Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr., SEARCA Director, presented to the ambassador an overview of SEARCA’s programs and activities. He also expressed his desire to renew SEARCA’s ties with Australia, which sits as an associate member of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), SEARCA’s mother organization. Specifically, Dr. Saguiguit highlighted SEARCA and ACIAR’s previous collaborative programs and activities.
With Dr. Saguiguit at the briefing were Dr. Maria Cristeta N. Cuaresma, Program Head for Graduate Education and Institutional Development; Dr. Maria Celeste H. Cadiz, Program Head for Knowledge Management; and Mr. Henry M. Custodio, Program Specialist, Research and Development; Ms. Nancy L. De Leon, Program Specialist, Project Development and Technical Services (PDTS); and Ms. Avril D. Madrid, Program Specialist, Knowledge Resources.
The ambassador also commended SEARCA for its development programs in the region and expressed her support to efforts of the Center to partner with Australian research and education institutions. In particular, she noted with keen interest the Center’s plan to establish the Southeast Asian Agri-museum and Learning Center which aims to promote awareness on and appreciation of the state of agricultural and rural development in Southeast Asia among various ARD stakeholders, particularly the youth.
Her Excellency Amanda Gorely succeeded His Excellency Bill Tweddell, who also visited SEARCA in April 2012.
Following the visit of Her Excellency, Ms. Mellissa Wood, General Manager for Global Programs of ACIAR, also visited SEARCA on 22 January 2016 to discuss in detail possible areas of collaboration between SEARCA and ACIAR.
