Strengthening Education in ASEAN

At their October 2009 Summit, ASEAN Leaders adopted the ChaAm Hua Hin Declaration on Strengthening Cooperation on Education to Achieve an ASEAN Caring and Sharing Community. This declaration recognized the central importance of education to the entire community-building process of ASEAN. In support of this declaration, the ASEAN-US Technical Assistance and Training Facility (Facility) is providing support to the ASEAN Secretariat to promote educational development, primarily by supporting policymakers to create sound policy in education. In 2009 ASEAN Education Ministers asked the ASEAN Secretariat to develop a five-year work plan to implement the provisions of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint. The following year, in collaboration with the ASEAN Secretariat, the Facility supported the development of the Five Year ASEAN Work Plan on Education (2011-2015), which was officially adopted by the ASEAN Education Ministers in January 2011. The work plan stresses four priority areas: 1) ASEAN Awareness; 2) Quality and Access to Education; 3) Internationalization of Education and 4) Support to other Sectoral Bodies. As there are strong education programs at the national level throughout the region, the Facility is helping the Secretariat coordinate activities that promote member state-to-member state capacity building. The Facility is now supporting the implementation of this work plan through the development of ASEAN awareness curriculum materials, an undergraduate ASEAN Studies Course, and guidelines on the creation of an ASEAN Eco-School Program. The Facility will also host a major conference on Rural Connectivity for Education and Development in September 2011. The ASEAN University Network, the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization, the Senior Officials Meeting on Education, the Secretariat, and the private sector are all key partners in the implementation of these activities.

These students in Thailand can soon expect to have an enhanced focus on ASEAN related subjects as part of their curriculum

ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Objectives: Education

Ensuring the integration of education priorities into ASEANs development agenda and creating a knowledge based society Achieving universal access to primary education Promoting early childcare and development Enhancing awareness of ASEAN to youths through education and activities to build an ASEAN identity based on friendship and cooperation

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): Brunei Darussalam, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, & Vietnam

ASEAN-US Technical Assistance and Training Facility

Providing technical support and training through the ASEAN Secretariat towards the development of a secure, prosperous, and democratic Southeast Asia, all the while promoting greater cooperation and understanding between the people of the United States and ASEAN.

ASEAN is well positioned to promote the mobilization of students throughout its universities. As scholarships are a key method to promote this, the Facility will review all regional scholarship programs for students and faculty that exist in ASEAN. This study will provide a stocktaking of these scholarships and provide recommendations on how ASEAN and its Member States could further strengthen or support these programs. The Facility expects its areas of ASEAN education support to result in greater cooperation among ASEAN studies programs within ASEAN and closer connection to US ASEAN studies programs. It also expects that these efforts will lead to the promotion of collaboration between ASEAN and US academics in ASEAN and Southeast Asian studies. The Facility is a joint U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. State Department-funded project that supports ASEAN integration.

Key Work Areas

Political-Security Community ASEAN Regional Forum Human rights Financial crimes Economic Community Standards development Facilitation of trade in goods and services Customs cooperation Socio-Cultural Community Climate change Disaster management, pandemic preparedness, and response Rights of migrant workers Education Volunteer programs Support for the Secretariat Public outreach Information technology

Students at St Michaels School, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. An award winning school under Malaysias Sekolah Lestari-Environment Award Program, which encourages schools to develop and implement sustainable features and practices.