RECSAM News_Sept-Dec2019

2 RECSAM News Vol. 50 - No. 3 SEAMEO RECSAM 50 th Governing Board Meeting SEAMEO RECSAM Governing Board Members of the eleven SEAMEO Member Countries and the SEAMEO Secretariat convened the 50 th Governing Board Meeting (GBM) at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 24 to 26 September 2019. The Governing Board Members and Representatives in attendance were Mr. Haji Shamsulbahri bin Haji Muhammad (Brunei Darussalam), Mrs. Ma. Gemma M. Ledesma (Philippines), Mr. Chua Chor Huat (Singapore), Dr. Phuriwat Khamaikawin (Thailand), Mr. Somphay Sengvilaysack (representing Mr. Khambay Khamsy from Lao PDR), Mr. Mazlan Bin Samsudin (representing YBhg. Dato’ Sulaiman Bin Wak from Malaysia), Mr. Lim Sotharith (representing Mr. Or Siem of Cambodia) and Dr. Wahyudi Yososutikno (Ex-Officio representing Dr. Ethel Agnes Pascua-Valenzuela, Director of SEAMEO Secretariat). Dr. Suhaidah Tahir, the Centre Director of RECSAM thanked the Governing Board members, representatives and observers for attending the meeting despite their busy schedules and expressed her hope to have a successful meeting that could drive the Centre to greater heights. Mr. Haji Shamsulbahri bin Haji Muhammad, the Chairman of the Governing Board, expressed his sincere appreciation to all the former Board members for their contributions and dedications. He also complimented their contributions which had enabled the last GBM to pass resolutions needed in the operation and development of SEAMEO RECSAM. He also welcomed all honorary members and the representatives of the Board, the representative from SEAMEO Secretariat, the observers and all that were present in the meeting and hoped to have a very resourceful meeting to produce resolutions that can transform RECSAM into an excellent Centre following its mandated programmes and activities. Dr. Wahyudi Yososutikno, representing the Director of SEAMEO Secretariat noted several achievements and successes of SEAMEO RECSAM in the past fiscal year and acknowledged the Centre’s involvement in SEAMEO Education Standards and Student Networking project, one of the 12 initiatives by SEAMEO Secretariat under the Golden SEAMEO (2011-2020). He also expressed his gratitude to the Governing Board Members who always generously provided precious and valuable technical inputs and professional advice to the Centre as well as the Government of Malaysia for its continuous support to SEAMEO RECSAM. Mr. Haji Shamsulbahri bin Haji Muhammad, the Governing Board Member from Brunei Darussalam was elected as the Chairman of RECSAM’s Governing Board while Mr. Mazlan Bin Samsudin (representing YBhg. Dato’ Sulaiman Bin Wak) from Malaysia was elected as the Vice-Chairman of the Governing Board for F.Y. 2019/2020 – F.Y. 2020/2021. In this year’s Governing Board Meeting, the Centre highlighted a total of eight (8) working papers and six (6) information papers for the deliberation of the board members. Among other key working papers submitted for considerations were: (i) Matters Arising from the Resolutions of the 49 th Governing Board Meeting 2018, (ii) Strategic and Operational Plans, Programmes and Proposed Budgets for Three Fiscal Years 2020/2021, 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 and Personnel Strength Budget for Fiscal Year Ending 30 th June 2021, (iii) Proposed SEAMEO RECSAM 11 th Five-Year Development Plan for F.Y. 2020/2021 - F.Y. 2024/2025, and (iv) ProposedAmendment to the Staff Rules and Regulations 1995 (Revised – September 2015). After lengthy deliberations, the working papers were adopted with recommendations that RECSAM continues to keep its programmes flexible and relevant to the changing times and devise ways to increase the impact of its programmes and activities in the region. Other information papers reported the updates of the (i) Survey Research Report on RECSAM’s Regular Courses for F.Y. 2017/2018 and F.Y. 2018/2019 (Batch 1), (ii) Report of the RECSAMSEASO (SEAMEOScience Olympiad) 2019, (iii) Report on the 8 th International Conference on Science and Mathematics Education (CoSMEd) 2019 and TIMSS International Symposium 2019, (iv) Update on the 12 th Regional Congress on SEAMEO Search for Young Scientists Plus (SSYS + ) 2020, (v) Report on Southeast Asia Basic Education Standards (SEA-BES) Phase 2, and (vi) Report on SEAMEO Learning Science and Mathematics Together (LeSMaT) in a Borderless World. The annual Governing Board Meeting is an important platform for Governing Board Members nominated by the eleven SEAMEO Member Countries to discuss the policy, management and administration of SEAMEO RECSAM, as well as to review the Centre’s achievements in the last fiscal year and planned future activities and programmes. The 51 st SEAMEO RECSAM Governing Board Meeting next year will be held from 29 September to 1 October 2020 in Phuket, Thailand. Governing Board Members & Delegates at the 50 th GBM