" of the SEAMEO emblem were purely aesthetic and did not indicate the number of members of the Organization.

Ref.

Sixth Conference of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Council, 1971. p.35.
Resource Book of SEAMEO (RBS). Bangkok, 1978. p.23.

Alteration on the Logo
By 1998, the seven founding members have grown to include all ten countries in Southeast Asia. The following countries, aside from the seven, now constitute the membership of SEAMEO: Cambodia, Brunei and Myanmar. Three more rays are added to the existing seven rays of the logo to reflect the aforementioned development concerning SEAMEO Membership.
The new logo retains the original description except the last phrase, "whose seven rays symbolize the founding Council Members of SEAMEO ". The new description is "The emblem appears on the SEAMEO flag against a field of sky blue (azure). The scroll, on top of which is a lighted lamp, symbolizes eternal learning. It is placed inside a circle, a red sun, giver of life, whose rays symbolize the Southeast Asian Council Members of SEAMEO."
The 34th SEAMEO Council Conference took note of the approved alteration of the SEAMEO Logo, which was made official 8 October 1998 in accordance with the terms in the referendum. During the Special Centre Director Meeting 2006, it was suggested to add one more "ray" to the Logo following the accession of Timor-Leste as a new member. However, there was no alteration of the Logo for aesthetic reason.

Ref.

Fifth Conference of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Council, Final Report, January 1970 (MC5/WP/12)
Extraordinary Session of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Council, Final Report, May 1970 (MC5 EX/WP/6)
34th SEAMEO Council Conference In-Camera Session,1999. (MC-34/IC/WP/2)
Special Centre Directors Meeting, 2006.
SEAMES Letter Ref: 20.101/446/07 dated 11 June 2007

Last updated: 30 May, 2012
Last updated: 30 May, 2012		Top