COL in Action

Funding for rural poverty reduction

COL has launched a new programme that provides financial support for innovative initiatives that will build capacity for educational delivery to the rural poor in the fields of food security, environmental protection and rural development. COL welcomes proposals from not-for-profit organisations/institutions in developing Commonwealth countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia that are seeking to adopt open, distance and technology-mediated learning methodologies to help alleviate rural poverty. 

Further information on applying for funds through COL's Poverty Reduction Outcomes Through Education Innovations and Networks (COL-PROTEIN) programme is available at www.col.org/protein or through info@col.org . This year's application deadline is 15 August 2002.

Working with NGOs

COL is working with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in South Asia to help build their capacity to offer community education programmes. 

In Bangladesh, COL is facilitating collaboration between NGOs and Bangladesh Open University's Open School in the delivery of basic education to disadvantaged street children, rural women and other disadvantaged groups, using open and distance learning methodologies. A stakeholders' workshop was convened by COL in March and a follow-up session, focussing on training, will take place later this year.

In collaboration with the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation in India, COL is developing training materials for self-learning use by NGO staff members, focussing generally on the management of NGOs and specifically on working with street children. Training workshops were held in March for in-house tutors, that have been identified by selected NGOs, on delivering and providing support for a "Business English" course and for potential course writers for a course on "Business skills for staff of NGOs that have a responsibility for street children".

Media empowerment

COL's Media Empowerment programme (COLME) is active in all regions of the Commonwealth. In March 2002, a workshop was conducted in collaboration with the St. Kitts & Nevis Ministry of Agriculture that focussed on desktop, digital audio and video production techniques to use as training tools in crop diversification for farmers. COL supplied the technology and training for the initiative. In The Gambia, COL is working in collaboration with the Nova Scotia Gambia Association (NSGA) on a peer health education model that is reaching many Gambians throughout the nation through radio and television.  www.col.org/colme

Writing effectively for UNAIDS and WHO

COL has been commissioned by the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to develop and deliver the course Writing Effectively for UNAIDS and WHO. This course is to be adapted from Writing Effectively for UNHCR, which COL developed for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2000 and has been, to date, delivered to 600 UNHCR staff based in 70 countries around the world.

UNAIDS and WHO belong to the United Nations System of Organisations and share similarities in their writing culture, house style and formats. The need for the agencies to communicate effectively internally and externally has become increasingly important. The Writing Effectively course helps learners to apply "plain English" principles to write clearly and succinctly. UNAIDS and WHO learned about the UNHCR course, saw it as relevant to meeting their needs and invited COL to develop and deliver a similar programme for their staff.

While the UNHCR course is a print-based self-study package, the UNAIDS/WHO course will be designed as an online programme - but each learner will be given a CD-ROM to ensure that access to the course materials will not be hindered by connectivity constraints. Both courses are supported by individualised tutoring through e-mail ("e-tutoring").

Ms. Maree Bentley, writer and developer of Writing Effectively for UNHCR will adapt and customise the course for UNAIDS and WHO. Educational technologist, Mr. Neil Butcher of the South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE), will ensure that the design is appropriate for web/CD-ROM delivery media. The materials will be piloted in August 2002 with substantive delivery planned to begin in November 2002.

 

COL's new web site is averaging over 1000 unique visits per day. Over the last few years, COL has significantly expanded its electronic publishing programme and has become recognised as one of the world's foremost sources of knowledge on open, distance and technology-mediated learning and its application in developing countries.

 

Stephen Lewis to deliver Asa Briggs Lecture in Durban Canadian politician, diplomat and media personality, Mr. Stephen Lewis, will deliver the Asa Briggs Lecture at the second Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning in Durban on 1 August 2002. The Asa Briggs Lecture honours the founding Chairman of COL's Board of Governors and renowned British historian, The Rt. Hon. Lord Briggs of Lewes, who was instrumental in COL's establishment. COL invites renowned speakers to deliver the lectures on topics of relevance to education in the Commonwealth. Mr. Lewis' work with the United Nations has shaped the past two decades of his career. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan appointed Mr. Lewis as Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa in June 2001. From 1990 to 1999, he was with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), first as Special Representative for UNICEF and then Deputy Executive Director, acting as a spokesperson for UNICEF's passionate advocacy of the rights and needs of children, especially children of the developing world. In the 1980s, Stephen Lewis was Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations. In this capacity, he chaired the Committee that drafted the Five-year UN Programme on African Economic Recovery. He also chaired the first International Conference on Climate Change, which drafted the first comprehensive policy on global warming. In the 1960s and 1970s, Mr. Lewis was an elected member of the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, becoming leader of the New Democratic Party and leader of the Official Opposition. Mr. Lewis holds honorary degrees from 15 Canadian universities and is a noted radio and television commentator. He has a reputation as one of Canada's finest speakers.