The Governing Board of the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Sufficiency Economy Philosophy for Sustainability met for the fifth time in Bangkok on 12-13 September 2023. This was the first after three consecutive years of holding the meeting online due to Covid-19. Members of the Governing Board include government-nominated high officials from SEAMEO Member Countries namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Timor Leste. Thailand was elected Chairperson for the second term. The SEAMEO Secretariat attended as an ex-officio member.
Sparked by renewed enthusiasm, the members of the Governing Board reviewed the accomplishments of the Centre and discussed ways forward including the development of the Centre’s Second Five-Year Development Plan. Governing Board Chairperson Dr. Priyanut Dharmapiya from Thailand steered the meeting and noted that the Meeting was very much guided by the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy as there was free sharing and the discussions and decisions were based on trust and camaraderie.
Ms. Duriya Amatavivat, SEAMEO SEPS Director, laid out the programmes and projects for implementation for fiscal years 2024 to 2025, and proposed three new projects including research grants, a forum and a community partnership and development programme. The initiatives will broaden the reach of the Centre and expand its support to new target communities and sectors such as researchers, community and practitioners. Moreover, these projects are expected to strengthen the knowledge base of the Centre in order to promote a strong competitive advantage and boost sound content creation using new knowledge from both academic and community-based research.
The Governing Board members vowed to work more closely with SEAMEO SEPS particularly in sharing their expertise and promoting the Centre’s activities through their respective networks.
The Governing Board is the governing and policymaking body of SEAMEO SEPS. It determines the directions of the Centre in providing regional leadership in human resource development and diverse expertise in the areas of education, science and culture. The Governing Board shall be accountable to the SEAMEO Council which is the governing body of the Organization. The Governing Board chairperson and members serve for three years per term.