The Commonwealth of Learning

The need for such a Forum was made evident last year at the 13^th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers, held in Botswana, which explored the potential for communication and information technologies to improve the quality and accessibility of education throughout life. While the advent of technologies holds much promise, we must ensure that the disparities between the technology rich and the technology poor are addressed, and that we are all well prepared to use appropriate technologies effectively and efficiently for human resource development.

The Commonwealth’s culture of co-operation leaves member countries very well placed to learn from each other as we face these challenges. We are therefore pleased to note that this Forum has been organised to provide an opportunity for stakeholders, including students, practitioners and policy makers, to come together to further co-operation, consultation and networking on matters related to technology and learning.

The relevance and value of the Forum will depend on the input of many participants who represent a diversity of communities. We hope that every Commonwealth country will be well represented.

The Commonwealth and Open Learning

The Commonwealth represents one quarter of the world’s population and a rich diversity of races, cultures, creeds and beliefs. One of the imperatives facing all of the member nations of the Commonwealth, large or small, rich or poor, is the need to prepare their peoples to meet the challenges of the new millennium. Open learning is a valuable and powerful means of providing access and flexibility in initial and lifelong education and for training and empowering the disadvantaged and the marginalised.

The Commonwealth of Learning

The FIRST Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning

In celebration of ten years of The Commonwealth of Learning, the first Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning will be held in March 1999 at the International Convention Centre in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam. The event is being organised in collaboration with the Commonwealth’s open and distance learning professional associations.

Empowerment through knowledge and technology

With the theme, Empowerment through Knowledge and Technology, the Forum is designed to enable the countries of the Commonwealth to:

• Extend open learning into all aspects of education, training and human resource development
• Develop effective leadership, management and staff development in open learning
• Share ideas, expertise, research and best practice in the development and delivery of open learning
• Strengthen and extend collaboration and networking
• Plan for future open learning activities throughout the Commonwealth

The Forum will examine open learning in a broad range of applications. It will showcase what is achievable with vision, concern for the learner, effective teaching and learning, and appropriate applications of technology. Agendas ranging from basic literacy to postgraduate and professional education will be addressed.

Keynote and plenary presentations will set the context for the Forum and the agenda for the next decade of open learning in the Commonwealth. Case studies, workshops, poster displays and examples of work will follow five sub-themes:

• Non-formal adult and community education
• Corporate/industrial training
• Primary and secondary (open) schooling
• Technical and vocational education and training
• University and college education

Who should attend?

The Forum focuses on the needs of professionals and practitioners in the following fields:

• Government and non-government agencies responsible for education, health, agriculture, primary resources, law, and industrial and human resource development
• Senior managers and planners in tertiary, secondary, primary and non formal/community education and training organisations
• Public and private sector providers of open learning and training
• Open learning, educational media, library, information technology and student support practitioners and researchers
• Voluntary and community organisations involved with adult education
• Open and distance learning associations
• Graduates and students of open learning
• Others involved with, or with interests in, open learning

Delegate participation

The Forum is designed to achieve maximum participation and interaction and to meet the needs of newcomers to open learning as well as those more experienced in this field.

There will be opportunities for delegates to meet informally to discuss matters of mutual interest, share examples of their work, participate in meetings of regional distance/open learning associations and special interest groups, take part in round tables, and visit local educational institutions and places of interest.

For both participants and those who are unable to attend:

On-line, "virtual" conferences are also being organised to help participants and conference planners to prepare for the Forum and to provide means of participation for those who may not be able to attend the Forum in person. Topics will cover specific areas within the Forum sub-themes and will be World Wide Web-based, taking place toward the end of 1998 and beginning of 1999. Further information and links will be available on the Forum web site and will be announced in COL’s quarterly newsletter, Connections.

The Commonwealth of Learning honours and fosters excellence in distance education through recognition of outstanding achievements. To mark its tenth anniversary, COL is pleased to establish a Commonwealth-wide Excellence in Distance Education Programme (EDEP). The EDEP has four categories of awards:

• COL Anniversary Honours: recognising institutional achievements
• COL President’s Awards: recognising excellent distance education materials
• Honorary Fellows of COL: recognising individual achievements
• COL Learning Experience Award: recognising learners’ experiences

Award ceremonies will be held in March 1999 during the Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning. The deadline for entries is 31 August 1998.

The Forum registration fee is US$400. This covers the costs of registration, the proceedings, all lunches and refreshments, three dinners and local transportation. Spousal registrations are also available.

A Registration Form is available from the Forum secretariat or the Forum web site.   Partial subsidies will be considered on a case-by-case basis for participants from developing Commonwealth countries.

Due to logistical considerations, conference organisers may find it necessary to limit the numbers attending.

Accommodation available at no-charge

At no additional cost, registration for the Forum entitles delegates to up to six nights’ stay in a single room in UBD’s segregated men and women students’ hostels which offer clean, basic non-air-conditioned rooms with shared washroom facilities. Daily breakfast is also included. UBD has reserved accommodation for up to 150 overseas delegates in these hostels.

Hostel reservations must be made through the Forum Registration Form, and is available on a "first come, first served" basis (upon submitting completed registration and fee).

Other Accommodation

Delegates who prefer accommodation other than the UBD hostels may choose to stay at their own expense in the UBD Guest House, SEAMEO Voctech International House, the ASEAN-EC Management Centre or hotels in Bandar Seri Begawan, the capital of Brunei Darussalam. Reservations should be made through the Forum Registration Form, as reservations made through UBD qualify for discounted room rates, but delegates are responsible for direct payments of all charges. Early reservations are strongly recommended as accommodation is at a premium in Bandar. Details are available on the Forum Registration Form.

Brunei Darussalam

Located in the northwest of the island of Borneo, Brunei Darussalam is a small country governed according to Islamic values and traditions by His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah. It is a member of APEC, ASEAN, BIMP-EAGA, and the Organisation of Islamic States as well as the United Nations and the Commonwealth. Bahasa Melayu is the official language but English is widely spoken and understood.

The capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, includes the world’s largest water village, Kampung Ayer, home to more than 30,000 people. Other places of interest include the Omar Ali Saifuddien and the Jame’ Asr Hassanil Bolkiah Mosques, Istana Nurul Iman, the Royal Regalia Building, the ancient tomb of Sultan Bolkiah, the Malay Technology Museum, the Brunei Museum, the Arts and Handicrafts Centre, the Yayasan Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Shopping Complex, Jerudong Park Playground (the world’s first and only free-admissions state-of-the-art theme park) and the Kuala Belalong Rain Forest.

Further information on Brunei is provided on the Information for Delegates page. More about the country, its history, culture, ecology and tourist attractions are available by visiting the Brunei Darussalam web site (http://www.brunet.bn).

Passports and visas

All visitors to Brunei Darussalam must be in possession of valid passports. Nationals of most Commonwealth countries also require visas. These can be obtained from the nearest Brunei High Commissions, Embassies or Consulates before entering Brunei. Please review the Information for Delegates page and Registration Form for important information regarding visas.

Airlines

International airlines serving Brunei include Royal Brunei Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Philippine Airlines, Malaysian Airline System, Cathay Pacific and Thai Airways International.

Universiti Brunei Darussalam

Opened in 1985 and occupying a modern and well-resourced campus overlooking the South China Sea, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) currently provides for approximately 1,500 students including more than 5% attending as international placements. Its 250 academic staff, drawn from around the world, offer undergraduate, postgraduate, research and consultancy programmes through the Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences, Islamic Studies, Management and Administrative Studies, Science, the Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Institute of Education, and the Academy of Brunei Studies.

Further information is available from the UBD web site (http://www.ubd.edu.bn).

Call for Abstracts, Posters and Examples of Work

The Pan-Commonwealth Forum organisers invite abstracts for papers, workshops and posters. The organisers will be particularly interested to receive proposals for presentations directly concerning the Forum sub-themes — open schooling, non-formal adult and community education, corporate/industrial training, technical/vocational training, as well as university education — as being applied in the developing countries of the Commonwealth. Presentations may take the form of:

• A paper or case study (half-hour presentation)
• A workshop (one hour time-slot), defining a problem or issue and leading to discussion or action by the participants
• A "poster", up to a maximum size of 0.91 metres (3 feet) wide and 1.22 metres (4 feet) high

Within the sub-themes, papers will be grouped within eight general topic areas:

• Staff development
• Research and evaluation
• Quality assurance and costing studies
• Course development and delivery
• Management, organisation and accreditation
• Library, information technology and student support
• Telecommunications, computers and media
• Copyright and intellectual property

Delegates are also encouraged to bring samples of their print, audio-visual, computer and telecommunications courseware for a display of Commonwealth open and distance learning materials. These may be "high tech" or "low tech"; both are welcome.

Organising committees