INNOTECH talks about regional cooperation in education

On 6 November 2015, Mr. Bennet Benoza, Manager of the Knowledge Management and Networking Office and Ms. Mitch Sarabillo, Senior Associate of the Staff Development Services, guested on local cable channel Net25’s ASEAN in Focus to talk about the education in Southeast Asia.

“There is great diversity in the Southeast Asian region. There are big countries and small countries. Some are very advanced in some areas and some are struggling. That is one of the challenges.” Mr. Benoza said.

He said that education organizations like SEAMEO find value through these challenges by bridging the gap of each country.

“We are here to promote cooperation in education. Where the strengths of some countries lie and where the needs of some countries lie, we seek to bring them together and offer certain solutions.” He added.

Different countries in the region continue to work together, not just for education but also for science and culture, through ASEAN and SEAMEO.

“We seek to capacitate the teachers, school heads, and now even the youth. We train them on areas which are very current and needed by several countries.” Ms. Sarabillo said.

The importance of involving the youth to the planning and decision-making on education was also discussed through the interview. Being the primary stakeholders of education, it is important for the youth’s voice to be heard.

Ending the discussion, Ms. Sarabillo invited everyone to join the 14th SEAMEO INNOTECH International Conference, happening this 8-9 December in Quezon City, Philippines. The conference will be a venue for youth participants and education experts to converse about education and development issues in the region, as well as ways and solutions on how these issues could be addressed so that we can build a better future for every learner in the region and beyond.

Watch the full segment below!

Mr. Bennet Benoza and Ms. Mitch Sarabillo guested on another local cable channel show, DZMM TeleRadyo’s Turo Turo, on 21 November. They were joined by Ms. Edith Pimentel, Senior Specialist of the Learning and Training Development Unit of SEAMEO INNOTECH, and Neil Soria and Ron Dangcalan of ASEAN Youth Leaders Association. They talked about the current status of education in region.

For more information on the upcoming International Conference, visit the conference website (http://ic.seameo-innotech.org) and follow on various social media sites (Facebook: /ic.innotech || Twitter and Instagram: @ic.innotech).