The Commonwealth of Learning

Mengadap Kehadapan Majlis

Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Pengiran Muda Mahkota Pengiran Muda Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah ibni Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu'zzaddin Waddaulah.

Beribu Ampun,

Dengan penoh hormat dan takzim hamba Duli Tuanku mewakili Kementerian Pendidikan dan Universiti Brunei Darussalam bersama dengan Commonwealth of Learning menjunjung ampun menyembahkan setinggi-tinggi menjunjung kasih di atas kornia perkenan Duli Tuanku berangkat menghadiri dan menyempurnakan perasmian First Pan Commonwealth Forum On Open Learning pada hari ini. Lebih dari 400 orang peserta menghadiri forum ini yang mana hampir 300 orang adalah dari luar negeri dari 45 buah negara Komanwel. Abis hamba Duli Tuanku merasa gembira dengan kehadiran Tuan Yang Terutama Setiausaha Agong Komanwel yang akan menyampaikan Syarahan Perdana, kehadiran beberapa orang Menteri Pendidikan, serta tokoh-tokoh terkemuka dalam pendidikan dalam forum ini. Abis hamba Duli Tuanku berharap peserta-peserta akan mendapat manfaat dari kehadiran mereka baik semasa sessi formal mahupun tidak formal.

Beribu Ampun,

Hamba Duli Tuanku menjunjung sabda perkenan bagi hamba Duli Tuanku menyampaikan ucapan kepada para hadirin.

Your Excellency Chief Emeka Anyaoku, Commonwealth Secretary General, Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran-Pengiran Cheteria, Excellencies, Distinguished Speakers, Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is indeed a pleasure for me to welcome such a distinguished gathering of policy-makers, practitioners and other stakeholders of open learning to Brunei Darussalam and to the first Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning conference.

I would also like to thank His Majesty's Government, His Excellency Minister of Education, Brunei Darussalam and President and Chief Executive of the Commonwealth of Learning, for providing all the assistance and support in co-hosting the conference. We would like to extend a very warm welcome to all participants, especially those who hail from different parts of the Commonwealth.

For me and my colleagues at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam, not only is this a rare opportunity for us to organise a conference of this nature and magnitude, but we are relative neophytes in the use of Open Learning. As a relatively young university, we have found it necessary to avail ourselves of the generous assistance of other institutions and agencies, especially in the Commonwealth, in order to implement our mission, which seek to develop human resources through excellence in teaching, research and services in areas of importance to Brunei Darussalam."

While we are in the process of developing a substantial core of local staff, through postgraduate studies, mostly overseas, we still depend on a majority of contract staff from all over the world to teach the courses offered by our six Faculties. We also have a number of twinning programmes with other Commonwealth universities and we send some of our outstanding students in their penultimate year to other universities under the Academic Year Abroad programme.

In the area of research, especially with the availability of email and internet facilities, some of our researchers are also collaborating with those from other countries. Besides actively using information technology, such as for data and word processing, many are conducting research on information technology itself. With the progressive expansion in our postgraduate programmes, we are developing a larger pool of enlightened leaders, including some foreign students who are supported by various scholarships, who may be regarded as undergoing a process of Empowerment through Knowledge and Technology.

We are indeed grateful for the help we have been receiving in these areas as well as in collaborative teaching with other universities.

As we are the only university in Brunei Darussalam, applied research is emphasised so as to address the national needs. We realise the importance of community service by making available the expertise of staff, who are highly skilled in a large and growing number of areas of specialisation. As more Bruneians are able to access Brunet, our national electronic network, we hope to be able to provide more interactive services through our website, which is currently concerned with providing only basic information. Needless to say, many more windows are open to those who are able to explore cyberspace, such as in seeking further information or in undertaking programmes and courses offered by open learning institutions or agencies.

I hope this forum will provide an avenue for us to learning from the insights and experience of eminent speakers as well as those who are presenting case studies from different countries in the Commonwealth. I am especially interested in how knowledge and technology can be appropriately empowering. I do not, of course, expect to find too many dramatically successful case studies, such as those portrayed by Stephen Baxter and David Lisburn in their book, entitled

"Reengineering Information Technology, Success through Empowerment." However, I am sure that many of the case studies would refer to experiences that we may be able to relate to.

It remains for me to wish all of you a most meaningful and successful conference. At the same time, I hope that our friends from various parts of the Commonwealth will be able to find some time to visit a few places of interest beyond their hotel and the conference venue.

Beribu Ampun,

Sekian sahaja yang dapat hamba Duli Tuanku sembahkan. Hamba Duli Tuanku menjunjung ampun untuk menyembahkan setinggi-tinggi menjunjung kasih di atas Keberangkatan Adinda-Adinda Duli Tuanku:-

1. Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Duli Pengiran Muda

Haji 'Abdul 'Azim dan

2. Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Duli Pengiran Muda Haji 'Abdul Malik;

serta kehadiran Yang Amat Mulia Pengiran-Pengiran Cheteria, Yang Berhormat Menteri-Menteri, Ahli-ahli Majlis Mesyuarat dan Dhif-dhif Kehormat di Majlis Pembukaan Forum pada pagi lni.