sea mag, issue 01, may 2006 · 8 sowing seeds of peace in the mekong river basin 11 culture, peace,...

Educating for peace in Mindanao, the PhilippinesSowing seeds of peace in the Mekong Culture first before developmentSEAMEO-ASEAN synergyTimor-Leste joins SEAMEO

Peace educationAdvancing mutual knowledge and understanding of peoples in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world

SEAMEO Education AccessMagS AE

Voice of Southeast Asia through Education Issue 1 | May 2006

ISSN 1905-4289

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This is the first issue of the SEAMEO Education Access Magazine. It will be published twice a year, every May and November.

As the official publication of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization, the SEA Mag provides information and in-depth presentations of the education policies in the countries in the region, as well as a venue for the interchange of ideas and issues on trends in education, science and culture.

In this inaugural issue, the theme centres on Peace Education.

Although there are 15 units in the network of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization doing work on various disciplines — but all aiming at quality of education and human resource development — we have lined up three important articles that reflect the work of the Organization in peace and respect for cultural diversity.

We feature SEAMEO INNOTECH’s programmes to make education accessible to children in very poor areas of Mindanao in the Philippines; SEAMEO CHAT’s workshops for students that build on the awareness of peaceful living; and SEAMEO SPAFA’s initiatives that promote development that is sensitive to culture.

A Thai senator’s campaign for social harmony that is anchored on cultural sensitivity and a Cambodian teacher-activist’s approach on how to bring peace to a country recovering from war are profiled in this issue.

We also devoted a lot of space to the developments happening in education, in particular, the expanding network of development efforts in Southeast Asia.

Chief EditorSEA Mag

This Issue

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4 Message of the SEAMEO Secretariat Director

5 Back to the Land of Promise

8 Sowing Seeds of Peace in the Mekong River Basin

11 Culture, Peace, & Development

14 Senator Jon Ungphakorn – Advocating for development that fosters cultural gain and social harmony

16 Soreach Sereithida — Teaching peace in a time of war

18 Fidel V Ramos – Education is the key to Asia’s Success

20 SEAMEO–ASEAN Partnership

22 The SEAMEO Council President

23 Education for a Peaceful Pluralism

25 41st SEAMEO Council Conference – Speech by Education Ministers

28 Norway – The 7th SEAMEO Associate Member Country

30 Timor-Leste – The world’s newest country becomes the newest Member Country of SEAMEO

32 Post 41st SEAMEO Council Conference

33 About SEAMEO

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SEAMEO Education Access MagazineIssue 1 | May 2006ISSN 1905-4289

Chief Editor: Kevin C Kettle

Associate Editor: Diana G Mendoza

Design and Photo Editor: Rachan R Woramunee

Contributors:Vicente Silarde

Carole Ann Chit Tha

Pisit Charoenwongsa, Ph D

Editorial Advisory Board:Edilberto C de Jesus, Ph D

Wahdi Salasi April Yudhi

Chantavit Sujatanond, Ph D

Editorial Correspondence:Chief Editor, Mr Kevin C Kettle

SEAMEO SPAFA

81/1 Sri Ayuthaya Road, Bangkok 10300 Thailand

Email: [email protected]

Business Correspondence:SEAMEO Secretariat

Mom Luang Pin Malakul Centenary Building

920 Sukhumvit Road, Bangkok 10110 Thailand

Tel: 66-(0) 2391-0144

Fax: 66-(0) 2381-2587

Email: [email protected]

Printed by:Thammada Press, Co, Ltd

86 Soi 50/1 Charansanitwong Road, Bangyeekhan

Bangplad, Bangkok 10700 Thailand

SEAMEO Education Access Magazine (SEA Mag) is a publication

of the SEAMEO Secretariat. Any use of the contents of

this publication without the written permission of the

publisher is strictly prohibited. SEA Mag does not necessarily

subscribe to the opinions expressed by its contributors.

The presentation of facts concerning the situations of

countries and their governments does not imply the

expression of any opinion on the part of the publisher.

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Dear Friends,

The SEAMEO Education Access Magazine is our new initiative to cover the issues in education, science and culture in Southeast Asia from the perspective of the region’s ministries of education.

This issue highlights recent developments that promise to strengthen and expand education and human resource development efforts in the region. After three years sitting as an Observer at the annual SEAMEO Council Conference, Timor-Leste stepped up this year to become the 11th SEAMEO Member Country. For the first time, Spain had a representative at the Council Conference.

On the eve of the 41st SEAMEO Council Conference, the Ministers of Education of the region convened an ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Education. The decision to convene each year an ASEAN meeting back-to-back with the SEAMEO Council Conference heralds a new level of partnership between the two institutions and their common constituencies. Both parties look forward to establishing greater synergy in the planning and implementation of their respective educational programmes in the region.

Succeeding issues will continue to focus on ministerial education policies and the policy implication of emerging trends and events in the education sector. We trust that you will find the SEAMEO Education Access Magazine a useful guide to understanding the educational opportunities and challenges facing our region.

Edilberto C de Jesus, PhDDirectorSEAMEO Secretariat

Message of the SEAMEO Secretariat Director

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Back to the Land of PromiseSEAMEO INNOTECH, based in Manila, Philippines, addresses educational and developmental issues in Mindanao.

Knowing why their island is called the “Land of Promise” is perhaps one of the first difficult lessons for schoolchildren in Mindanao. The shiny label had long been pinned on this southern Philippine region but a dim social reality has crept for decades from coast to coast. Many aspects of everyday Mindanaoan life, such as war and poverty, may not fit a child’s idyllic mental note of a land that brims with rosy promise. Even the state of education — a universally recognised prerequisite of development — is in itself far from promising.

Located at the heart of the Asia-Pacific region, the group of islands called Mindanao boasts of more than 100,000 square kilometres of land that enjoys year-round rainfall but is at the same time the least visited by typhoons in the whole Philippine archipelago. Despite its potential for

growth, however, Mindanao scores lower than other regions in popular measures of human development. Many of its people have not enjoyed the fat of the land, especially those living in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) where more than half of the households hover around the poverty line.

dismal StatisticsA quick look at the state of education in Mindanao can do some explaining. A report by the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), one of the biggest NGOs doing development work in Mindanao, reveals that the percentage of school-age children who go to school (participation rate) is lower in Mindanao than in Luzon and Visayas, the two other major island groups in the Philippines. Mindanao’s worst performing region, the ARMM, has the lowest participation

rate both at the elementary and secondary level. While not usually seen in tables of data, families here tend to defer the schooling of female children by 1 to 2 years. Mindanao also has the lowest cohort survival rate (percentage of finishers over entrants) in the country, with ARMM having the lowest rate at the elementary level.

The picture gets even more somber when we see how these children fare in school. Out of 10 school-age children in Mindanao who are eligible for Grade 1 in a given year, only three or four will finish high school on time. In the ARMM, only one will be able to do so while the rest would probably complete only Grades 1 or 2. Mindanao had the poorest performers in the National Secondary Assessment Test with an overall score of 52%, and 10% score in the Science and Technology examinations. In a school in Tawi-Tawi province,


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students between the ages of 9 and 16 are still in Grade 1 and can hardly read and write. For Mindanao’s population over nine years old, the simple literacy rate is only 88%, compared to 95% in Luzon and 92% in the Visayas. The ARMM has a simple literacy rate of 68.7%. Factoring in numeracy and communication skills, only 75% of Mindanao’s population is found functionally literate, which pales beside 86% in Luzon and 81% in the Visayas. The ARMM’s functional literacy rate of 61% is the lowest in the whole country.

Adding to the burdens, armed conflict has disrupted the education of 42% of the children in Mindanao.

Roots of the ProblemThere is a variety of reasons that can be cited for the sorry state of education in Mindanao but four stand out: lack of budget/government support, poverty, an unmotivated and inadequately trained teaching force, and the continuing armed conflict.A recent study on the status of education in Mindanao commissioned by the Philippine Business for Social Progress reports that some 33.45 billion pesos are needed to be injected into the educational system of Mindanao for it to catch up with the rest of the country.

The PBSP report also shows that grade schools and high schools in the island lack a combined 17,888 teachers, 9.301 million textbooks and 19,819 classrooms. In Zamboanga City, for instance, the Don Pablo Lorenzo Memorial High School that has a population of 7,000 students has only 2,000 chairs. Students sit on the floor during classes or fight over chairs.As elsewhere, poverty remains one of the most critical factors that affect the learning of students and the whole educational system in general. Poverty often forces children to abandon their schooling to help their parents earn a living. Those who get to continue their studies, meanwhile, suffer from low nutritional status because of lack of nutritious food or no food at all. As a result, these students cannot concentrate in the classroom since they are hungry most of the time.

Teacher absenteeism and tardiness are common in many places in Mindanao, especially in the remote areas where schools take many kilometres of walking to reach. It should not come as a surprise therefore that the students who look up to their teachers as models show the same low level of enthusiasm in going to school. Teachers also lack instructional materials to enrich learning activities. Furthermore,

very few aspiring teachers from Mindanao pass the licensing examinations for elementary and secondary levels. The ARMM’s passing rate in this examination is consistently the lowest in the country.

The century-old armed conflict in Mindanao has certainly taken its toll on education. The displacement it has caused to civilians has been cited as one of the major reasons for the increasing dropout rates in the island, particularly in the ARMM where military operations are concentrated. To make matters worse, many school buildings get destroyed by artillery attacks of the military, thereby impeding all educational activities. There are even cases in which schools have been transformed into military camps. In these situations, education effectively ceases to exist to give way to the violent exercise of war.

Bringing Back the PromiseImproving the state of education in Mindanao has become the crusade of well-meaning organisations based locally and abroad. The PBSP, an association of business institutions promoting corporate social responsibility, has spearheaded the Mindanao Peace and Development Plan. Started in 1989, the plan seeks to provide and improve

ThErE ArE EvEN CASES iN whiCh SChOOLS hAvE bEEN TrANSfOrMEd iNTO MiLiTAry CAMPS. iN ThESE SiTuATiONS, EduCATiON EffECTivELy CEASES TO ExiST TO givE wAy TO ThE viOLENT ExErCiSE Of wAr.


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education in the island to fight war and poverty. The PBSP marshals the support of various corporate sponsors and foreign donors to pick up where the government has left off.

For its part, the Philippine office of the United States Agency for International Development has come up with Education Quality and Access for Learning and Livelihood Skills (EQuALLS). The initiative seeks to carry out a Mindanao-focused program to expand education access for out-of-school youth and enhance livelihood and employment opportunities for out-of-work youth in areas lacking in educational facilities and affected by conflict. Towards this end, EQuALLS is supporting the activities of the Education and Livelihood Skills Alliance (ELSA), where SEAMEO INNOTECH is a partner institution. The Centre is specifically involved in improving teaching capacity for teaching Science, Math and English by training teachers on new strategies and ICT-based tools and developing learning materials for both teacher and students in 120 schools in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao and Central Mindanao. Beyond the formal school, the Center is doing work to reform education policies on equivalency for learners in alternative learning systems and in developing learning materials for them.

SEAMEO INNOTECH has also been heavily involved in drawing up the Road Map for Upgrading Muslim Basic Education. The Road Map strives for a comprehensive educational development in Muslim Mindanao and in communities where there are migrant Muslim populations. It aims to bridge the gaping divide in access, equity and quality of basic education for Muslim Filipinos through several means. While institutionalising madrasah education, it will upgrade quality secular basic education in formal elementary and secondary schools serving Muslim children. For those who

are not attending school, an alternative learning system will be developed and implemented. For students presently attending private madaris as well as out of school youth, it will create skills training opportunities for appropriate livelihood. The Road Map will support government efforts to provide quality early childhood care and development as well as health and nutrition programs for Muslim Filipino learners, particularly in the public elementary schools. A special Fund for Assistance to Muslim Education by an act of Congress will be set up to bankroll all these activities. The Road Map will be implemented for six years and is expected to directly benefit millions of students, as well as teachers, both within and outside of school in communities with Muslim Filipino children throughout the country.

These and many other initiatives underscore the importance of building the foundation for a strong educational system in Mindanao. Other programs with similar motivation and direction are landing on the shores of the island and reaching out to its people and children. With this development, the children of Mindanao who now have greater access to quality education may begin to learn, no matter how difficult, to hold on to the promise of prosperity and progress of this great island.

By Vicente Silarde, Project Staff, Southeast Asian Resource and Information Network (SEARINET), SEAMEO INNOTECH

For more information about SEAMEO INNOTECH programmes in peace education, please contact: Dr Erlinda C Pefianco, Director Email: [email protected]

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defining PeaceThe world needs peace. But for there to be peace, there has to be a culture of peace. Defining the culture of peace as a set of values, attitudes, modes of behaviour and ways of life that reject violence and prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes, the United Nations General Assembly designated UNESCO the lead agency for organising the activities for the International Year for a Culture of Peace in 2000, and also for the International Decade for a Culture of Peace (2001-2010).

Within the context of UNESCO’s task to promote a culture of peace, the Regional Unit for Social and Human Sciences in Asia and Pacific (RUSHSAP) of UNESCO, Bangkok, together with Assumption University, Thailand, and Ruamrudee International School, Bangkok, conceived and initiated the programme “Sowing Seeds of Peace in the Mekong River Basin”.

the Mekong River Basin The 12th longest river in the world, the 4,200 km-long Mekong, drains an area of nearly 800,000 square kilometres and brings together the six countries of Cambodia, China (Yunnan), Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Mekong River Basin is a rich agricultural area with rice as the main crop, and it supplies water, food and other daily necessities to 60 million people in the region. It is also a region of great cultural wealth, its history and its cultural monuments attesting to the accomplishments of the peoples who have lived here for centuries.

But the history of the Mekong River Basin is also a history of dissent and conflict. Within the living memory

of many people is the Vietnam War, in which four million people — a tenth of Vietnam’s people — were killed or wounded, and in which the natural environment was greatly damaged by the use of the herbicide Agent Orange. Social problems continue within the region as the Mekong River itself is used for drug trafficking, illegal migration, and the exploitation of children and women.

The Mekong River Basin has the potential to spawn greed, hatred and destruction, but, alternatively, it can also become a source of initiatives for the building of peace and harmony among its diverse peoples and provide a good example for peace-building initiatives elsewhere.

Sowing Seeds of PeaceThe programme “Sowing Seeds of Peace in the Mekong River Basin” is based on the firm belief:

that people of all ages in the Mekong River Basin yearn for peace and an end to conflict;that awareness of peaceful living is a pre-condition for peaceful co-existence;that regional peace can be built and maintained with the continued efforts of the young and old;that youth who develop an awareness of peaceful living grow up to be adults who can work to preserve peace in the Mekong River Basin; andthat the concept of peaceful living must be continually nurtured and reinforced, so as not to subside and be overridden.

The programme focuses on students in high schools, colleges and universities, and aims at inculcating a spirit of peace in

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Sowing Seeds of Peace in the Mekong River Basin

SEAMEO CHAT, based in Yangon, Myanmar, partakes in promoting a culture of peace in the Greater Mekong Subregion


them. By building an awareness of peaceful living, they can be convinced that global peace, which might have been a dream for previous generations, can be a reality now and in the future. The awareness of the benefits of peaceful living has to be built up in the students through means of communications that are most meaningful to them, by engaging them in sports, songs, and arts, which attract them.

The programme was launched with week-long activities to promote peace awareness for students at Ruamrudee International School, Bangkok, with a concluding ceremony on 14 January 2005 presided over by ambassadors of the countries involved and officials of UNESCO, Assumption University, and Ruamrudee International School.

Following this, there was a Concert for Peace at the Thai–Laos Bridge in Nong Khai, Thailand on 26 March 2005, which featured a multi-media presentation and musical performances with songs promoting peace.

The programme then shifted to one-day activities of stage shows, exhibitions, debates, and songs and poems promoting the spirit of living together in peace and harmony in the other countries of the Mekong River Basin:

in Laos PDR on 28 March 2005, at the National University of Laos, Dong Dok Campus, Vientiane; in Vietnam on 19 April 2005, at Ho Chi Minh University of Pedagogy, Ho Chi Minh City; in Cambodia on 3 May 2005, at the Ministry of Education Youth and Sport, Faculty of Pedagogy, Phnom Penh;in China on 10 May 2005, at Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, Yunnan Province; andin Myanmar on 17 May 2005, at SEAMEO CHAT, Yangon.

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The closing session of these one-day activities was held in Thailand on 8 July 2005 at Assumption University, Bangkok.

Prizes, Poems, & the Peace SongIn Yangon, SEAMEO CHAT, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, organised the students of the universities of Yangon for competitions in art, poetry, essays and song-writing as well as other activities.The culminating Prize Awarding Ceremony for the various competitions was held on 17 May 2005 at SEAMEO CHAT, the occasion being graced by the presence of H E U Myo Nyunt, Deputy Minister for Education. The organisers of the programme — Dr Sarinya Sophia of RUSHSAP, Rev Fr Apisit Kritsalaram, Director of Ruamrudee International School, and Mr Cham Mayot, Director of the St Martin Centre for Professional Ethics and Learning, Student Affairs, Assumption University—came to Yangon for the occasion, just as they had visited the other venues of the one-day activities.

ThE MEkONg rivEr bASiN hAS ThE POTENTiAL TO SPAwN grEEd, hATrEd ANd dESTruCTiON, buT, ALTErNATivELy, iT CAN ALSO bECOME A SOurCE Of iNiTiATivES fOr ThE buiLdiNg Of PEACE ANd hArMONy AMONg iTS divErSE PEOPLES ANd PrOvidE A gOOd ExAMPLE fOr PEACE-buiLdiNg iNiTiATivES ELSEwhErE.

The Prize Awarding Ceremony featured an opening speech by Daw Carole Ann Chit Tha, Deputy Director of SEAMEO CHAT, a keynote address by Dr Sarinya Sophia and an address by Rev Fr Apisit Kritsaralam. The Ceremony closed with a word of thanks by U Tun Aung Chain, Director of SEAMEO CHAT. Young

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students of two high schools of Yangon enlivened the ceremony with a programme of traditional Myanmar dance and music. Prizes were awarded for the various competitions:

Saw Lin Arkar of Yangon University of Distance Education for Song-writing Aye Aye Phyu of Dagon University for ArtCho Cho Latt of the Institute of Education for EssayNay Myo Htet of Yangon University of Distance Education for Poetry.

Nay Myo Htet recited his winning poem, while Saw Lin Arkar’s translation of “Stream of Love” — the theme song of the project “Sowing Seeds of Peace in the Mekong River Basin” — was sung by Yadana Oo, one of Myanmar’s leading vocalists. The staff of SEAMEO CHAT also sang the song in English, whose haunting music and attractive lyrics, written by Piboon Jangsawang, expressed the spirit of the programme with great appeal:

Coming from the blue sky, winding down the mountain Friendship suddenly springs like a fountain Sweeping all the grief and sorrowThis stream can give us hope for tomorrowComing to our homeland, making life worth living It fills our lives with love and givingMercy and compassion will raise us in the airOur faith in love is all we’ve got to shareAs the river flows like a stream of love The seed of life will be growing strongAs days go by, no matter how long Our love is here to stay

next StepsThe year of activities for the building of an awareness of peaceful living among students of the Mekong River Basin aimed to attain the following results:

recognition of the vitality of the spirit of living together in peace and harmony; exposure to the art and culture of peace in neighbouring countries, leading to mutual understanding and appreciation of other nations to pave the way for global peace and harmony;development of an appreciation of the value of peaceful and harmonious co-existence and motivation for seeking

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peaceful means of resolving conflicts; development of lifelong advocates of peace leading peaceful, exemplary lives and becoming role models for the world and people around them.

But the year-long activities of 2005 are just the beginning. The programme “Sowing Seeds of Peace in the Mekong River Basin” is to continue to 2010, with further activities, meetings and workshops for introducing and developing peace studies and activities in the curriculum of the high schools, colleges and universities of the region and to further develop students and youths as lifelong advocates of peace.

By Carole Ann Chit Tha, Deputy Director, SEAMEO CHAT

For more information on the activities of SEAMEO CHAT on culture, history and tradition, please contact:Ms Carole Ann Chit Tha, Deputy DirectorEmail: [email protected]

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This is the declared UNESCO International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence of the World. However, the dramatic impact of globalisation, characterised by greater interconnectedness including transport, communications, and trade, is reinforcing the ever widening gap between the haves and the have nots. Whilst some have benefited enormously and have experienced a much-improved quality of life, others have been distanced with drastic social consequences and many people are now struggling for existence.

Development is supposed to bridge the gaps and diminish tensions that arise from inequalities like access to resources and injustices that quite frequently arise from decisions made about who gets what and why. This gap is not always bridged though. This is because even with the best of intentions, development agencies that may in principle endorse the concepts of partnership, ownership, and participation, cannot actualise such concepts. In other words, there is a huge gap between language and practice.

Despite this fact, there is still a tendency for “professional knowledge” to be considered superior in terms of value. Efforts to engage communities through open/democratic forums, visits, using participatory techniques or dialogue of some form or another, are usually based on the experts’ own ability to define, interpret, and decide on appropriate responses, to the detriment of inputs the beneficiaries could make.

Exclusion from the processes of defining, interpreting, and deciding appropriate responses deny people the possibility to take responsibility for their own and their community’s well-being. This exclusion combined with the inequalities and injustices previously mentioned, can lead to resentment. This resentment may be expressed in numerous ways, and in the worst case scenarios, can lead to social unrest, violence and a climate of fear. Whilst all people suffer in such a situation, some groups are more vulnerable than others. It is in this sense that we all have a particular responsibility towards children and youth, and towards ensuring their well-being, protection, and participation. It is also through young people that we can lay a solid foundation against potential disorders, conflicts, violence, and discrimination, and for greater peace and security in the future.

Relevance of culture The UNESCO General Conference adopted the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions on 20 October 2005. This is the first international legal instrument containing a set of guiding principles related to cultural diversity at the global level. This is highly significant and is a key component to help realise the goals of the UNESCO International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence of the World. Many still consider that culture equates with recording a strange or funny dance, mending a broken pot, or simply being aware of the curiosities of a particular group. On the other side of the spectrum, in the world of development

Culture, Peace, & DevelopmentSEAMEO SPAFA commits to the concept that any developmental initiative must be cognizant of the culture in which it takes place

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culture is touted as being central to peace-building, peace education, and in the promotion of tolerance and respect. Perhaps now this recognition by UNESCO may indeed convince skeptics and lead to positive steps as more cohesive efforts in development planning are made.

But in the meantime how do we bridge this wide gap in the concepts of culture and its role in equitable development?

Bridging the GapFor a long time it has been consistently argued that poverty can lead to marginalisation and exclusion and thus possibly extremism. Unfortunately this seems to have been proven correct.

Thus, more than ever before there is a global relevance and urgency regarding the issue of culture and development. If the development process is to succeed, it cannot be tied to religious or political hegemony, expediency at the expense of civil rights, or indeed the surrender of the right to choose political systems. Development has to be on par or at pace with the established

social structures and mindful of existing political mechanisms and maturity.

This necessitates an understanding of, and respect for, cultural norms. We must remember that cultures are diverse and unique but all are equal. Therefore, for development to succeed, it must be firmly rooted in the culture it is taking place in and on an equal footing if it is to evolve in a balanced way.

If it doesn’t, the consequences affect us all and this is why the issue of culture and development should be a priority concern for everybody. We cannot devise development plans and consider cultural implications later.Culture comes first.

SeaMeo SPaFa’s Role

Ascertaining the problem: The issue of culture and development is very broad and so to be quite honest when SEAMEO-SPAFA embarked on its first conference held in November 2002; although we did realise the importance of the issue, we really

could not see clearly where we would go with it and what it could lead to.

What we did understand was that the objectives of development projects had shifted from direct intervention towards capacity building through partnerships with recipients as stakeholders who participate in and own the development process. What this shift should reflect is improvement for all sectors of society. However, a focus on a better standard of living that could lead to the provision of access to health care and education for all, thus enabling poor people to realise more equal opportunities did not necessarily occur. It was becoming clear that all too often the advocacy of this participatory process was abstract or academic only and not actual. Moreover, omitting to recognise the cultural context of development often further compounded the problem.

Taking action:With support from the Japan Asia Foundation SEAMEO-SPAFA held its inaugural International Conference on Issues of Culture, Context, and Choice

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fOr dEvELOPMENT TO SuCCEEd, iT MuST bE firMLy rOOTEd iN ThE CuLTurE iT iS TAkiNg PLACE iN ANd ON AN EquAL fOOTiNg if iT iS TO EvOLvE iN A bALANCEd wAy.

in Development, held in Bangkok from 28–30 November 2002. This Conference was formulated with the objective to increase mutual understanding, tolerance, and respect for diversity in cultures and living contexts of people involved in the design and implementation of development programmes.

The Japan Foundation’s foresight and support to the November 2002 Conference led to the evolvement of an on-going workshop model to address identified problems. To date, SEAMEO SPAFA has conducted 10 of these workshops on Managing the Integration of Culture into Development Programmes throughout the region reaching over 400 participants. The workshops are supported by a publication entitled, “Guidelines for Managing the Integration of Culture into Development Programmes”, that has been made available electronically on-line and in printed format. Thus, the values and aspirations as expressed at the Conference and now explored in practical, user-friendly Guidelines format that reaches a wider audience and in turn, helps to strengthen and encourage improvements in development initiatives.

To capitalise on the growing interest and to provide further impetus in the quest for respect for cultural diversity and the achievement of equitable societies, a 2nd International Conference on Culture and Development: Celebrating Diversity Achieving Equity, was held in Bangkok from 28–30 November 2005. This conference was also sponsored by the Japan Asia Foundation. This conference provided a platform for further exchange of information, review and consolidation of the current workshop model, and formulation of new plans.

Future activitiesThus, the initial Conference has proved to be more than a singular event. It has had tangible outcomes that have served to continuously strive for the attainment of its original objectives. A new “Guidelines on Integrating Culture into Development” is currently being prepared and will be published by June 2006. It should also be noted that an integral component of the workshop model on Managing the Integration of Culture into Development Programmes is “conflict mediation and transformation”. Workshop

participants have overwhelmingly indicated that this topic should be developed into a singular workshop and thus Peace Education workshops are being devised as a response to demand expressed in the Southeast Asian region.

With ten workshops, two conferences, and four publications; the network of people concerned with the issues of culture and development has grown significantly reaching over 400 participants directly throughout the region.

This strengthened networking is essential if we are to build the bridges necessary in our quest for a better world without poverty and conflict.

By Pisit Charoenwongsa, Director, and Kevin C Kettle, Project Development Officer, SEAMEO-SPAFA

For more information on SEAMEO SPAFA activities in the field of culture and development, please contact:Mr Kevin C Kettle Project Development OfficerE-mail: [email protected]

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Senator Jon Ungphakorn believes that development is futile if it disregards the culture of the community that it is supposed to change. “We need to redefine the meaning of development in order to put cultural gains as the top priority,” he said.

To be able to effect positive development that provides economic, social and cultural advancement to communities and societies, the Thai senator suggested the importance of participatory processes involving consultations among all stakeholders.

It is more effective if this is complemented by informed consensus, discussion of choices and alternatives, and flexibility to make changes to development plans and policies. Of equal importance is “the ability of political leaders to listen and respect the voices of the people” when they introduce development initiatives. “We need to reform the whole culture of ‘Government’,” he said.

The senator expressed his views in the opening plenary of the International Conference on Culture and Development in November 2006 organised by the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts (SEAMEO SPAFA). A recipient of the 2005 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Government Service, Sen Ungphakorn was a lecturer at the Mahidol University who turned to social issues in the politically turbulent 1970s. In 1980, he founded the Thai Volunteer Service to immerse university graduates to the country’s rural poor and to NGOs working among them.

At the beginning of HIV infection in his country, he established in 1991 the AIDS-Access Foundation, where he pioneered in providing confidential counseling for people with HIV/AIDS and their families, in fighting the stigma attached to the disease, and in asserting the rights of patients to effective and affordable treatment.

As a member of the Senate committees on health, social development and human security, Sen Ungphakorn used his position to advance the concerns of marginalised citizens — prioritising Thailand’s HIV/AIDS community by working to include AIDS patients in the country’s 30-baht-per-year national health scheme. He also used his senatorial authority to advocate the rights for Muslim communities in southern Thailand, and to uphold the

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rights of rural folk whose livelihoods are threatened by property speculators, scandal-ridden dams, power plants and mines. Sen Ungphakorn was no longer in the list of senatorial candidates in the April 2006 elections that was the result

of the political strife in the Thai capital, but his name remains synonymous with activism in Thai society. He has finished his maximum six-year term as senator, but he told an interview he has his hands full after politics.

“I am not an academician but from my experience in social development and human rights work, I think governments and bureaucracies do not put much interest in the participation of civil society when it comes to development,” he said.

Providing some form of education, which, he said is one of the universal necessities in uplifting the lives of people and communities, is often overlooked by authorities as just a requirement for young people to fulfill. “Educational systems and structures today often impose rigid conditions on young people,” he said, although he cautioned that he does not have experience in the field of education. “But I consider it a crucial factor in determining whether or not it contributed to positive development in a community.”

The senator’s premise in his talk during the conference was that development can only be considered positive when it contributes to the culture and well being of a community. “Development should positively enhance the way of life of a community and also the identity, knowledge, wisdom, creativity, skills, beliefs, values, relationships, traditions, artistry, cuisine, language and ways of communicating thoughts, ideas, knowledge and feelings among people in that community.” Sadly, he said the situations are almost the same in the struggling sections across Southeast Asia, in nations both governed by democratic institutions or by autocratic bureaucracies. “I am apolitical. I don’t belong to any political party, but I enjoin people like me to speak on issues that are matters of urgency, to be in touch with the situation” he told the interview.

One of his concerns after the Thai Senate is to look at what kind of social services are being given to migrant workers, and how people with disabilities can be provided with some comfort when they want to go around.

Above all else, he said he wants the common goal of “access to education” really applied to children from low-income families. “We should be thinking of ways of how these children can be supported to study as far as they can go in the system,” he said.

By Diana G Mendoza, Information Officer, SEAMEO SecretariatEmail: [email protected]

“dEvELOPMENT ShOuLd POSiTivELy ENhANCE ThE wAy Of LifE Of A COMMuNiTy ANd ALSO ThE idENTiTy, kNOwLEdgE, wiSdOM, CrEATiviTy, SkiLLS, bELiEfS, vALuES, rELATiONShiPS, TrAdiTiONS, ArTiSTry, CuiSiNE, LANguAgE ANd wAyS Of COMMuNiCATiNg ThOughTS, idEAS, kNOwLEdgE ANd fEELiNgS AMONg PEOPLE iN ThAT COMMuNiTy.”

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PR O FI LE

Soreach Sereithida said there is no simple strategy to build peace, but there are little but important things that should be considered.

“We first remove fear, distrust, and passivity,” this teacher and activist said. “Then we talk. Only then can we be prepared to forgive and forget.”

Ms Sereithida is the founding director of the Women Development Association in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, a non-government organisation that works on cross-sectoral activities from community development to primary health care, education, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, health promotion to vulnerable children, prevention of child labour, child rights, child education promotion, peace building for youth, and gender.

The teacher and peace activist adopted the method of starting the process of reconciliation when she became a teacher to primary school children in the 1990s when her country was still beginning to recover from the tragic aftermath of the long civil war. The only survivor of a family of nine, she discovered that she, too, was not psychologically primed to teach children about language and mathematics. Her pupils were in a similar situation — they were still trying to comprehend the sadness caused by war. And so was the educational system that needed tremendous reform.

“Cambodia’s tragic history of civil wars and the Pol Pot regime that began in the 1970s and did not end until 1998 is well known. Because of the war, our culture changed,” Ms Sereithida told the 2nd International Conference on Culture and Development held in November last year. The conference that

Soreach SereithidaTeaching peace in a time of war

“EvEN ThE CAdrES Of ThE POL POT

rEgiME jOiNEd PEACE buiLdiNg

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PR O FI LE

tackled the theme “Celebrating Diversity, Achieving Equity,” was organised by the SEAMEO Regional Centre on Archaeology and Fine Arts (SEAMEO SPAFA).

She said Cambodian society was still fragmented even when the United Nations has organised the first elections in 1993.The genocide of millions and the continued disability of people by landmines was compounded with the destruction of trust in relationships within communities.

But even then, she volunteered to be part of the efforts to remove, even little by little, the isolation and fear that dragged down Cambodians’ struggles to rebuild their lives. She joined a non-government organisation that did relief and rehabilitation work, in particular, health services and education. She noted that these aspects were the “culturally appropriate and necessary entry points for dialogue and collaboration.”

In an interview after giving her presentation, Ms Sereithida said the results were phenomenal: “Even the cadres of the Pol Pot regime joined peace building through participatory health and education training. We told them we cannot provide health and education services fully if we harbour distrust and isolation.” The process paved the way for changing attitudes into feelings of confidence, participation and trust of others. She said this does not only apply to post conflict situations; it can be a measure to prevent conflict.

She went on to do more responsibilities, like giving comfort to vulnerable women and children and doing social work with gangster groups in slum and rural villages of garment workers in Phnom Penh.

This single mother is no stranger to hardships. In the early 1990s, she moved from a remote province close to the Cambodia-Vietnam border to seek a better life far from the difficulties of separating from a husband and raising a one-month old child alone. In between jobs as a nurse in the government health office and becoming an interpreter for the UN, she earned a certificate diploma in business management.

But like many of her countrymen, she said, “I had to let go of a painful past to face the future.” Those years of moving from one province to another to survive the atrocities of war are indeed already distant, because she knows that change is possible.

With the changing environment, she continues to teach children, and is now with an NGO network advocating for the advancement of women. In January 2006, Ms Seirithida presented the platform of Cambodia during a conference in New York on the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

By Diana G Mendoza, Information Officer, SEAMEO SecretariatEmail: [email protected]

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V I E WS

education in asia still weak and unequalIn recent years, Asia has become the world’s fastest-growing economic region. Nowadays, many experts are saying that Asia will soon become the main source of global economic power.

That forthcoming era — when our continent becomes the growth engine for the whole world — we all hope to see and benefit from.

Yet, we are also well-aware of how relatively weak education in Asia still is, when compared to education in the West.

We are even more conscious of the reality that education in many of our countries is still plagued by inequalities — that while tiny elites among our peoples get first-rate education, the masses receive very little education, if at all.

And we all know how a poor education system, a stagnant economy, shorter life expectancy and poverty are parts of the same vicious cycle.

Pooling resources to strengthen asian education Of course, we are also happy to see how every Asia-Pacific country struggles to deliver good basic education to all its people.

I also see many countries gathering together in this Forum to pool their resources and to explore ways of eliminating the inequalities and deficiencies in Asian education.

The answer to national weaknesses and deficiencies is to increase international cooperation, communication and interaction so that we can reinforce each other in strengthening the education system everywhere.

All of us here today are committed to working toward a peaceful, healthy and prosperous Asia — a resurgent Asia that could play a leadership role in the world of the 21st century. To be sure, the power of this Forum has its limits. But we can certainly help mobilise education experts, scholars, educational organisations, student leaders, and government officials.

Surely, we can get these experts and authorities to sit down together, reason together, and work together on the education issues and problems that individual countries in the region face.

By getting people, particularly the leaders themselves, to act together, we can collaborate more closely toward

eliminating the inequalities in education — and enabling every national education system to reach its full potential.l have some good news for everyone. As you will recall, we created earlier an Asia Foreign Study Scholarship Program in cooperation with the Chinese Ministry of Education. The Scholarship Program in its Chinese application — has begun working.

Education is the key to Asia’s successFidel V Ramos

iN iTS brOAdEST SENSE, EduCATiON iS ThE MOST POwErfuL “wEAPON fOr MASS uPLifTMENT” (wMu).


V I E WS

Empowered by generous contributions from the Chinese Ministry of Education, and by numerous Chinese universities, the first students to receive Asia Foreign Study Scholarships have arrived in China — and have already been placed in their respective schools.

I am certain these scholarship recipients will ultimately become “Asian Educational Exchange Ambassadors” — educational emissaries between our peoples.

In a little while, you will be hearing from their respective representatives.

Welcome for ministers of educationMeanwhile, let me appeal to every country — as well as any organisation or company interested in Asian education to contribute generously to the program, so that we can have more Student Envoys for the Asian Educational Exchange.

This year, we welcome to this Forum the Ministers and Vice-Ministers of Education from 19 Asian countries.

They will share country experience and exchange ideas on the theme of this year’s Conference — “Education Development Strategies for Asian Countries in the New Century.”

The Conference sessions will explore such topics as “Vocational Education,” “Cross-Cultural Management,” “Asia Art Education,” and “Strategic Development of Small and Medium-Sized Higher Education Institutions”.Conference discussions will range from the theoretical to the practical.

They will also teach ways of putting macro-education ideas into practice down to the local level.

By the way, I am informed that the Haidian District of Beijing — which is our Conference

venue — will hold an Education Festival” as a way to promoting the work we do here.

In closing, let us remind ourselves of how important — how crucial to our countries’ future — is the work to which you as educators have dedicated your lives.

The single key to Asia’s progressive development is the strengthening of Asian education and accessing it to the maximum number of people.

By this, we mean not only higher education, but also elementary education, vocational-technical education, and non-formal education. Concurrently, we need to institute a system of life-long learning.

In other words, the secret to Asia’s success in winning the future is education, more education, and more and more education! In its broadest sense, education is the most powerful “weapon for mass upliftment” (WMU).

This is the higher challenge to all of us — and so, let us invest our efforts into creating a better educated — and therefore a more peaceful and more prosperous — Asia, especially for the younger ones who will come after us

Reprinted from BizNews Asia magazine, Manila, 6–13 February 2006 issue, page 21.


R EP O R T

The 41st SEAMEO Council Conference on 22–23 March 2006 in Singapore was historic.

It was preceded by the First ASEAN Education Ministers Meeting (ASED), the gathering of the ASEAN Ministers of Education who also make up the SEAMEO Council — the governing body of the Organization that consists of all education ministers of SEAMEO Member Countries.

The two unprecedented meetings sealed the partnership between SEAMEO and ASEAN which have long aspired to develop a modality to collaborate on education in the region. The combination of meetings was agreed upon during an earlier meeting of education ministers, the Bangkok Ministerial Retreat in August 2005. Both meetings were led by ASEAN Secretary General Mr Ong Keng Yong and SEAMEO Secretariat Director Dr Edilberto de Jesus.

From this year and thereafter, the ASED will be held back-to-back with the Council Conference.

In the 1st ASED, the education ministers tackled regional integration through inter-cultural and inter-racial understanding and the promotion of a regional identity.

SEAMEO–ASEAN PartnershipEstablished in the inaugural education ministers meeting

Mr Armindo Maia, Minister of Education and Culture (right) and Mr Justino Guterres, Director of Higher Education (left), Timor-Leste, at the start of the plenary sessions

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Council President Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam presides over the plenary sessions of the conference

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R EP O R T

In the 41st Council Conference, the education ministers had productive discussions as they identified the crucial aspects in education and human resource development in their countries that need collaboration in development efforts.

High in their discussions were recognising diversity as an important factor in enhancing the quality of education and in reforming policies in order to improve school leadership and upgrade teacher competencies. The ministers were in unison in saying that secondary education must be improved as a transition to university or vocational and technical training.

The ministers also explored effective language instruction in countries with diverse ethnic groups and languages, in particular, teaching the mother tongue as a bridge to learning the national language and in teaching English.

With the range of development initiatives, the ASEAN and SEAMEO education ministers agreed to explore partnerships within the SEAMEO Member

Countries as well as the SEAMEO units that offer expertise in various disciplines.

A total of 130 participants representing SEAMEO Member Countries Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and its newest member Timor-Leste attended the conference, including representatives from 5 of its 7 associate member countries Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand and Norway.

International organisations and agencies that work closely with SEAMEO such as UNICEF, UNESCO, and the World Bank, including SEAMEO centre directors and coordinators, SEAMEO Secretariat officers, and officers and observers from donor governments and foundations also participated in the conference.

The 42nd SEAMEO Council Conference and the 2nd ASEAN Education Ministers Meeting will be hosted by Indonesia in 2007.

Education ministers of Southeast Asia in an official photo of the 1st ASEAN Ministers of Education Meeting prior to the 41st SEAMEO Council Conference

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Prof Dr Tran Van Nhung, Vice Minister of Education and Training, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, receives the testimonial plaque on behalf of outgoing Council President Prof Dr Nguyen Minh Hien from Singapore Minister for Education Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam

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R EP O R T

The SEAMEO Council President is elected during the annual SEAMEO Council Conference. The council presidency is usually given to the country hosting the council meeting. As head of the policy-making body of the Organization, the SEAMEO Council President enjoins the education ministers of the SEAMEO Member Countries to make decisions that will bind the Organization into commitments in determining policies and in approving programmes and budgets.

During his term, the president provides directions for the Organization through visits to the SEAMEO Member Countries and their Ministries of Education, and interaction with the SEAMEO units and their governing boards.

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education of Singapore which hosted the 41st SEAMEO Council Conference, assumed the leadership of the SEAMEO Council for 2006. Mr Shanmugaratnam’s very first responsibility in his new role was to host the ASEAN and SEAMEO Member Country delegations and participants of the 41st SEAMEO Council Conference and to preside over the meeting.

In his welcome address, the Singaporean Education Minister underscored SEAMEO’s significant contributions in raising the standard of education in Southeast Asia and in promoting regional understanding. “As the countries share, collaborate and learn from one another, they can achieve more together

than each can do on its own,” he told the opening ceremonies of the conference.

He emphasised the need to pay attention to the opportunities for further cooperation that were highlighted during the First ASEAN Ministers of Education Meeting and the 41st SEAMEO Council Conference. He expressed enthusiasm to renew friendships and continue dialogues during his visits to the member states this year.

The SEAMEO Council President

Council President Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam huddles with other education ministers during a break at the council conference

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SEAMEO Council President Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam gives his address during the Welcome Dinner of the 41st SEAMEO Council Conference


S TAT EM EN T

Education for a Peaceful Pluralism

Statement ByHE Dato’ Sri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein Minister of Education and Head of the Malaysian Delegationat the 41st SEAMEO Council Conference22–23 March 2006, Singapore

We live in an age of irony, a juncture in civilisation where communities have been brought ever closer because of technology, because of the internet, the television and the jet plane. And yet, these remarkable achievements are set against a backdrop of unparalleled ethnic and religious tensions.

Current developments reveal that whilst the world has ‘shrunk’ because of affordable travel and telecommunications, our cultural space has become increasingly fraught with uncertainty and at times, conflict. Indeed, the gap in sympathy and understanding between different civilisational forces has become worrying. For example, the recent Danish cartoon incident showed us how serious the gap of understanding can be. Setting aside for the moment the provocations of politically motivated groups and people of violence, there was, even in the most well-meaning people on both sides, a disconcerting failure to understand each others’ concerns. Meanwhile every development in the issue was played out across the global media almost simultaneously.

We now live in a world in which local conflicts can quickly mutate into national and even international ones. Conflicts between neighbours can quickly flare up into conflicts between clans and peoples over previously unconnected terrains. Although diverse peoples are now linked by telecommunications, travel and migration, this does not at all mean that they understand one another, or that they know how to live together in the common symbolic spaces created by interconnected news media. Each day we are brought closer to each other by technical means, but our cultural capacities to make sense of each other in that proximity lag dangerously behind. It is clear that although globalisation creates common spaces and weaves markets together, it is just as likely to sharpen differences between communities as to wash them out.

As Ministers of Education in one of the most dynamic regions of the world, we are of course fully committed to the task of improving the technical expertise of our students. However, in our haste to achieve benchmark figures and targets we forget the importance of building equitable societies that are underscored by mutual understanding.

Sadly, we often forget that prosperity also depends on our being able to educate our young people to live, play and work together in harmony. In that regard, Malaysia has always insisted that education for social harmony is just as important as more technical forms of excellence. We try to maintain a balance between educating for individual excellence and educating an entire society into the habits of mutual understanding, sympathy and peace. I am glad we have this forum to discuss ways to educate people in this region to understand one another, not just within their countries but across the region.

For example, as a majority Muslim nation, Malaysia has found the principles of ISLAM HADHARI, as articulated by our Prime Minister, valuable as a framework for articulating the relationship between Islamic faith and the goals of progressive and inclusive nation-building. Islam Hadhari emphasises the importance of seeking knowledge wherever it is to be found and building a better society. It embraces cultural diversity and modernisation while holding to the essential principles of Islamic faith, and


S TAT EM EN T

constantly re-examining the ways in which Muslims can be faithful to Divine Revelation in their particular times and circumstances. Guided by the principle of “Unity in Diversity,” Malaysia has allowed spaces for some of the major cultural traditions of Asia to thrive as living communities next to each other. We allow for differences among us without permitting the hegemony of the culture of one ethnic group over the other. Malaysia is keen to work with its ASEAN partners to develop and apply curricula, institutions and practices to foster greater cultural understanding.

Educators are tasked to teach how much our seemingly different worlds are in fact similar and interdependent. Whilst diversity and cultural integrity are vital, it is the interaction between various communities that dictates a society’s eventual success or failure. From early childhood, schools must therefore take every opportunity to expose children to these diversities, similarities and interdependence. “Young children” must be given an accurate view of the world. “Education” must help them discover who they are. Only then will they genuinely be able to put themselves in other people’s shoes and understand their reactions.

Enhancing the teaching of human geography, foreign languages, literature, history of religions and customs can contribute towards the greater understanding of other ethnic and religious groups. Teachers on the other hand should never forget that they are role models. Their negative attitude may forever weaken their pupil’s ability to be receptive to others and face the inevitable tensions between people, groups and communities within and between nations.

Finally, within SEAMEO, our focus should not only be on children and youth but also on adults as well because education is a life-long project. We should seek to enrich the people with humanistic, ethical, cultural and international values, in order to provide them with a total education. Academic excellence is to be commended. But in the real world, nations need a lot more than Ph D holders.

More than ever, the contents, methods and outcomes of learning need to be revisited to make education a more effective and powerful instrument for building bridges for peace and, indeed, prosperity. It is particularly important that young minds are turned away from violence and focused on the virtues of tolerance, mutual understanding and peace, not only in action but also in thoughts, words and deeds. As a regional organisation, we must redouble these efforts not only to strengthen knowledge and understanding of the diversity of our cultures but also promote greater dialogue among Member States. These dialogues could uncover hidden questions, and sources of misunderstanding, dispel prejudices, identify and promote commonalities, promote better understanding and work for peace. It is hoped that through these dialogues, we will learn to accept others, regardless of race, religion or culture. This in turn will enhance our ability and willingness to live together.


S TAT EM EN T

41st SEAMEO Council ConferenceSpeech By Education Ministers

Pengiran Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Mohammad Pengiran Haji Abdul RahmanDeputy Minister of Education, Brunei Darussalam

Southeast Asian countries face many global challenges, in an economic landscape that is constantly changing. To compete and survive, we need to be prepared and continuously transform ourselves to overcome these new challenges. Education, particularly lifelong learning, and regional cooperation in training and enhancing the quality of education is a way forward in maintaining our edge in this global competition. As such we need to make sure that our education policies will continue to be relevant and keep pace with a rapidly evolving environment.

Mr Im Sethy Secretary of State, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, Cambodia

The National Plan for Education for All 2003–2015 sets out important strategic policies which include our long-term economic development goals for the future of Cambodian society. This necessity provides that Cambodian children and youth should have equal opportunities and access to formal education, and non-formal education regardless of their living standard, gender, geographical area, physical condition or ethnicity.

Prof Dr Bambang SudibyoMinister of National Education, Indonesia

We are all aware that we have common challenges despite the fact that we have different education systems, but the challenges are essentially similar. In the process of educating humans, the educational system currently being developed is required not only to enhance learners’ intellectual capacity but also their ability to express and actualise ideas and emotions with reference to moral, ethical, and religious values. In response to the strife for the answer to the challenges in developing our education, the Indonesian Government has formulated the various development programmes for national education in the strategic plan, aiming, among others, at the improvement of the Indonesian position in the efforts of developing qualified and professional human resources, thereby ready and able to compete in the era of free market, especially in the very near future facing the eras of AFTA and APEC. We are also strongly concerned with the improvement of equity, relevance and good governance in education.

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Prof Dr Bosengkham Vongdara Acting Minister of Education of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

As SEAMEO is getting bigger, I am confident that its role will become even bigger and more dynamic, especially in the area of human resource development. According to its fine tradition of cooperation, SEAMEO has made its effort through its Secretariat and Centres to strengthen cooperation among Member Countries in speeding up human resource development. As socio-economic development will depend more on human resources, the need for a highly trained workforce with certain knowledge of practical science and technology has increased in Member Countries. SEAMEO centres have played a very important role in promoting this concept through organising a number of educational and cultural activities within the region. As a result, the youths and people have developed better mutual understanding, shared experience and know-how, and got closer to one another. Through these activities of cooperation and exchange, Lao PDR has benefited considerably.

Brig-Gen Aung Myo MinDeputy Minister for EducationUnion of Myanmar

Our new generations must also have the determination to preserve what is unique about each of our society, our values, our traditions and home-grown knowledge that have guided and nourished our societies. These will always remain relevant to our societies despite the many advances that the new centuries will bring. It is also vital that our education instructs our younger generations to appreciate the uniqueness of other societies and to learn to live in a spirit of tolerance, cooperation and understanding to allow peace and prosperity to reign in the world.

Dr Fe A HidalgoUndersecretary, Officer-in-Charge, Department of Education, Philippines

The Philippines at the moment is presently looking at the basic education sector reform agenda through more decentralised governance. The basic components are: financing of basic education, formulation of competency-based teacher training standards, school-based management programme and improved reading programme to continue to improve achievement levels relevant to achievement of EFA (Education for All) goals. The teachers are truly the drivers of excellence in the classroom; so we focus on teachers teaching in the classroom and learners learning in the classroom. These relate to our continuing desire to improve on the teaching of science, mathematics, values education and English.

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Mr Gan Kim YongMinister of State for Education and Manpower, Singapore

The recent incidents over the caricatures of religious leaders in the West serve to underline what the lack of racial and cultural understanding can lead to, not just within societies, but also across societies. The lessons from these events are especially relevant for Southeast Asia, given the multi-ethnic make-up of many of the countries in the region.

As our young adopt a global mindset, it is imperative that they remain grounded in strong values, values that emphasises community spiritedness, mutual understanding and respect, and a sense of responsibility to the society and country. The spirit of social responsibility has to be nurtured from young to prepare them for a lifetime of active and responsible citizenship. Education plays an important role in helping our societies meet these challenges.

Mr Chaturon ChaisangMinister of Education, Thailand

The Year 2006 has been proclaimed as the Year of Teaching and Learning Reform in Thailand which aims to reform teaching and learning methodologies to achieve another level of quality in education. Our objectives are to possess critical thinking and problem-solving skills as well as to inculcate moral ethical religious values to Thai children. Key measures include revision of curricula and pedagogical methods, intensive and specific retraining for teachers’ new ways of classroom management and upgrading vocational educational standards to increase the number of vocational students to serve the expansion of industrial and community needs. We have also launched the Income Contingent Loan Scheme (ICL) as a new mechanism to enhance educational opportunities at higher education level among students from low income families. This is a part of the higher education financial reform.

Prof Dr Tran Van Nhung Deputy Minister of Education and Training, Vietnam

With great efforts of our people and smart strategies of our leaders, I firmly believe that the education tree we grow today will bring sweet fruits in the future.

S TAT EM EN T

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O U T LI N E

In 2005, Norway became the seventh Associate Member Country of SEAMEO.

In the proclamation during the 40th SEAMEO Council Conference in Hanoi in March 2005, Mr Helge Ole Bergesen, then Deputy Minister of Education and Research of Norway, expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam for paving the way for Norway’s acceptance as an associate member.

Mr Bergesen said Norway recognises SEAMEO as a forum

for promoting cooperation between Norway and its partner countries in Southeast Asia. He said Norway’s strengths in various aspects of education could be productively shared with SEAMEO Member Countries, as both Norway and SEAMEO pursue quality education.

He noted the cooperation between Vietnam and Norway in improving education for minorities and disadvantaged groups in Vietnam, which has reached more than 200 underprivileged districts in 40 provinces. While continuing

and further developing Norway’s fruitful bilateral cooperation with Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia, Norway looked further towards regional cooperation within SEAMEO.

Moves are underway for the membership of Spain in SEAMEO. In this year’s council conference, the delegate from Spain expressed the Kingdom of Spain’s interest in participating in SEAMEO’s programmes and projects and its wish to officially confirm its decision to join SEAMEO.

NorwayThe 7th SEAMEO Associate Member Country

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The following are excerpts from an interview conducted by SEAMEO RETRAC with Mr Liev Landro, Counsellor of the Norwegian Embassy, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, on the motivation of Norway in joining the Organization.

In late 2004, the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam recommended Norway to become an Associate Member of SEAMEO. The recommendations derive from its recognition of Norway’s participation in the education sector in Vietnam. The Norwegian education system is well-known by Vietnamese senior education officials. Both countries endorse education to be one of the key Millennium Development Goals. Education for All is a basic precept of the countries’ educational policy. Wherever they live in the country, all girls and boys must have an equal right to education, regardless of social and cultural background and possible special needs.

Norway has supported the education sector in Vietnam through several projects, such as Primary Education for Disadvantaged Children, Education Development Support to Ethnic Minorities in Lai Chau and Dien Bien Provinces, Building of Primary Schools in Flooded Areas in Quang Nam and Budget Support to the National Targeted Programme for Education. Education will continue to be a key priority in the cooperation between Vietnam and Norway.

The governments of Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, have shown a strong commitment towards Education for All. Joining the SEAMEO opens a forum for Norway to add value to the achievement of the Education for All goals in this region

as well as promoting common interests between Norway and the region.

Norwegian stakeholders including the Embassy and the Ministry of Education and Research recognise SEAMEO a forum for promoting cooperation between Norway and its partner countries in Southeast Asia. Norway and SEAMEO are both pursuing quality education. Norway has demonstrated its strength in various aspects of education that could be productively shared with SEAMEO Member Countries.

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U PDAT E

The landmark 41st SEAMEO Council Conference proclaimed the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste as the 11th SEAMEO Member Country.

It has been seven years since the 10th member state, Myanmar, was admitted to the membership of SEAMEO in 1998.

During the proclamation ceremonies, Prof Dr Tran Van Nhung, Vice Minister of Education and Training of Vietnam, read the Proclamation admitting Timor-Leste as SEAMEO Member Country. This was followed by the ceremonial entrance of the Colours of Timor-Leste, lodging the flag among the ranks of the SEAMEO Member and Associate Member countries and the playing or the Timor-Leste national anthem.

Mr Armindo Maia, Minister of Education, Youth and Sports of Timor-Leste, read his statement.

The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste is the youngest country in the world by the turn of the new century. It regained its independence on 20 May 2002. After the occupation of Portugal in 1975, it became a province of Indonesia. In 1999, a referendum paved the way for its movement to independence. In the same year, however, a United Nations-administered government was set up to stop the violence following the referendum.

The SEAMEO and its units joined the UN-launched global efforts to rehabilitate Timor-Leste and to help the country become independent.

The SEAMEO Secretariat introduced the Organization to Timor-Leste’s Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports in 2002. The country was later given an Observer status in SEAMEO Meetings and Council Conferences since March 2003 when the Philippines hosted the 38th SEAMEO Council

Timor-LesteThe world’s newest country becomes the newest Member Country of SEAMEO

Conference. It continued to be an observer in the succeeding 39th and 40th SEAMEO Council Conferences.

In 2004, the Timor-Leste Ministry of Education and Culture formally expressed interest in regular membership in SEAMEO. The following year, a proposal for its membership was endorsed during the 40th SEAMEO Council Conference hosted by Vietnam. The SEAMEO High Officials Meeting in November 2005 discussed the proposal in detail.

In March 2006, shortly before the 41st SEAMEO Council Conference in Singapore, the Ministry of Education and Culture of Timor-Leste confirmed its Government’s approval of the country’s participation in the Organization’s programmes and activities.The ceremonial entrance of the

colours of Timor-Leste to start the proclamation ceremonies

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An honour guard executes a salute to the Timor-Leste flag as the country’s national anthem was being played during the proclamation rites

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U PDAT E

the Minister of Education of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and current President of SEAMEO, for making everything possible for our accession to full membership during his presidency. Our participation in last year’s SEAMEO meeting in Hanoi has been, indeed, a memorable one and, above all, fruitful.

Let me also take this opportunity to greet and thank Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, the Minister of Education of Singapore and Vice-President of the SEAMEO Council for the warm and generous hospitality and excellent arrangement provided to my delegation since our arrival in this beautiful and warm island-city of Singapore.

Allow me also to take this opportunity to greet the Director of SEAMEO Secretariat, Dr Edilberto de Jesus, for his particular contribution in supporting our desire to become a SEAMEO Member since our first participation in Manila, on his invitation, both on a personal level and in his capacity as the incumbent SEAMEO Council President.

Timor-Leste is the youngest country in the world and in Southeast Asia. It is also the poorest country in Asia. The adult literacy rate is less than 50%. More than 20% of the primary school-age children still do not have access to school, aggravated by high repetition and drop-out rates. In the

Address byH E Mr Armindo MaiaMinister of Education and Culture, Democratic Republic of Timor-Lesteon the occasion of the accession of Timor-Lesteas a full member of SEAMEO at the 41st SEAMEO Council Conference on 22–23 March 2006, Singapore

It is a great pleasure to be honoured to address today this high-level meeting of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization on this special and historic occasion of the accession of Timor-Leste as a new member of this organisation. On behalf of the Government and the people of Timor-Leste, I wish to express our sincerest gratitude for the openness, friendship and support we have always received from all Member Countries, right from our very first participation as an observer in Manila in 2003. We are extremely proud and delighted that in less than four years after the international recognition of our independence, we are given the honour to sit side by side with other fellow ministers as a full member of the Organization.

On this special occasion, allow me first of all, to thank particularly HE Prof Dr Nguyen Minh Hien,

secondary level, the figures show some improvements, but still fall far short in terms of quality; so does tertiary education.

Nonetheless this seemingly gloomy picture, Timor-Leste has made significant progress in the last few years. The UNDP 2005 Human Development Report commended the country for her achievements in the social indicators, allowing the country to jump ahead of 18 other countries. Improvements in education and health indicators were the determinant factors for the leap. To achieve the goal of universal primary education, we have embarked on a free education program, starting this current year for all primary schools across the country. In the next school year, all the secondary schools will be covered by the same programme. School grants and school meals have been piloted, expected to cover all the primary schools in 2-3 years.

Concurrently, we are about to embark on a nationwide adult literacy campaign, targeting the rural population, with the aim to eliminate illiteracy in the whole country within the next 5 years.

As a new member and the youngest, we need to learn much from the experience and achievements of others. One advantage of a new nation is to learn from the successes and mistakes of others on one hand and try to implement the best international practices on the other. We do strongly believe that our fellow Member Countries of SEAMEO will share with us their experiences and continue to offer their support to this crucially important area of education. In this connection, I wish to take this opportunity to express our greatest appreciation for the support provided through SEARCA by DAAD, Germany for the upgrading of some of our lecturers’ qualifications in the area of agriculture. We are committed to meet all our obligations and responsibilities as a Member Country, in spite of constraints in our human resources. With your continuous guidance and support we will walk together through the same path, aiming at the common goal of betterment of the quality of life of all our people.

Mr Armindo Maia, Minister of Education and Culture, Timor-Leste, expresses gratitude and optimism in his speech as Timor-Leste becomes the 11th SEAMEO Member Country

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P OS T S CR I P T

Post 41st SEAMEO Council Conference

asia Pacific education Ministers MeetingOn 3–4 April 2006, three SEAMEO Member Countries, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia and the Philippines, represented by their ministers, attended a meeting of the Asia Pacific Ministers of Education in Brisbane hosted by Ms Julie Bishop, Minister of Education, Science and Training of Australia. Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, represented by their deputy ministers, also attended. The SEAMEO Secretariat, represented by its Director, Dr Edilberto de Jesus, was an Observer with speaking privileges.

The Brisbane Communique issued at the end of the meeting identified priority areas for regional collaboration that were parallel to the priorities highlighted at the 1st ASEAN Education Ministers Meeting (ASED) and the 41st SEAMEO Council Conference:

Quality assurance frameworks for the region linked to international standards, including course delivered online;Recognition of educational and professional qualifications;Common competency-based standards for teachers, particularly in science and mathematics; andThe development of common recognition of technical skills across the region in order to better meet the overall skills needs of the economic base of the region.

The mechanisms for achieving these objectives included:Building people-to-people and institution-to-institution links; Promoting reform and improved education and governance;Enhanced mutual understanding, knowledge and innovation; Helping to address regional skills needs.

The Communique also supported the Australian proposal to make the forum a regular biennial event “to consider common education issues at the ministerial level, throughout this extended region”. The Meeting agreed to establish an Officials’ Working Group (OWG), to be convened by Australia, to prepare for the next meeting in 2008. Cambodia volunteered to be a member of this OWG.

The range and diversity of the countries at the meeting — from Turkey to the Pacific Islands — provides SEAMEO an opportunity to serve sub-regional initiatives that would promote the objectives of the broader community.

Australia was again invited to participate at the next SEAMEO Council Conference in Indonesia in 2007.

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Collaboration and networking for education ministers of SEAMEO Members continues


AB O U T SE A M EO

about SeaMeo

The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) is an international and intergovernmental organisation established in 1965 to promote regional cooperation in education, science, and culture.

Its 11 Member Countries include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. It embodies 7 Associate Member Countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Norway; and one Affiliate Member, the International Council for Open and Distance Education (ICDE).

The SEAMEO Council, the Organization’s governing body, is composed of the 11 ministers of education of the SEAMEO Member Countries. The Council determines the general policies and strategic directions of the Organization. The SEAMEO Secretariat, based in Bangkok, Thailand, is the headquarters and executive arm of the Council.

Over the past three decades, SEAMEO has developed 15 specialist institutions in 8 of its 11 Member Countries that provide regional leadership in human resource development and the diverse expertise that they offer in learning, health and environment, and agriculture and natural resources.

These SEAMEO Units are closely linked with the educational environment of the country hosting them. Each SEAMEO Regional Centre has its own governing board with a representative from each Member Country that reviews the Centres’ operations and budget and sets their policies and programmes.

The Centres maintain SEAMEO’s work and aspirations to nurture human capacities and explore the fullest potentials of people in the region through quality and equity in education, preventive health, culture and tradition, training, research, information and communications technology, languages, poverty alleviation, and agricultural natural resources.

Since its inception, the SEAMEO has not only become the oldest chartered intergovernmental organisation serving the Southeast Asian region but also Southeast Asia’s largest, longest existing, and most dependable provider in human resource development.

SeaMeo Secretariat

The SEAMEO Secretariat is the executive arm of the SEAMEO Council and the headquarters of the Organization. Based in Bangkok, Thailand, the Secretariat is headed by a Director who is the legal and administrative representative of the Organization. The Director is supported by a team of professional staff recruited from Member Countries and a group of general staff from the host country.


AB O U T SE A M EO

SeaMeo units

SEAMEO biOTrOP SEAMEO Regional Centre for Tropical Biology Located in Bogor, Indonesia, the main activities of the SEAMEO BIOTROP focus on Forest, Pest and Aquatic Biology. It assists SEAMEO Member Countries in developing the expertise to identify, prioritise, analyse and recommend solutions or alternative approaches to critical biological problems in the region, especially those related to sustainable development of tropical ecosystems.

www.biotrop.org

SEAMEO ChATSEAMEO Regional Centre for History and Tradition Based in Myanmar, the SEAMEO CHAT was inaugurated in December 2000, making it SEAMEO’s newest Centre of Excellence. It promotes cooperation in the study of history and tradition among SEAMEO Member Countries through research, human resource development, education and networking.

www.seameochat.org

SEAMEO iNNOTEChSEAMEO Regional Centre for Educational Innovation and Technology Based in the Philippines, the SEAMEO INNOTECH initiates and disseminates innovative and technology-oriented educational programmes that help SEAMEO Member Countries identify and solve common or unique educational problems and address anticipated needs.

www.seameo-innotech.org

SEAMEO rECSAMSEAMEO Regional Centre for Education in Science and Mathematics Established on the island state of Penang, Malaysia, the SEAMEO RECSAM is designed to meet the needs of the SEAMEO Member Countries in developing science, mathematics and technology education programmes.

www.recsam.edu.my

SEAMEO rELCSEAMEO Regional Language Centre Located in Singapore, the SEAMEO RELC provides SEAMEO Member Countries with expertise, training facilities and training programmes to upgrade the skills of language specialists and educators. Programmes focus on knowledge and pedagogic disciplines of language teaching and learning.

www.relc.org.sg

SEAMEO rETrACSEAMEO Regional Training Centre Located in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the SEAMEO RETRAC assists SEAMEO Member Countries especially Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam to identify and solve common problems in human resource development. Its area of specialisation is educational management.

www.vnseameo.org

SEAMEO rihEdSEAMEO Regional Centre for Higher Education and Development Hosted by the Government of Thailand, the SEAMEO RIHED plays a crucial role in the capability building of SEAMEO Member Countries in the field of higher education. It responds to needs on policy and planning, administration and management of higher education.

www.rihed.seameo.org

SEAMEO SEAMOLECSEAMEO Regional Open Learning Centre Located in Indonesia, the SEAMEO SEAMOLEC assists SEAMEO Member Countries in identifying educational problems and finding alternative solutions for sustainable human resource development through the dissemination and effective use of open learning and distance education.

www.seamolec.org

www.biotrop.org

www.seameochat.org

www.recsam.edu.my

www.relc.org.sg

www.vnseameo.org

www.rihed.seameo.org

www.seamolec.org


SEAMEO SEArCASEAMEO Regional Centre for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture The SEAMEO SEARCA, hosted by the Government of the Philippines, serves the agriculture and rural needs of the region through its human resource development programmes and research and extension activities.

www.searca.org

SEAMEO SPAfASEAMEO Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts Hosted by the Government of Thailand, the SEAMEO SPAFA cultivates awareness and appreciation of cultural heritage; promotes and enriches archaeological and cultural activities in the region; and furthers professional competence in the fields of archaeology and fine arts to advance mutual knowledge and understanding among SEAMEO Member Countries.

www.seameo-spafa.org

SEAMEO TrOPMEd NetworkSEAMEO Tropical Medicine and Public Health Network The SEAMEO TROPMED Network has four sub-regional centres in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. The central office is located in Bangkok. The Network’s overall role is to promote health and to prevent and control tropical diseases and public health problems.

www.tm.mahidol.ac.th/en/seameo/home.htm

SEAMEO TrOPMEd indonesiaSEAMEO TROPMED Regional Centre for Community Nutrition The SEAMEO TROPMED Indonesia, based at the University of Indonesia in Jakarta, has provided training and research in nutrition since 1970. It trains nutritionists, health professionals and personnel from other nutrition-related disciplines in planning, executing and evaluating nutrition policies and interventions.

www.seameo-rccn.org

SEAMEO TrOPMEd MalaysiaSEAMEO TROPMED Regional Centre for Microbiology, Parasitology and Entomology The SEAMEO TROPMED Malaysia, located at the Institute for Medical Research in Kuala

Lumpur, conducts research for the prevention and control of diseases and provides specialised training, diagnostic, consultative and advisory services. It promotes health management as a collective responsibility of government, the private sector, non-government organisations, the community and individuals.

www.imr.gov.my/affi/seameo.htm

SEAMEO TrOPMEd PhilippinesSEAMEO TROPMED Regional Centre for Public Health The SEAMEO TROPMED Philippines, based in the College of Public Health of the University of the Philippines in Manila, conducts research and training in the fields of public health, rural medicine, hospital administration, environmental and occupational health, health policy and management.

www.cph.upm.edu.ph

SEAMEO TrOPMEd ThailandSEAMEO TROPMED Regional Centre for Tropical Medicine The SEAMEO TROPMED Thailand, hosted by the Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University, Bangkok, offers training on endemic tropical diseases, parasitology, community and preventive medicine. It also conducts researches on alternative control measures of diseases and the promotion of healthy lifestyles, including trials of new chemotherapeutic compounds and new vaccines. It provides clinical care to patients suffering from tropical diseases.

www.tm.mahidol.ac.th/en/seameo/thailand.htm

SEAMEO vOCTEChSEAMEO Regional Centre for Vocational and Technical Education and TrainingHosted by Brunei Darussalam, the SEAMEO VOCTECH is designed to improve the management of vocational and technical education and training (VTET) in SEAMEO Member Countries. The Centre strives to develop and deliver relevant programmes in VTET to meet the local, national and regional needs in socio-economic, industrial, business and labour markets.

www.voctech.org.bn

AB O U T SE A M EO

www.searca.org

www.seameo-spafa.org

www.tm.mahidol.ac.th/en/seameo/home.htm

www.seameo-rccn.org

www.imr.gov.my/affi/seameo.htm

www.cph.upm.edu.ph

www.tm.mahidol.ac.th/en/seameo/thailand.htm

www.voctech.org.bn

SeaMeo | Education | Science | Culture | For a Better Quality of Life

SOUTHEAST ASIAN MINISTERS OF EDUCATION ORGANIZATIONSeaMeo

www.seameo.org

http://www.seameo.org

sea mag, issue 01, may 2006 · 8 sowing seeds of peace in the mekong river basin 11 culture, peace,...

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