RECSAM 50th Anniversary Coffee Table Book

3 The Establishment of SEAMEO 1 The pioneer batch of members af fi liated to SEAMEO since 1968 consisted of Malaysia, Singapore, the Lao Peoples’ Democratic Republic, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. Cambodia (then, Khmer Republic) was accepted as a Member Country in 1971. Negara Brunei Darussalam joined as the ninth Member Country in 1984. In 1998, Union of Myanmar joined the fold as the tenth Member Country. Timor Leste boosted the membership to eleven when it joined in March 2005. A number of foreign governments and agencies realised the importance of the collective leadership of the Organisation and sought af fi liations to help expand the Organisation’s role at the regional and international levels. The fi rst Associate Member Country was France in 1973, followed by Australia and New Zealand in 1974. Subsequently, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom joined as Associate Members. Over the years, they have been contributing signi fi cantly towards promoting educational development and innovation, research for development, as well as staff development. SEAMEO has come a long way since its establishment in 1965. Today, SEAMEO membership comprises 11 Member Countries in Southeast Asia, 8 Associate Member Countries from around the world, and 4 Af fi liate Members. Through its 21 Regional Centers and Network, SEAMEO has been consistent and steadfast in pursuing activities in its priority areas, including various specialisations in education, archaeology and history, arts and design, cultural diversity and regional identity, heritage preservation and cultural management, traditions and values, agriculture, biodiversity and biotechnology, disaster management, food and nutrition, natural resources and environmental management, preventive healthandreproductivehealtheducation and life skills development. Central to the activities is the special focus on regional needs, fueled by the spirit of Southeast Asian cooperation. SEAMEO is nowon track towards achieving a common vision – Golden SEAMEO 2020 – a vision anchoring on four strategic thrusts; Regional Leadership and International Visibility, Program Excellence and Dynamism, Internal Capacity Building and SEAMEO Values and Social Responsibility. This vision is SEAMEO’s culmination of strengths and values to equip itself to embrace the challenges of the future. SEAMEO Member Countries Associate Member Countries Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom