On 13 July 2023, SEAMEO CELLL was honour to receive Mr John Siena, Deputy Director of SEAMEO Secretariat. The meeting took place at 33C Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, where the Centre is located.
The meeting commenced with an introduction of the two parties. SEAMEO CELLL was established under the Minister’s Decision on Establishment of SEAMEO CELLL signed on 23 April 2013, and the Memorandum of Agreement signed by SEAMEO Council and the Government of Vietnam on 20 March 2013 at the 47th SEAMEO Council Conference. Over the past ten years, the Centre has conducted studies into exemplary models of community learning centres, lifelong learning policies, and supporting theoretical frameworks, organised workshops and seminars to disseminate and share good practices of lifelong learning, and actively contributed to many regional and international educational events on lifelong learning.
Upon the report on the Centre’s programmes and activities over the past ten years, and self-evaluation of the organisation’s performance, Mr Siena complimented the Centre on the achievements and its outreach to international partners such as UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, DVV International, ASPBAE. He then analysed the situation and provided valuable advice on how the Centre can enhance its role as a regional lifelong learning hub, and strengthen its regional and international visibility.
Mr Siena was appointed Deputy Director of SEAMES in early 2023. He is experienced in the field of education starting as a classroom teacher for more than a decade teaching English and Journalism subjects in high school and some professional subjects in the graduate level. He later held executive positions in the Department of Education in the Philippines culminating in his appointment as Director IV (equivalent to Director General) for teacher professional development. It’s worth noting that in the Philippines, the term “Department of Education” is used instead of the widely used “Ministry of Education” in other countries.
