Bangkok, 10 January 2012 – The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) will hold the 34th High Officials Meeting that will be attended by almost 100 delegates from over 20 countries in Southeast Asia and beyond to tackle pressing education issues affecting the Southeast Asian region on 17-19 January 2012 at the Grand Sukhumvit Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand.

The 3-day meeting will be attended by education vice ministers, undersecretaries, permanent secretaries, directors general, and other high-level education officials of SEAMEO Member Countries, associate members, affiliates and partners.  High on the agenda are education issues such as education for sustainable development, disaster risk reduction in education, and Education For All.  The education leaders are also expected to endorse the 10-year Strategic Plan for SEAMEO and the development plans of the SEAMEO Regional Centres.   Thailand Education Minister, Mr Woravat Auapinyakul, is expected to give an opening address during the opening ceremony in the morning of 18 January 2012.

“The meeting of the SEAMEO high officials this year is crucial in setting the direction of SEAMEO for 2012,” said SEAMEO Secretariat Director, Dr Witaya Jeradechakul who is leading the preparations for the event.  “We very much look forward to the discussions on educational issues that need urgent attention and concerted efforts of the member countries and partners.”

The High Officials Meeting is an annual event of SEAMEO that serves as forum for discussion on priority issues of SEAMEO, review of proposals, and presentation of accomplishments.  The result of the meeting is submitted to the SEAMEO Council, the highest governing body of SEAMEO and consists of the education ministers of the SEAMEO Member Countries.  Brunei Darussalam serves as chair of the 34th High Officials Meeting.

The SEAMEO Secretariat convenes the 34th SEAMEO High Officials Meeting in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Thailand.  The 6th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Education (SOM-ED), and the ASEAN+3 SOM-ED will also be convened back-to-back with the 34th SEAMEO High Officials Meeting.

The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) is a chartered international organization, established in 1965, to promote cooperation in education, science and culture in Southeast Asia. SEAMEO works towards achieving this through the establishment of networks and partnerships, provision of intellectual forums for policy makers and experts, and promotion of sustainable human resource development. SEAMEO develops and nurtures the capacities of teachers and school managers in Southeast Asia through its network of 19 specialist institutions that undertake training and research programmes in various fields of education, science and culture.

For more information, please contact:

SEAMEO BIOTROP
Jl. Raya Tajur Km. 6 Bogor
Tel: +62-251-8323848
Email: gau@biotrop.org
Website:  www.biotrop.org