HA NOI, 14 October 2022 – ASEAN education ministers and senior officials gathered on the series of education meetings on 11 – 14 October 2022 in Hanoi, Viet Nam. Under the leadership of Viet Nam as the education sector’s chair, the meetings were held under the theme of Joint efforts to reimagine learning and building resilience of education systems in ASEAN and beyond in the new context.

The ASEAN Member States and partners joined together to discuss the global education crisis and reiterated the need to invest more in education, and to act fast and together to safely reopen schools, and recover learning losses. The meetings also explored collaboration with dialogue partners, particularly in the digitalisation of education, and transforming the education systems against future global pandemics, disasters, and emergencies.

Education ministers provided strategic guidance in advancing the education agenda in the region and beyond and reaffirmed their commitment and endorsement of the two key documents, namely Declaration on the Digital Transformation of Education Systems in ASEAN and Reopen, Recover and Resilience: Guidelines for ASEAN Countries, which will be submitted to the ASEAN leaders at the forthcoming 40^th and 41^st ASEAN Summits for adoption and notation, respectively.

The meetings also endorsed their joint commitment to further the collaboration on education, not only among the ASEAN Member States but also under the framework of ASEAN Plus Three and East Asia Summit cooperation. The joint statements are available here:

• 12^th ASED: https://asean.org/joint-statement-of-the-twelfth-asean-education-ministers-meeting/
• 6^th APT EMM: https://asean.org/joint-statement-of-the-sixth-asean-plus-three-education-ministers-meeting/
• 6^th EAS EMM: https://asean.org/joint-statement-of-the-sixth-east-asia-summit-education-ministers-meeting/

The Ministry of Education and Training Viet Nam, with support from the ASEAN Secretariat, organised the meetings which took place online and in-person in Hanoi. The series of meetings included:

•  The 17^th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Education (17^th SOM-ED) held on 11 october;
• The 12^th ASEAN Plus Three Senior Officials Meeting on Education (12^th SOM-ED+3) and 7^th East Asia Summit Senior Officials Meeting on Education (7^th EAS SOM-ED) held on 12 October;
• The Twelfth ASEAN Education Ministers Meeting (12^th ASED) held on 13 October
• The 6^th ASEAN Plus Three Education Ministers Meeting (6^th APT EMM) and 6^th East Asia Summit Education Ministers Meeting (6^TH EAS EMM) held on 14 October.

Deputy Prime Minister of Viet Nam, H.E. Vu Duc Dam delivered welcome remark at the Opening Ceremony. He stressed the urgency to rebuild education systems and calls on the Education ministers and delegates of the Meetings to ”jointly develop educational policies, in the immediate future, to restore and maintain the continuity of learning activities, in responding to severe effects and learning disruptions by establishing more resilient education systems.”

The Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, H.E. Ekkaphab Phanthavong also delivered the remarks and emphasised the importance of the meetings to the growth and sustainable development of the region. He said, “If we as a region are to achieve our goal of an inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, then every country needs to do more, to act fast and in unison”.

Senior officials from ASEAN Member States participated in the 17^th SOM-ED. In addition to the ASEAN senior officials, the 12^th SOM-ED+3 and 6^th APT EMM involved representatives from China, Japan and Republic Of Korea (Plus Three Countries), while the 7^th EAS SOM-ED and 6^th EAS EMM involved representatives from Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Russian Federation, and U.S. The ASEAN Secretariat, AUN Secretariat, SEAMEO Secretariat and partner organisation representatives are also in attendance.

Thailand as the incoming chair of the ASEAN education sector announced the next ASEAN Education Ministers and Senior Officials Meetings in 2024.

The SOM-ED, SOM-ED+3 and EAS SOM-ED were established in 2006, 2010 and 2012, respectively, to strengthen education in the region, as well as facilitate closer collaboration and cooperation on education development among ASEAN Plus Three and East Asia Summit countries. They report to their respective ministerial body, namely ASEAN Education Ministers Meeting (ASED), ASEAN Plus Three Education Ministers Meeting (APT EMM), and East Asia Summit Education Ministers Meeting (EAS EMM).