The British Council invited current researchers who have been awarded the Going Global Partnership  2024-2025 to attend the South East (SEA) – The United Kingdom (UK) – Gender Equity, Diversity & Inclusivity  (GEDI) Leadership Forum that took place on the 31st October 2025 at Woburn Hall, Woburn House, London, UK. This event began with a welcome and opening remarks by Ms Gillian Cowell, Global Lead for Gender and Social Inclusion at the British Council, as shown in Figure 1. The SEA–UK GEDI Forum marked the conclusion of Phase II of the Strengthening Leadership with Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity (GEDI) in Higher Education Institutions project. This forum brought together senior leaders from South East Asian and UK universities, ministries, government bodies, and sector organisations to: Showcase results from seven UK–SEA institutional grants that piloted the 2023 GEDI White Paper recommendations; share lessons on how partners have adapted and implemented inclusive leadership practices at the institutional and system levels and engage UK stakeholders in dialogue on future collaboration and next steps for advancing GEDI in HE.

Excerpts of Ms Cowell’s speech can be watched at:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4S-hPvf3LU

The welcome and opening remarks were followed by the first panel discussion: Policy and Perspective. This session explored how regional policy leaders were translating the principles of GEDI into action, reflecting on lessons from the White Paper and priorities for sustaining policy dialogue across Southeast Asia. This panel counted with representatives from Cambodia, Ms Bunry Rinna, Chief of the Office of Policy and Curriculum, Department of Higher Education Management, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport; representing Philipines: Ms Edna Imelda Fernandez-Legazpi, Director IV/Regional Director, CHED MIMAROPA / Co-chairperson, CHED GAD Focal Point System, Commission on Higher Education and Dr Romyen Kosaikanont, Vice President, Mae Fah Luang  University and Former Seameo RIHED Director. The image of the panel is in Figure 2.

Excerpts of the panel discussion can be watched at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd_vtQBqTt4&t=63s

Afterwards, participants had the opportunity to attend for 60 minutes, four of the seven interactive sessions showcased the UK-Southeast Asia Challenge Grant projects. Each session presented key insights and outcomes that have influenced institutional and policy change. In these small groups, Principal Investigators presented their projects through posters and reports, exchanged ideas with the participants, explored lessons learned and identified emerging themes to inform future collaboration. Projects and Institutions are listed below:

• Promoting gender equality: How to facilitate women leadership in Laos Higher Education: Newcastle University;  National University of Laos, Lao PDR and  Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education and Sports, Lao PDR. Excerpts of the interactive session can be watched at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq7Qygd-vn0&t=15s
• Intersectionality in Education: Weaving GEDI-Responsive Curricula and Learning in a Glocal Perspective in the Higher Education Institutions:  Philippine Normal University and Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland.
• Promoting Women Leadership in Cambodian Higher Education: Challenges and Future Direction: Southampton Education School; National University of Battambang, National University of Cheasim Kamchaymear, Cambodia and Department of Policy (DoPo), Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, Cambodia. Excerpts of the interactive session can be watched at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NWjsaPnsV4
• Understanding Barriers and Enhancing Success in GEDI across the HEIs of SEA and the UK: Northumbria University, Universiti Malaya, and Monash University,Malaysia.
• Embedding Equity, Diversity, and Inclusivity in Higher Education: Framework Development and Capacity Building in Brunei (EDI-Brunei-HE): University College of Estate Management and Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Excerpts of the interactive session can be watched at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltHMS3u0w7I and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwMizTC2oYM
• Power, Intersectionality and Gender (PING): The Untold Story of Women in Leadership in Timor-Leste Higher Education: Leeds Trinity University and Dili Institute of Technology, Timor-Leste.
• Building Psychological Resilience in Women Leaders: Strengthening Support Systems in Malaysian and Indonesian Universities: University of the West of England, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia and Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. Excerpts of the interactive session can be watched at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iip68H1LHQk

The forum was closed with the reflections from Ms Linda Waldman, Director of Teaching and Learning at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) in the UK. These reflections drew on the UK HE sector’s experience in advancing GEDI leadership and organisational change. These reflections highlighted lessons learned and approaches could inform future UK-South East Asia collaboration and strengthen inclusive leadership across HE. Picture of some participants at the forum can be seen in Figure 3. Excerpts of the closing reflections and next steps can be watched at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_Rg3TSENi4&t=5s .