Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization
Director
Speakers
Keynote speakers
The Hon Dr Anne Aly MP
Minister for International Development, Minister for
Multicultural Affairs, and Minister for Small Business
Dr Anne Aly was born in Alexandria, Egypt. Her family moved to Australia in 1969 when she was 2 years old, originally settling in western Sydney. Her mum was a nurse and her dad an engineer, but they both worked in factories in Australia before her father became a bus driver.
Dr Aly graduated from the American University in Cairo in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts, by her late twenties she was a single working mother raising her two young boys in Perth. She went on to study her Masters and PhD at Edith Cowan University with a focus on counter terrorism and countering violent extremism.
Dr Aly has been an advisor to the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Directorate, a Board member of both the Council for Arab Australian Relations and the Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Anne was the only Australian representative to speak at President Obama's 2015 White House summit on countering violent extremism. She was also the Founding Chair of People against Violent Extremism (PaVE), a not for profit organisation focused on empowering communities to challenge violent extremism.
Dr Aly is a 2011 inductee into the Western Australian Women's Hall of Fame, a 2016 nominee for Australian of the Year and a 2016 recipient of the prestigious Australian Security Medal.
Dr Anne Aly MP has been the Federal Member for Cowan since 2016. Anne is the first Muslim woman to be elected to Federal Parliament, appointed as a Minister and appointed to Federal Cabinet.
In 2021, she was awarded the McKinnon Prize for Emerging Political Leader of the Year, in recognition of her Parliamentary work against both right-wing extremism and family & domestic violence.
In the first term of the Albanese Government, Anne served as the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Minister for Youth and Minister Assisting the Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. She now serves as the Minister for International Development, Minister for Multicultural Affairs, and Minister for Small Business.
Dr Anne Aly lives in Perth with her husband and their two dogs.
Myo-Zin Nyunt
UNICEF East Asia, and the Pacific Regional Office
Deputy Regional Director
Myo has more than 28 years of experience with UNICEF in development programmes as well as humanitarian support in South Asia, Eastern and Southern Africa, and East Asia, and the Pacific regions with progressive programme management and leadership responsibilities. Before joining the UNICEF Regional Office in Bangkok, Myo worked as the UNICEF Representative to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) between 2019 and 2021. He worked for UNICEF country offices in Myanmar, Tanzania, Namibia, Lao PDR and UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Prior to UNICEF, Myo worked with international NGOs – Save the Children and Médecins du Monde focusing on child rights, health, and HIV programmes.
Myo holds a master’s degree in public health from the Nuffield Institute of Leeds University in the UK and a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from Institute of Medicine 1 in Yangon, Myanmar.
Chris Hines
National Geographic
Director, Strategic Partnerships, Education
Chris Hines leads the Education strategy for National Geographic Pristine Seas. Pristine Seas collaborates with Pacific communities, Ministries of Education, and regional partners to co-create educational resources, support educators, and engage young people in ocean conservation as part of a five-year Pacific ocean expedition. Prior to joining National Geographic, he worked in ocean conservation and community education with NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries and in Tanzania with a non-profit organization. Hines has a M.S. in International Public Service.