[Above image: Dr Neon Snidvongs, front-row, left.]
SEAMEO SPAFA conveys its sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Dr Neon Snidvongs in the time of her recent passing.
Dr Neon Snidvongs was the first SPAFA Coordinator from 17 April 1978 to 16 April 1981. During her time as SPAFA Coordinator, the SEAMEO Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts, as we know it today, was still under a trial basis and called the SEAMEO Project in Archaeology and Fine Arts, which is where the origins of the acronym SPAFA comes from. Therefore, Dr Neon Snidvongs as the first SPAFA Coordinator played a key role in the initial planning and development of the framework for SPAFA, which led it to become a permanent Project of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) and eventually as an established SEAMEO Regional Centre for Archaeology and Fine Arts. As SEAMEO SPAFA turns 50 years old this year, we commemorate Dr Neon Snidvongs who made it possible for us to reach this milestone. May her soul rest in eternal bliss.