Veterinary education establishments (VEEs) and veterinary statutory bodies (VSBs) play key roles in ensuring the effectiveness of veterinary professionals and delivery of competent Veterinary Services (VS). The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE) has held four Global Conferences on veterinary education since 2009 and developed sets of recommendations and guidelines on the topics, such as “Competencies of graduating veterinarians (‘Day 1 graduates’)”, ”Veterinary Education Core Curriculum”, as well as active programmes, including “Veterinary Education Twinning” and “Veterinary Statutory Bodies Twinning”.
In the region of Asia and the pacific, with support from the WOAH Sub-regional Representation for South East Asia (SRR-SEA), a strong network among VEEs already exists and recently a network of VSB was formed in the sub-region of South East Asia. The first regional workshop for VEEs and VSBs, involving East Asia members, was held in Incheon, Korea (Rep. of), in 2017. The workshop provided a good opportunity for East Asian members to share information and learn from each other as well as to gain a more in-depth understanding of the initiatives and recommendations of WOAH.
To further engage VEEs and VSBs in the region, the 2nd regional workshop for VEEs and VSBs was held in Tokyo, Japan from 19-20 November 2018 with funding from the people of Japan and the support of the University of Tokyo. The workshop was attended by over 70 participants from 24 WOAH Member Countries and Territories including representatives from VEEs, VSBs, Veterinary Authorities and Veterinary Associations as well as various regional veterinary educational networks. It was the first time to involve members from all over the Asia-Pacific region in such a regional workshop. It provided an excellent opportunity for members to broaden their networks and learn from each other as well as to gain a more in-depth understanding of the initiatives and recommendations of the WOAH regarding VEEs and VSBs.
The workshop was held in conjunction with a conference on veterinary education and eligibility organized by the Japanese Society of Veterinary Science (JSVS) from 21 to 22 November 2018 and the annual meeting of Asian Association of Veterinary Schools (AAVS). The participants were able to take advantage of the presence of AAVS members who could provide valuable insights from a veterinary education promotor point of view.
