Summer Camp is an official English training program for children jointly organized by SEAMEO RETRAC and the College of University Extended Education from California State University, Fullerton, USA (CSUF).
This program has been implemented successfully in China before being conducted in Vietnam two years ago, which is highly appreciated in terms of usefulness and effectiveness. All experienced teachers, recruited by CSUF, are native speakers. The teachers themselves prepare the materials for each class in accordance with the children’s levels and tastes, and the children will learn through games, songs, dances, and plays in an interesting and supportive atmosphere. Moreover, by utilizing the advanced technology at SEAMEO via the Internet and software, the children will have abundant opportunities for practice and improvement. Continuing with the great success of this program in 2006 and 2007, this year Summer Camp will be held at SEAMEO in July with two teaching periods – the first running from July 7-18, and the second taking place July 21- August 01.

The annual pre-departure training program was held at SEAMEO RETRAC from October 16, 2007 to January 31, 2008. It was created for the government funded scholarship candidates who are required to improve their TOEFL-iBT and IELTS scores as well as other academic skills prior to their overseas graduate studies. The program encompassed 200 hours of class instruction and 100 hours of tutor-led and self-study time. Joining the program were 40 participants from Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and other southern provinces.

Accepting the invitation of University of Tsukuba, Japan, Dr. Do Huy Thinh, Director of SEAMEO RETRAC and Dr. Ho Thanh My Phuong, Assistant Director, Dean of the Educational Management Division went on a business trip to Japan from February 12-18, 2008. SEAMEO RETRAC was among the only three SEAMEO Centers to be invited.

Sunday (December 23, 2007) witnessed a very special outdoor event for the children who pursue English language programs at SEAMEO RETRAC. In addition to the entertaining games, the children also had a chance to answer some Christmas related puzzles and receive gifts from Santa Clauses. In the holiday spirit, SEAMEO RETRAC offered prizes for classes who decorated their Christmas newsletters the best. All the activities presented in English proved its success as it drew the participation of over 1,100 children together with their teachers (both foreign and Vietnamese).

SEAMEO Secretariat in cooperation with the Government of Norway and SEAMEO RETRAC held a consultation workshop on Inclusive Education from October 31 to November 02, 2007. The workshop provided the Southeast Asian Ministries of Education and stakeholder groups with a deeper understanding of the state of special education and future developments and cooperation. Within the context of meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of providing quality education for all, the workshop itself set a platform for promoting regional cooperation in special education. Attendees were from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Lao PDR., Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. In addition to in-depth discussions, they also visited the School for the Impaired as an example of inclusive education in Vietnam.

In cooperation with APACALL, PacCALL and Hanoi University, SEAMEO RETRAC organized an international conference on Computer-assisted Language Learning (CALL) entitled "GLoCALL 2007" (Globalization and Localization in CALL) at SEAMEO RETRAC from November 05 to 07, 2007. The purpose of the conference was to provide knowledge, skills and experience of training and research in integration of technology into English teaching. The conference attracted 57 presenters from 14 countries and 166 teachers of English from different provinces in Vietnam and was highly appreciated by all the participants. The event was also co-sponsored by 3E Corporation, Lac Viet Corporation, the Consulate General of Australia, New Zealand, the United States in Ho Chi Minh City, and the Regional English Language Office (U.S. Embassy, Thailand). Click here to view more photos.

Vice ministers, permanent secretaries and high officials of the education ministries of SEAMEO member countries shared and discussed initiatives in integrating Information and Communication Technology in their education systems during the 30th SEAMEO High Officials Meeting. Malaysia led the discussion by presenting its acceleration programme to help improve the ICT capabilities of their schools and the challenges of providing the needed infrastructure and in making teachers and students adopt a culture of ICT. Member countries and SEAMEO regional centres exchanged ideas on how to prioritize investments in preparing the ICT readiness of the educational systems of countries in the region, taking care not to harm the environment while ensuring access to technologies to bridge the gap between urban and rural schools. Malaysia also presented its provisional programme for the ICT Conference and Exhibition that will be held in conjunction with the 43rd SEAMEO Council Conference in Kuala Lumpur in March 2008.

Directors, network coordinators and officers of the 15 units of SEAMEO convened the SEAMEO Center Directors Meeting 2007 in Bangkok on 4-5 July. Besides taking up operational concerns, programme coordination and assessment of activities, the regional center directors discussed themes on science and mathematics education, information and communication technology in education, language, developing a regional identity, quality assurance, teacher education and training, educational leadership development and education for sustainable development. The annual CDM plans future activities for further submission to the SEAMEO High Officials Meeting and the SEAMEO Council Conference.