The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) is a regional intergovernmental organization established in 1965 among governments of Southeast Asian countries to promote regional cooperation in education, science and culture in the region. SEAMEO member countries are Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Lao PDR, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore, Philippines, Republic of the Union Myanmar and Timor Leste.
As an organization that has continued to nurture human capacities and explored the peoples’ fullest potential, the SEAMEO maintains its work and aspirations for development with peoples of the region to make lives better in quality and equity in education, preventive health education, culture and tradition, information and communication technology, languages, poverty alleviation and agriculture and natural resources.
Located in Malaysia, SEAMEO Regional Centre for Special Educational Needs (SEAMEO SEN) is a regional centre that specializes in education to support the needs of children with different disabilities, gifted and talented children in South East Asia (SEA) region.
Functions of SEAMEO SEN
- Enhance the capacity of teachers, education personnel, education officers and specialist in Special Education through short term courses while recognizing the diversities in culture, needs and expectations
- Strengthen research, training and management activities through staff development, institutional partnership, technical assistance and mutual consultation
- Organize seminars, conferences, workshops and technical meetings on best practices and current topics for better understandings in special education
- Facilitate documentation and dissemination of information among institutions and users
- Support research on Special Education associated with changing global environment
- Promote the utilization of research results in the formulation of effective teaching and learning strategies in Special Education
- Encourage networking, partnership, collaboration and resource sharing among Special Education institutions in Member Countries, Associate Countries, other countries, agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
- Accelerate Special Education improvement and the development of marginalized sectors of society without prejudice, and
- Offer scholarships to SEAMEO member countries for sabbatical program at the centre
Children with Special Education Needs
SEN Children refers to individuals who have learning difficulties that require special learning needs and those with disabilities who need specialized learning environments compared to most children of about the same age. Thus, SEN could mean that a child has at least one of these characteristics:
- Intellectual disabilities
- Communication Problems
- Emotional and behavioural difficulties
- Hearing and Visual impairment
- Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder