On August 28th 2013, the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts (SEAMEO SPAFA) in collaboration with SEAMEO Centre for Lifelong Learning (SEAMEO CELLL) and local museums in Hanoi, Vietnam organized the seminar ‘MUSEUMS AS CENTRES FOR LIFELONG LEARNING’. More than 30 participants including museum managers and curators from Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam attended the seminar.

The objectives of the seminar are: to highlight the importance of Lifelong Learning in general and the role of museums in this process as centres for education in the arts, history, culture and science; to provide concepts and methods in utilizing museums as centres for Lifelong Learning; to promote ties between SEAMEO centres, museums, and educational institutions/bodies.

Presentations in the seminar reflect educational work being done in some big museums in South East Asia. Speakers also discussed and shared experiences in other educational activities. During this time, the co-operation between museums from the different countries as well as between museums and SEAMEO centres and educational institutions was initially set up.

Mrs Nguyen Thi Bich Van – Director of Vietnamese Women’s Museum gave her presentation “Vietnamese Women’s Museum for the lifelong learning” as a service and to meet the requirements of the general public. She shared VWM’s experiences in all activities to provide the needs of the people for the best possible activities to meet the demands with emphasis on the initial success of programs and the challenges of future projects.