The SEAMEO Secretariat presented the result of the SEAMEO and the World Bank Project on Using the Mother Tongue as Bridge Language of Instruction in Southeast Asian Countries: Policy, Strategies and Advocacy in the recently concluded Second International Conference on Language Development, Language Revitalization and Multilingual Education in Ethno-linguistic Communities on 1-3 July 2008 at Twin Towers Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand.

The "ICeXCELS" or Instructional and Curricular Excellence in School Leadership and Management, a training program that is a product of SEAMEO INNOTECH’s ingenuity to use ICT in the training of school managers in Southeast Asia received commendation from UNESCO in a ceremony in Bangkok that concluded UNESCO’s 2007 ICT in Education Innovation Awards and celebration of the spirit of innovativeness on 24-26 June 2008 at the Imperial Queen's Park Hotel in Bangkok, Thailand.

After assuming leadership in March this year, the President of the SEAMEO Council, Minister of Education of Malaysia Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein visited Thailand on 16-17 June 2008, as part of his round of visits to the 11 SEAMEO Member Countries and Centres in Southeast Asia.

The SEAMEO Secretariat, in collaboration with SEAMEO RETRAC, has successfully organized a SEAMEO Capacity Building Workshop on 20 - 22 May 2008 at the Office of SEAMEO RETRAC, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

This year’s workshop focused on training the capacity of SEAMEO Units through partnership between and among the SEAMEO Centres and other partners.  The workshop aimed to strengthen the network among the Training Units of SEAMEO Centres through sharing of resources, good practices and knowledge.

The Ministry of Education, Malaysia, hosted the 43^rd SEAMEO Council Conference in Kuala Lumpur, gathering all the education ministers and high officials of the 11 SEAMEO member states in the annual meeting that took up issues on access, equity and quality of education, among other education policies and initiatives. In coordination with the SEAMEO Secretariat, the 43^rd SEAMEC was held on 13-14 March 2008 at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. It was preceded by the ICT Conference and Exhibition on 10-12 March 2008 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. The highlights of this year’s council conference are the signing of the renewed Agreement between SEAMEO and UNESCO, the Policy Forum led by MOE Malaysia that discussed “Bridging the Education Gap: Improving Access, Equity and Quality – Southeast Asia and Beyond,” and a discussion forum on the progress of Education for All in Southeast Asia.

The 2008 ICT Conference and Exhibition with the theme “ICT in Teaching and Learning” was successfully held in conjunction with the 43rd SEAMEO Council Conference and the 3rd ASEAN Education Minister Meeting on 10-12 March 2008 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event which was officially opened by Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin bin Tun Hussein, SEAMEO Council President, was attended by 383 registered participants.