Who We Are

Established in 2002 as a not-for-profit organisation by a group of artists and drama educators, SDEA’s mission is to advance the profession of the drama/theatre educator and advocate for the practice and value of drama and theatre in performance, education and community.

SDEA is run by a volunteer committee comprising up to 9 members elected on a 2-year cycle and supported by a secretariat at Goodman Arts Centre.

SDEA is a member of the International Drama/Theatre Education Association (IDEA) and is committed to making drama/ theatre and education accessible, significant and present in the lives of children and young people everywhere. SDEA's work as an advocacy and professional development body has earned recognition from IDEA’s President Robin Pascoe as meeting the goals for the development of arts education mapped out in UNESCO’s 2nd World Conference on Arts Education Agenda. Read more about IDEA here.

SDEA is a not-for-profit Singapore Registered Charity (Institution of a Public Character) and a recipient of the National Arts Council’s Major Grant. 

Charity Regn No: T02SS0123G 
Charity Regn Date: 20 February 2020 
Constitution: Society 
Date of Establishment: 28 September 2002 

IPC Status

Effective Date: 29 May 2023 to 28 Nov 2026
A Member of Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth 

who-we-are

Mission

To advance the profession of the drama/theatre educator and advocate for the practice and value of drama and theatre in performance, education and community.

Drama educator: teaching artists, teachers who use drama in their work, applied theatre practitioners

Target group for advocacy efforts: artists, arts managers, arts practitioners, policymakers, school leaders, community leaders

Vision

Internationally recognised as the organisation for connecting stakeholders in theatre and drama education in Singapore to inspire change.

People Behind SDEA

People form the heart of SDEA. Here you can view current committee and secretariat members.

President (2023-2025)

Aishwariyah Shanmuganathan

Vice-President (2023-2025)

Regina Chua

Secretary (2023-2025)

Aswani Aswath

Treasurer (2023-2025)

Adeeb Fazah Bin Anwar Aziz Marican

Committee Member (2023-2025)

Kamini Ramachandran

Committee Member (2023-2025)

Mohamad Shaifulbahri

Continuing Education and Training and Partnerships Manager

Liu Yonglun

Membership and Communications Manager

Mark Benedict Cheong

Continuing Education and Training Executive

Joanna Ong

Fundraising Executive

Vaishnavi Kirupananthan

Subcommittees and Staff

The subcommittees and staff who help make SDEA's mission possible.