Call for Entries: SEAMEO – Australia Education Links Award

These initiatives must also aim to strengthen collaboration and partnerships between Southeast Asia and Australia. SAELA underscores that international education cooperation can bring forth new ideas, expand educational opportunities, enhance education quality, build enduring people-to-people connections and promote mutual understanding to benefit their learners and education stakeholders.

SAELA recognizes and financially supports winning project proposals or existing projects that benefit Southeast Asian communities, organizations, or educational institutions. Ultimately, they envision that these projects contribute to enhancing the quality of life in the region in the long term. Specifically, SAELA aims to:

• facilitate the development and implementation of effective educational projects and initiatives through partnerships among countries, organizations, and communities;
• showcase cooperation in education, training, and research activities and emphasize their value in fostering stronger people-to-people and institutional connections; and
• create a platform for sharing and learning about new ideas in educational cooperation.

Theme

• Building Strong Educational Foundations through Literacy and Numeracy: SEAMEO and the Department of Education, Australia recognizes that foundational skills in literacy and numeracy are critical for the personal and professional development of individuals. These core competencies underpin effective communication, problem-solving, and lifelong learning. The Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics (SEA-PLM), a regional assessment for the primary level, showed the “large differences in learning outcomes between countries and between groups of students within each country.” The outcomes also reveal that there is a substantial need in supporting students to achieve the standard of learning expected at the end of primary education. While there is much room for improvement, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing educational disparities, leading to significant learning losses and widening gaps in these fundamental areas. This year’s theme, Building Strong Educational Foundations through Literacy and Numeracy, addresses these critical challenges by supporting initiatives aimed at strengthening literacy and numeracy skills, thereby ensuring that learners are well-equipped and have strong educational foundation. These initiatives should be anchored on the principles of inclusion, community engagement, and technology integration.

Prize Information

• One (1) winner will be selected and awarded a grant of AUD$10,000 to carry out activities related to the winning project or idea.
• The grant will be provided in three (3) tranches: 70 percent after the Awarding Ceremony, 20 percent upon submission of a progress report (after 6 months of project implementation), and the remaining 10 percent upon project completion and submission of the final report.
• The winner will also receive a Plaque of Recognition during the 47th SEAMEO High Officials Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand on 27 November 2024.
• Shortlisted candidates will receive a Certificate of Recognition.
• Certificates of Participation will be issued to applicants whose proposals meet the minimum requirements, including relevance to the theme and adherence to submission instructions.
• Interested applicants must submit a written proposal outlining their concept, implementation plan, and how the grant funds will be utilized.

Geographical Focus 

• Applicants must be a citizen of a SEAMEO Member Country: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Timor-Leste.

Eligibility Criteria

• SAELA welcomes proposals from education leaders, educators, teachers, researchers, and students representing educational institutions at all levels (basic education, higher education, TVET)
• Applicants must not have received any SEAMEO Awards in the past 3 years.
• SEAMEO Secretariat and SEAMEO Regional Centres/Network staff, as well as their immediate family members, are ineligible to apply for SAELA.
• Applicants should not be employed by any private company.

Selection Criteria

• The selection and evaluation of entries will be conducted by a committee comprised of experts from Southeast Asia and representatives from relevant international organizations, the SEAMEO Secretariat, SEAMEO Regional Centres, and the Australian Government.
• The evaluation process will consider the following criteria for the project, whether it’s already in progress or a proposal:
  • Benefit and Relevance to Southeast Asia and Links to Australia (30%): The extent to which the proposal will contribute to social value, benefit the region, and enhance mutual understanding, including the transfer of new ideas, expanded educational opportunities, improved education quality, and long-term people-to-people connections
  • Innovation, Practicality, and Originality (25%): The originality, innovativeness, and feasibility of implementation of the proposed project.
  • Value for Money and Sustainability (25%): How well the project proposal demonstrates value for money and its sustainability beyond the initial grant funding.
  • Potential for Replication and Scaling Up (20%): The extent to which the project or proposal can be scaled up and applied to other contexts.

For more information, visit SEAMEO.