The 46th Governing Board Meeting of SEAMEO BIOTROP was held on 22-24 October 2008 in Manila, the Philippines. H E Dr Datu Jesli A Lapus, Secretary of Education, Philippines welcomed the GB Members.

At the opening of the meeting, SEAMEO BIOTROP Center Director, Dr Ir Handoko and SEAMEO Secretariat Deputy Director for Administration and Communication Dr Tinsiri Siribodhi delivered their respective remarks.

The SEAMEO Regional Center for History and Tradition (CHAT) convened its 7th Governing Board Meeting in the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw in Myanmar on 21-22 October 2008. The Meeting was attended by the GB Members from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the SEAMEO Secretariat.

In an opening ceremony, H E Dr Chan Nyein, Minister for Education, Myanmar welcomed the GB Members.

Meanwhile, Dato’ Dr Ahamad bin Sipon, Director, SEAMEO Secretariat delivered his remarks

The SEAMEO VOCTECH Regional Centre convened the 11 Governing Board Members/ Representatives from the Southeast Asian countries for the Centre’s 19th Governing Board Meeting and Roundtable Discussion on vocational and technical education and training (VTET) issues on 13-15, 2008 in Brunei, Darussalam.

Officials from the Embassies of Germany and The Netherlands in Brunei Darussalam, being SEAMEO Associate Member Countries, attended the meeting and congratulated the SEAMEO VOCTECH for its accomplishments.

The 39th Governing Board Meeting of SEAMEO RECSAM was held on 8-10 October 2008 at the Centre’s Headquarters in Penang, Malaysia. The Meeting was attended by eight GB Members from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and the SEAMEO Secretariat.

Dr Azian T S Abdullah, the Centre Director, gave a summary of the Centre’s accomplishments covering FY 2007-2008. Meanwhile, other key officials of the Centre presented eight reports on various concerns, five working papers and four other papers for information.

The 37th Governing Board Meeting of SEAMEO RELC was held on 6-7 October 2008 at SEAMEO RELC, Singapore. In attendance were the Governing Board Members for Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and the SEAMEO Secretariat.

Chairperson of the SEAMEO RELC Governing Board, Ms Ho Peng, Director, Curriculum Planning and Development Division, Ministry of Education chaired the meeting.

The SEAMEO INNOTECH convened its 51st Governing Board Meeting on 6-7 October 2008 at the INNOTECH Compound, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.

SEAMEO INNOTECH Centre Director Dr Erlinda C Pefianco reported on the Center's accomplishments for Fiscal Year 2007-2008 at the meeting.  She also presented the Center's activities, programs and projects based on five key result areas; namely, enhanced program excellence and relevance; increased access to markets of SEAMEO programs; increased linkages with national/regional/international institutions; ensured financial viability; and enhanced quality and efficiency of management.

The eleven SEAMEO Member Countries expressed determination to work together and came up with concrete plans to fully implement Education For All (EFA) in the first ever attempt of Southeast Asian countries to collaborate and take advantage of each other’s strengths to reach the unreached population groups in the region.

The SEAMEO TROPMED Network convened its 47th Governing Board Meeting on 27-29 August 2008 at Hanoi Horizon Hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam.

This year’s GB Meeting was hosted by the Ministry of Health, Government of Vietnam.  HE Prof Dr Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, Vice Minister of Health, Vietnam opened the meeting.  Meanwhile, Assoc Prof Dr Tran Trong Hai of the Ministry of Health, Vietnam and Assoc Prof Dr Pratap Singhasivanon, Secretary General/Coordinator of SEAMEO TROPMED Network welcomed the GB Members.

The SEAMEO RETRAC convened its 11th Governing Board Meeting on 27 August 2008. Concurrently, an international conference on basic education dubbed as "Basic Education Curriculum Revisited: A Look at the Current Content and Reform" was held at the Institut Aminuddin Baki, in Genting Highland, Malaysia.