Regional Education Center to be Set

[darnott@xxxxxxxxxxx]

REQUEST: I WONDER IF ANYONE COULD COLLECT TOGETHER THE ARTICLES/
REPORTS THAT HAVE APPEARED OVER THE PAST 6 MONTHS OR SO ON THE
SPDC'S LANGUAGE/EDUCATION POLICIES/PRACTICES AND POST THEM ON
THE BURMA LISTSERVS AND CONFERENCES. I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THE
MON, CHIN, SHAN AND KACHIN MIGHT HAVE SOME OFFERINGS, AS WELL AS
THE STUDENT GROUPS. IF SOME TEXTS ARE TOO LONG, BUT ARE ON WEBSITES,
THE URLS COULD BE GIVEN. SUCH A COLLECTION COULD BE GATHERED TOGETHER
INTO AN ANTHOLOGY FOR THE WORLD CONFERENCE AGAINST RACISM IN 2001
  -- SEE  http://www.unhchr.ch/html/racism/index.htm

WITH ITS INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION CLOSED FOR MOST OF THE
PAST DECADE, WITH ITS RESTRICTION ON TEACHING AND PUBLISHING IN
INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES OTHER THAN BURMESE, AND ITS SPECIAL
TREATMENT OF THE TRADITIONS AND HISTORY OF NON-BURMESE ETHNIC
GROUPS, BURMA MUST OF COURSE BE CONSIDERED A WORLD LEADER IN
"INNOVATIVE  PEDAGOGY" IN THE FIELDS OF HISTORY AND TRADITION (SEE BELOW)

DA


Regional Education Center to be Set Up in Myanmar

Xinhua, Rangoon, 7 June 2000.Education experts of Southeast Asian countries 
are meeting here
to discuss the establishment of a Southeast Asian Ministers of Education 
Organization (SEAMEO)
Regional Center for History and Tradition in Myanmar to give impetus to 
educational research and
innovative pedagogy in the fields.

The two-day meeting, jointly organized by the Myanmar Education Ministry 
and the SEAMEO, is
attended by delegates from ten member countries of SEAMEO --Brunei, 
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The establishment of the regional center for history and tradition was 
decided at the 35th SEAMEO
conference held in Bali in February this year.

SEAMEO was formed in 1965 to promote cooperation among the Southeast Asian 
nations through
education, science and culture.

In addition to the ten member countries, there are six associate member 
countries, namely Australia,
Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands and New Zealand.

Most of SEAMEO programs have been conducted through its 14 regional centers.