The African Council for Distance Education Conference and General Assembly was hosted by the National Open University of Nigeria in July 2008. The conference attracted over 350 participants from five continents and 29 countries, and featured 15 distinguished speakers, including COL President Sir John Daniel and COL Board member Professor Michael Omolewa, Nigeria's Ambassador/Permanent Delegate to UNESCO.
The theme of the conference, "Open and Distance Learning for Sustainable Development", was addressed from a wide range of perspectives including national development, information technology, capacity building, quality assurance, teacher development and contribution to realising international development goals. The conference confirmed that open and distance learning (ODL) has taken centre stage in Africa and that the foundation has been laid for ODL to be used as a vital tool in meeting the Millennium Development Goals and Education for All agenda, eradicating poverty and bridging gender and digital gaps.
www.nou.edu.ng/noun/acde2008
www.col.org/speeches 
MS. JACQUELINE WILSON, DIRECTOR, GOVERNANCE AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT DIVISION WITH THE COMMONWEALTH SECRETARIAT (LEFT) AND MR. HENRY CHARLES, REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF THE CARIBBEAN CENTRE, COMMONWEALTH YOUTH PROGRAMME FLANK DR. TANYSS MUNRO, COL EDUCATION SPECIALIST, GOVERNANCE AT THE GOVERNANCE THINK TANK
COL hosted a Governance Think Tank in London in July 2008 that included representatives from the Commonwealth Secretariat, the World Bank Institute, non-governmental organisations, universities and other Commonwealth organisations. The Think Tank provided an opportunity for participants to articulate governance visions and priorities, to validate perceived gaps and to explore synergies. Following the meeting, many of these organisations are continuing to explore opportunities for collaboration in the area of governance.
UNESCO-UNEVOC's MS. MAJA ZARINI (FAR LEFT) AND COL'S MR. JOSHUA MALLET (FAR RIGHT) WITH RECIPIENTS OF ICT FOR TVET AWARDS
Prior to this year's eLearning Africa conference, held in Accra, Ghana in May, UNESCO-UNEVOC and COL hosted their second annual Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Summit. This day-long meeting tackled the issue of the limited use of information and communication technology (ICT) in TVET in Africa. Some of the issues that were addressed were developing capacity in the use of ICT in TVET learning and teaching, increasing access and connectivity, and the need to localise content.
At the Summit, Mr. Joshua Mallet, COL Education Specialist, Learning and Livelihoods, presented Certificates of Achievement recognising Good Practice in Use of ICT for TVET to:
- Global Learning, Vacoas Mauritius,
- Help a Needy Child in Sierra Leone and
- The Research Laboratory UTIC, Higher School of Sciences & Technologies, "Development of an e-Learning Curriculum for Basic Training in Computer and Internet dedicated to Disabled Students and Students with Special Needs"
COL, UNESCO and ICT4D Jamaica sponsored a community media development workshop in Jamaica in July 2008. The workshop was hosted by the Jeffrey Town Farmers Association in St. Mary. The Association operates a community radio station, JET FM, as well as a telecentre with the goal of increasing community learning and awareness about farming, livelihoods for young people and other relevant issues. The Jeffrey Town workshop was linked to COL's Lifelong Learning for Farmers programme, which is launching in Jamaica, and was organised in conjunction with the Caribbean Agricultural Research Development Institute (CARDI).
The four-day workshop drew more than 30 participants who learned how to develop effective learning programmes. Sessions focussed on addressing community educational needs with local resources, interviewing techniques, creating radio drama, radio production skills and programming. Workshop leaders included resource people from ICT4D, inner city Kingston community radio station ROOTS FM and the University of the West Indies' Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication.
Part of COL's Media for learning programme, this was the first in a series of workshops sponsored by COL and UNESCO to build capacity in community media throughout the Commonwealth. COL's media capacity building programme is reinforced by the Community Media node of COL's WikiEducator. The node contains extensive resources including materials from the Jeffrey Town workshop.
www.WikiEducator.org/Community_Media 
COL Education Specialist Mr. Joshua Mallet (right) had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, President of Zambia from Independence in 1964 to 1991, in Lusaka in July 2008. "KK" was present when Commonwealth heads of government created COL at their Vancouver summit in 1987. He warmly recalled that occasion and spoke highly of COL's work.