The SEAMEO Secretariat, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education of Thailand, convened the 34^th SEAMEO High Officials Meeting at the Grand Millennium Sukhumvit Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand, from 17 to 19 January 2012. A total of 137 participants from 18 countries representing the 9 SEAMEO Member Countries, 5 Associate Members, 2 Affiliate Members, and 6 observer delegations attended the Meeting.

H E Masaharu Nakagawa, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan visited the SEAMEO Secretariat in Bangkok on 10 January 2012 as part of his official visit to Thailand to strengthen cooperation on education between Japan and Southeast Asia.

Dr Witaya Jeradechakul, Director, SEAMEO Secretariat welcomed the MEXT Minister and his delegation and presented the future direction of SEAMEO based on the recently-developed 2011-2020 Strategic Plan. He also shared the initiatives that SEAMEO will undertake to reach the “Golden SEAMEO” vision by 2020. He said that SEAMEO embraces the challenge to remain relevant and become more efficient in the execution of its mandate of promoting cooperation in education, science and culture in Southeast Asia.

SEAMEO was represented by the SEAMEO Secretariat at the International Forum on Education Official Development Assistance (ODA) with the theme "Dream with Education: From Aid to Development" on 28 November 2011 in Busan, Republic of Korea.  The one-day forum was a prelude to the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness with the theme "Building Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation" which was held from 29 November to 1 December 2011.  The two events were co-organized by the Korean Educational Development Institute (KEDI) and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), Republic of Korea in collaboration with UNESCO, the World Bank, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The SEAMEO Secretariat, in collaboration with UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education in Bangkok, WORLDDIDAC (World Association of Publishers, manufacturers and Distributors of Educational Materials), Matichon Public Co., Ltd., and Reed Tradex Co., Ltd., organized the 4th Asia Education Leaders Forum and the World DIDAC Asia Exhibition 2011 from 26 to 28 October 2011 at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, Bangkok, Thailand.

Inclusive Education in Southeast Asia discussed in Second Forum for SEAMEO High Officials of Basic Education

Fifty high-level education officials responsible for basic education in SEAMEO Member Countries and specialists from non-governmental organizations met in a three-day forum from 18 to 20 October 2011 at the Sandy Beach Resort, Danang, Vietnam to discuss the progress of promoting and implementing inclusive education in the SEAMEO Member Countries during the 2nd Annual Forum for High Officials of Basic Education of SEAMEO Member Countries and Associate Members.  The discussions revolved on the theme "Sharing and Embracing the Development of Inclusive Education in Southeast Asian Countries".

Storytellers and theater art performers gather to produce multimedia  educational material on Southeast Asian and Korean folktales

Sixteen professional storytellers, theater artists, and performers gathered in a regional workshop on 10-11 October 2011 at the Voice of Peace Studio in Chiangmai, Thailand for the storytelling and audio-visual recording of 25 Southeast Asian and Korean folktales as originally told in their respective native languages as well as in English.  The recorded stories will be compiled in a user-friendly multimedia material for use in teaching and learning in SEAMEO Member Countries and Korea.

The fourth regular meeting between SEAMEO and the UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education was held on 26 September 2011 at the Mom Luang Pin Malakul Centenary Building, Bangkok.

The meeting was chaired by the Director of UNESCO Bangkok, Dr Gwang-Jo Kim and co-chaired by the Director of SEAMEO Secretariat, Dr Witaya Jeradechakul.  Mr Haji Mahrub bin Haji Murni, Permanent Secretary (Core Education), Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam represented the SEAMEO Council President at the meeting.  He was accompanied by Mr Aminudin Mohd Yaakub from the Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam. Over 30 UNESCO and SEAMEO participants attended the meeting including the heads of units and key officers of UNESCO Bangkok, representatives from SEAMEO SPAFA and SEAMEO TROPMED Network, as well as key officers of the SEAMEO Secretariat.

SEAMEO QITEP in Language conducts workshop to develop mother tongue-based multilingual education pilot projects in Indonesia

Responding to the various resolutions of the SEAMEO Council, SEAMEO QITEP in Language has been conducting various activities to continue the coordination of initiatives on multilingual education in SEAMEO Member Countries.  The latest of which is the workshop titled "Design and Development of Mother Tongue-based Multilingual Education Programme" which was conducted on 12-15 September 2011 at the Ibis Arcadia Hotel, Jakarta, Indonesia which produced a set of needs analysis instruments for school principals, teachers, parents, community leaders and other local education officials who will be involved in establishing potential pilot projects on multilingual education in some provinces in Indonesia.

The Commission on Higher Education, Thailand conferred  the "Best Practice Award" to SEAMEO TROPMED Thailand in recognition of its leadership in the field of tropical medicine and in appreciation of its continuing contribution to the knowledge needed to make a substantial positive difference to tropical healthcare problems in Southeast Asia, particularly through the Centre's International Graduate Program in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.