ASEM Education Secretariat ASEM Education Gazette, Volume 3, November 2017

CONTENTS
3
Foreword Director
of ASEM Education
Secretariat

4 11 13
Editorial The 6th ASEM Education Indonesia Readiness in ASEM
Ministers Meeting and 10th Work Placement Programme
ASEM Education Secretariat ASEM Education Gazette, Volume 3, November 2017

ASEM Education Gazette, Volume 3,

year of ASEM Education
Process
November 2017

ASEM Education Gazette is an official publication

of the ASEM Education Process published annually
by the ASEM Education Secretariat, hosted by
the Ministry of Education and Culture, Republic
of Indonesia for the period of 2013 to 2017.
This third edition is released in November 2017
on the occasion of the 6th ASEM Education
Ministers Meeting (ASEMME6) to be held in
November 2017 in Seoul, Republic of Korea. This
16 21 26
Gazette is a communication channel in printed Erasmus+ Program in ASEM MOOCs as tangible tools Can Education Build ASEM?
and online version which consists of series of Education Cooperation for the ASEM Education
articles to highlight the successful initiatives and Collaboration
contributions of ASEM member countries and
stakeholders. The selection of facts and opinions
expressed in the articles are those of the authors
and concerned participants only.

Language Proofreading
Dr. David Charles Harding
Daniella Situmorang

Design and Layout

Orange Circle Design
31 37 50
The Regional Centre for Lifelong ASEFs Contribution to the 20 Years of ASEF, Connecting Asia
Front Cover Photo Learning in Southeast Asia ASEM Education Process: & Europe: Where Diversity Creates
Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea A Tangible Result of ASEM Success and Future Development
Cooperation of ASEM Youth Projects
Contact
ASEM Education Secretariat
Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic
of Indonesia
Jalan Jenderal Sudirman Senayan
Building C, 6th Floor
Jakarta 10270, Indonesia
Phone: +62 21 571 1144 ext. 2601
Fax: +62 21 574 6395
Email: asem.education@kemdikbud.go.id 55
http://asem-education-secretariat.kemdikbud.go.id Profile of Language Proofreading

2
ASEM EDUCATION GAZETTE
The Regional Centre for Lifelong
Learning in Southeast Asia
A Tangible Result of ASEM Cooperation
By Dr Que Anh Dang
GIGA - German Institute of Global and Area Studies
T
he ASEM Education
Process has witnessed
the creation of new
institutions, such
as ASEM meetings,
norms, projects and
organisations in the
last ten years. They are often recognised
by the prefix ASEM which has become
a signature or a new identity of the
joint inter-regional initiatives. However,
amongst them, one new organisation
bearing a different acronym - the
Southeast Asian Ministers of Education
Organization (SEAMEO) Centre for
Lifelong Learning (CELLL) - can also
be considered as a concrete result of
ASEM cooperation. How and why did
this regional institution emerge, what
are its objectives, and what regional
cooperation does it construct?
The Genesis and Institutional
Design of SEAMEO CELLL
2008-2010: from bilateral
partnership to regional centre
The first ideas of creating a regional
centre for lifelong learning in
Southeast Asia were conceived in
various discussions and meetings in
2008-2009 leading to the Denmark-
Vietnam bilateral memorandum of
understanding (MOU) on educational
partnership. The MoU was initiated
at the right time when Vietnam was
reviewing its national education
development strategy for 2001-
2010 and crafting a new strategy for
2011-2020, in which an important
component was the strategy of building
a learning society. Around the same
time, the 2007 ASEAN Charter also
called for regional efforts to develop
human resources through closer
cooperation in education and lifelong
learning, and in science and technology,
for the empowerment of the peoples
of ASEAN and for the strengthening
of the ASEAN Community (Chapter 1,
Article 1).
Therefore, in the bilateral partnership
with Denmark, Vietnam was interested
in learning from the Danish strategy for
lifelong learning and understanding the
keys to the socio-economic success of
Denmark where most adults participate
in adult education and continuing
training, on-the-job competence
development, and liberal adult
education activities in their leisure time.
ASEM Education Gazette, Volume 3, November 2017
Denmark was also keen to share its
long tradition of adult education
for strengthening a democratic and
equal society, and a competent
workforce.
In preparation for the 2002 ASEM
Summit in Copenhagen, Denmark
has worked with several Southeast
Asian countries to take stock of
lifelong learning practices in Asia
and Europe. Subsequently, the
Danish proposal to establish the
ASEM Education and Research
Hub for Lifelong Learning (ASEM
LLL Hub) was adopted at the 2004
ASEM Summit in Hanoi. Since its
launch in 2005, ASEM LLL Hub,
housed in Copenhagen, has been
working as a bridge linking a
growing network of researchers,
universities and ministries of
education for research cooperation
and policy learning in some 40
ASEM countries.
A Vietnamese delegation of scholars
and senior officials were invited to
participate in the ASEM Conference
Frameworks for Supporting Lifelong
Learning in November 2008 in
Beijing. On this occasion, at the
31
 bilateral meeting with the Danish
delegation and ASEM LLL Hub, the
Vietnamese delegation acknowledged
the relevance of lifelong learning for
the agenda of ASEM ME2, which was
going to be hosted in Hanoi six months
later.
As a norm in the ASEM process,
bilateral relations contribute
significantly to building inter-regional
cooperation. The Vietnam-Denmark
partnership for lifelong learning is a
case in point. At ASEM ME2 in May
2009, the Danish Minister of Education
acted as a co-chair and volunteered to
host ASEM ME3. With the political and
financial support of both ministries,
ASEM LLL Hub organised the first
ASEM conference entitled Increasing
Opportunities and Removing Obstacles
for Lifelong Learning1 in October
2009 in Nha Trang City. The conference
pointed out that the shortage of
quantitative and qualitative research
into various aspects of lifelong
learning at national and regional levels
presents obstacles to effective policies
and successful implementation. The
problem is acute in the ASEAN region.
One of the recommendations of the
conference was to establish a regional
lifelong learning centre which can
create a network of research institutes,
practitioners, and policy makers that
will contribute to improving knowledge
production, data collection and research
analysis for policy making. As Vietnam
was taking on the ASEAN Chairmanship
in 2010, the government expressed its
willingness to host such a centre and to
bring lifelong learning to the regional
agenda.
1 More information at http://asemlllhub.org/events/nhatrangvietnamoctober2009/
2 For a full list of the SEAMEO centres please visit www.seameo.org
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ASEM EDUCATION GAZETTE
2010-2013: collective efforts to
design a new SEAMEO centre
In implementing the ASEM conferences
recommendation, a special working
group was set up in 2009 at Vietnam
Institute of Educational Sciences with
the participation of the ASEM LLL Hub
representatives to develop a concept
paper, a consultation plan and a
feasibility study leading to a concrete
proposal on the establishment of a new
regional centre. Building on the regional
education cooperation structure of
SEAMEO, the working group proposed
to set up a SEAMEO centre for lifelong
learning, and the consultation process
involved all 11 SEAMEO member
countries at early stages. Ten of these
countries are members of ASEAN
(Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Lao PRD, Malaysia, Myanmar,
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand,
and Vietnam) and Timor-Leste is a
member of SEAMEO and a candidature
country of ASEAN.
SEAMEO is a regional organisation,
established in 1965 and led by the
education ministers, to promote
cooperation in education, science
and culture; whereas ASEAN is a
regional organisation, established in
1967 and led by Heads of State and
Government, to promote political,
economic and cultural/educational
development in Southeast Asia. Since
its inception, SEAMEO has been
focusing on educational cooperation
related to its members nation-building
missions and implementing activities
through currently 21 specialist centres,
for example, in tropical biology,
mathematics and science, language,
agriculture, food and nutrition, public
health, vocational training, higher
education, archaeology and fine arts,
etc.2. These centres are subordinated
institutions of SEAMEO and partially
supported by a special fund centrally
administered by the SEAMEO
Secretariat, but their operations
are principally financed by the
host countries. Depending on their
services they can attract funding
from third partners or cost-recovery
activities.
Unlike other SEAMEO centres
where the host countries, in most
cases, have vast experience and
intellectual capacity in their selected
field, Vietnam has volunteered to
take on the regional role in lifelong
learning with a limited capacity, in
terms of both expertise and financial
resources. However, the country has
demonstrated its high-level political
will and enthusiasm to learn from
other countries, and the ability to
mobilise support from international
partners. Between 2010 and 2013,
Vietnams Ministry of Education
and Training (MOET) and the
special working group undertook
a range of steps in shaping the
new SEAMEO centre. In January
2010, the then Deputy Prime
Minister cum Minister of Education,
presented the first concept paper
for approval at the 45th SEAMEO
Council Conference. During the
course of 2010, a feasibility study
(a survey and a desk research) was
carried out in all SEAMEO member
countries. In December 2010, MOET,
in partnership with ASEM LLL Hub
and UNESCO, hosted Vietnam Forum
on Lifelong Learning - Building a
Learning Society. In the same month,
a Vietnamese delegation led by a
Vice Minister carried out a study visit
 Deputy Prime Minister cum Minister of
Education of Vietnam, Professor Nguyen
Thien Nhan (left) presented the proposal
for establishing SEAMEO CELL L at the
45th SEAMEO Council Conference, 26-29
Denmark-Vietnam Memorandum of Understanding on supporting LLL development
January 2010, the Philippines. (photo credit
and SEAMEO CELLL establishment, Vietnam Forum Lifelong Learning - Building a
to SEAMEC 45)
Learning Society, Hanoi, December 2010. (photo courtesy by ASEM LLL Hub)

to the Danish Ministry of Education
and lifelong learning establishments
around Copenhagen. At ASEM ME3
in Denmark, another Vice Minister of
Vietnam shared with all ASEM countries
in his keynote:
One impact of the Asia-Europe
interactions is that the SEAMEO Council
has adopted the decision on establishing
the SEAMEO Centre for Lifelong
Learning in Vietnam Europe has been
developing lifelong learning strategies at
regional level in the last 10 years, with
many excellent initiatives, one of which
is the EU-wide Grundtvig Programme for
adult education. Such regional education
policies in Europe have given us
inspiration to further strengthen ASEAN
integration. [] SEAMEO CELLL aims to
cater for the regional needs in promoting
lifelong learning, to become a Centre of
Excellence for research and training on
lifelong learning, to serve as a regional
forum for policy development, and to act
as a bridge linking Southeast Asia with
other ASEM partners (10 May 2011,
ASEM ME3, Copenhagen)
The ambitious objectives set out for
SEAMEO CELLL depict the desired
outcomes of collective efforts of the
ASEAN countries, especially the host.
They are not only wishful thinking but
rather careful deliberations through
many rounds of drafting statutory
documents and consultation meetings
over three years. SEAMEO CELLL was
officially ratified by its 11 member
countries at the SEAMEO Council
Conference in Vietnam in March 2013.
The launch of the centre was marked
by the SEAMEO Forum on Lifelong
Learning: Policy and Vision with
the participation of ASEM LLL Hub,
UNESCO, OECD which sparked ideas
and commitment to the new regional
project among SEAMEO countries.
Regional Expert Workshop
on establishing the SEAMEO
Centre for Lifelong Learning
in October 2011, Hanoi,
Viet Nam.
(photo credit to Vietnams
MOET)
The Signing Ceremony of legal
documents to launch SEAMEO CELLL at
the 47th SEAMEO Council Conference,
19-21 March 2013, Hanoi, Viet Nam
(Photo credit to SEAMEC 47)

It is evident that interacting with a

well-defined region (EU) is important
for the development of a regional
consciousness in Southeast Asia.

33
ASEM Education Gazette, Volume 3, November 2017
 2013- present: reviewing the
current practices and sharing
knowledge
The first SEAMEO CELLL
The regional collaborative spirit Governing Board Meeting,
14-15 September 2015, Ho
has been manifested in concrete
Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
actions of establishing the Governing (photo credit to SEAMEO
Board of SEAMEO CELLL comprising CELLL)

senior ministerial officials of all

member countries. The Governing
Board already convened two annual
meetings in 2015 and 2016, and
jointly conducted the first flagship
project Towards an ASEAN Lifelong
Learning Agenda3 in partnership The second SEAMEO CELLL
with UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Governing Board and Expert
Meeting, 3-5 October 2016,
Learning (UIL). The first phase of the Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
project provided an opportunity for (photo credit to SEAMEO
CELLL)
member countries to take stock of
their practices and compile country
reviews. These exercises are designed
to create a regional reservoir of
knowledge and facilitate policy
learning, particularly about systems
SEAMEO CELLL Governing
and structures of LLL; legislation, Board Chairperson, Dr Ella
financing and governance of LLL; Rumindasari, Indonesia
presenting a token of
learning and teaching practices appreciation to Prof. Arne
and implementation of LLL. A new Carlsen, Director of UIL,
October 2016 (Photo credit to
learning portal (www.sea-lllportal.
SEAMEO CELLL)
org) was launched earlier this year to
enhance knowledge sharing. Thus, it
sets in motion a change process. The
second phase, following a regional Mr Teerakiat Jareonsettasin,
synthesis report, aims at making Thailands Minister of
Education and chairman of
visible what problems faced by the
SEAMEO at the launch of
countries and what impact the project the lifelong learning portal,
has on individual countries and the 6 March 2017, Viet Nam.
(photo credit to SEAMEO
ASEAN region as a whole. CELLL)

3 For details please visit http://www.seameocelll.org/events/expert-meeting

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ASEM EDUCATION GAZETTE
Lifelong Learning in Southeast
Asia: An Awakening of Vigorous
Debate and Cooperation
An ambiguous concept
A common view at the regional debate
indicates that lifelong learning is not
a new concept in Southeast Asia, but
there exist different meanings:
it is both individual and
institutional processes (Community
Learning Centres in Vietnam);
it is a policy and a practice
(Woman Empowering Program in
Indonesia; eLearning for Teachers
Development, Open High School
Program in the Philippines);
and it can be considered as a social
movement or as a commodity
(SkillsFuture movement in
Singapore).
As professor Peter Jarvis pointed out
at the ASEM LLL Conference in Nha
Trang, people often confuse two
types of learning and such confusion
has affected the values attached to
lifelong learning. On the one hand,
learning is primarily a natural and
personal processes that cannot be
institutionalised but which acts as the
driving force for the development of
the person throughout life. On the
other hand, learning has also been
equated with social and institutionalised
processes, and the objectives change.
In many ASEAN countries, poverty
reduction was (and still is) a major
concern for lifelong learning. Learning
to earn has become the motto of
individuals and public policies in
Asia. But the shift from education
to learning also increasingly
makes individuals take the risks and
responsibilities for their own learning
5 PISA: Programme for International Student Assessment, http://www.oecd.org/pisa/
6 PIAAC: Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies, http://www.oecd.org/skills/piaac/
to sustain their own employability,
and the governments limit their roles
largely to advocacy and steering.
The consequences of such a lifelong
learning model show a number of
emerging contradictions, paradoxes
and tensions, and increasing inequality.
Roles of governments
Three factors are significant in the
development of lifelong learning:
the development of information
technology, the discourses of
globalisation and knowledge economy,
and a re-assessment of what people
want out of their lives. These factors,
especially the globalisation and
knowledge economies demand
knowledgeable, highly-skilled workers,
and require constant retraining and
upgrading of skills base. Thus, lifelong
learning took on discursive power
and increasingly becomes a principle
to organise the education system and
develop each of its component parts.
In this context, the challenges which
the ASEAN governments face are
extremely complex. Some questions
confronting every government are:
What type of lifelong learning
constitutes the countrys priorities?
To which extent the State can
afford to make the provision
and to which extent people can
afford to meet the cost of lifelong
learning?
What are the most beneficial to
the majority of the population?
Which part of government will
take responsibility for the different
forms of lifelong learning?
What policies can be devised that
will further these aims?
ASEM Education Gazette, Volume 3, November 2017
The notion of education as a public
enterprise was well enshrined in
Southeast Asia and lessons could
be drawn from the Asian successful
developmental state model which
invests substantially in education
to achieve economic growth and
the wealth generated by economic
growth justifies further investment
in education. Some success stories
of the member countries can also be
found in the latest PISA5 and PIAAC6
results. This kind of strong state has
rescued Southeast Asian countries from
underdevelopment and reduced adverse
effects of the market.
Models of regional cooperation
The second phase of the project
Towards an ASEAN Lifelong Learning
Agenda is well underway. SEAMEO
CELLL and the member countries are
in the process of clarifying concepts
and developing shared understanding
of lifelong learning in the national
and regional contexts. At this stage,
regional cooperation in devising a
regional agenda manifests in the form
of advocacy and recommendations.
Regional policy making in the EU
is often about setting common
objectives and concrete criteria and
benchmarks. For example, one of the
common objectives of the EU strategic
framework Education and Training
2020 set out in 2009 is to make
lifelong learning and mobility a reality;
and a series of indicators have been set
to measure this regional objective:
An average of at least 15% of
adults should participate in lifelong
learning
The share of low-achieving
15-year-olds in reading,
35
 mathematics and science should be less than
15%
At least 40% of people aged 30-34 should
have completed some form of higher
education
The rate of early leavers from education and
training aged 18-24 should be below 10%
At least 95% of children (from 4 years to
compulsory school age) should participate in
early childhood education
An EU average of at least 20% of higher
education graduates and 6% of 18-34-year-
olds with an initial vocational qualification
should have spent some time studying or
training abroad. (ET 2020)

Due to the diversity in stages of socio-economic

development, size of population, awareness and
political will of leaders and policy makers, non-
interference principle, the regional cooperation
in Southeast Asia is not about setting standards
or benchmarks across member countries. But
what form it will take in the future? Perhaps it
requires more than advocacy and rhetoric, regional
cooperation may be more effectual if the current
top-down approach is combined with more
bottom-up approach. That would mean greater
involvement of lifelong learning establishments,
learners, research institutes, and civil society across
the region in constructing a regional agenda.
SEAMEO CELLL has its mandate delegated by the
member countries, but its role is much more than a
secretariat. Thus, closer cooperation with research
institutes in the member countries is crucial to the
development of its expertise and influence.

Dr. Que Anh Dang

The German Institute of
Global and Area Studies

Postscript: This article is derived from the

authors involvement in the establishment process
of SEAMEO CELLL together with numerous
individuals. Due to the limited space, it is not
possible to mention more details. For a full story,
please refer to the website www.seameocelll.org
Dr. Que Anh Dang, the German
Institute of Global and Area
Studies in Hamburg. Supported
by a Marie Skodowska-Curie
research grant, she has written
her Ph.D. thesis about sectoral
regionalism with the case
study of the ASEM Education
Process and graduated from the
University of Bristol, UK.

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ASEM EDUCATION GAZETTE