Meet the Southeast Asian communities shaping British life. A new national platform by SEA COM CIC, advancing visibility across the UK.
SEA COM is advancing visibility, belonging, and recognition for the 1 million+ South East Asians
across the UK.
Filipino, Vietnamese, Thai, Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian, Burmese, Cambodian, Lao, East Timorese, and Bruneian communities sustain our NHS, enrich British food and culture, and contribute billions to the economy. Yet they remain the most institutionally invisible population in the country — erased by census categories, absent from heritage sites, and receiving a fraction of the funding they deserve. SEA COM exists to change this.
Over one million people of South East Asian heritage live and work in the UK sustaining the NHS, building communities from Liverpool's docks to Westminster. Yet they remain erased by a single census category: "Other Asian." No national organisation speaks in their name. No heritage sites commemorate their contributions. No disaggregated data counts their needs.
SEA COM exists to break the visibility barrier. Because once you are seen, every other pillar funding, policy, belonging -becomes possible.
The stories of Filipino seafarers and Vietnamese boat people are woven into the fabric of British port cities — yet they remain untold. ASEAN Tides changes that. A landmark oral history project, heritage trail, and touring exhibition across six UK port cities.
Visibility is the binding constraint. Every downstream problem — underfunding, policy neglect, absence from heritage — is a symptom of invisibility.
Break the visibility barrier, and every other pillar becomes possible. Funders can fund. Policymakers can serve. The public can celebrate. The community can see itself reflected in British life.