The seminar was attended by Deputy Director of the SEAMEO Secretariat Noorhaizamdin Abdullah and educational officials from Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Participants agreed that the centre would contribute to fulfilling SEAMEO’s commitments to the Asia-Pacific Programme of Education for All (APPEAL), the Jomtien World Declaration on Education for All, the Dakar Framework for Action, the UN Millennium Development Goals and the 6th UNESCO international conference on adult education.

Deputy Head of the International Cooperation Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), Pham Chi Cuong, said since 2000, Vietnam has built more than 10,000 communal learning centres in villages and towns nationwide and encouraged people towards lifelong learning in different ways. Vietnam has also strengthened cooperation with regional countries and UNESCO to promote lifelong learning and organised many seminars and events related to the issue. The country has also launched a “Lifelong Learning – Key to Every Success” week.

Vietnam proposed building a SEAMEO regional centre for lifelong learning in Hanoi. The MoET is working with the SEAMEO Secretariat toward establishing the centre by early 2013 when Vietnam officially undertakes the 47^th SEAMEC presidency.

Delegates from SEAMEO member countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines shared their experiences in lifelong learning and with several SEAMEO centres, such as SEAMEO Regional Training Centre (RETRAC) in Ho Chi Minh City.

Mr Abdullah praised Vietnam’s efforts in promoting lifelong learning and affirmed that SEAMEO is ready to provide technical support for the country to build and develop a lifelong learning centre in Hanoi.