VANCOUVER/LONDON -- The fifth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF5) to be held under the auspices of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) will take place in London in 2008. The announcement was made by Sir John Daniel, COL's President and Chief Executive Officer, and Sir Graeme Davies, Vice-Chancellor of the University of London, earlier this month in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, during the fourth biennial PCF. Sir John and Sir Graeme will be Co-Chairs of PCF5.
Organised jointly by COL and the University of London, the Forum will take place at the University's Bloomsbury campus in Central London from 13 -17 July 2008. It will form part of the University's celebration of the 150th anniversary of the establishment of its External degrees initiative.
PCF5 is for practitioners, researchers, planners and policy makers who work in the fields of open/distance learning and development. About 800 delegates are expected to attend.
With the theme, "Access to Learning for Development", the forum will provide opportunities to share experience and expertise and contribute to future thinking about access to learning. Outcomes will be relevant across the world as a contribution towards the UN's Millennium Development Goals, the goals of Education for All (Dakar) and the Commonwealth's objectives of peace, democracy, equality and good governance.
"We are delighted to come to London for PCF5 in 2008," said Sir John, "and we are honoured to be part of the University of London's sesquicentennial celebrations. The establishment of the External degrees initiative in 1858 was a seminal moment in the development of distance learning and cross-border education."
Sir Graeme added: "We are delighted to welcome the Pan-Commonwealth Forum to London, in a year when we will also be celebrating the 150th anniversary of our External System, which has 36,000 students studying for a University of London degree across the world. During the Pan-Commonwealth Forum we will also continue to focus on how COL, the University and other educational institutions could contribute towards the achievement of the UN's Millennium Development Goals and thereby through education continue to make a real difference to peoples' lives across the globe."
Editors notes:
COL's Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning is held biennially. It is co-hosted with different partners in different regions of the Commonwealth each time. The five-day programme is designed to address open and distance learning through widening educational access, bridging the digital divide and by advancing the social and economic development of communities and nations at large. The Forum's focus is on topics relating to, and participation by, societies in developing countries. COL's Excellence in Distance Education Awards are also presented at the Forum.
The University of London is one of the oldest, largest and most diverse institutions in the UK. Established by Royal Charter in 1836, the University is recognised globally as a world leader in higher education. It consists of 20 self-governing colleges of outstanding reputation, including the well-known Institute of Education, and a number of central academic centres, including the prestigious Institutes that comprise the School of Advanced Study. It has a very diverse student population of over 125,000 students, with a further 36,000 students studying by distance learning on the University's External Programme.
The Commonwealth of Learning was created by Commonwealth Heads of Government to encourage the development and sharing of open learning and distance education knowledge, resources and technologies. The Commonwealth comprises 53 countries -- most of which are developing nations -- and one-quarter of the world's population.
Further information:
www.col.org/pcf5
www.col.org
www.col.org/pcf
http://www.london.ac.uk/
http://www.londonexternal.ac.uk/
http://www.cde.london.ac.uk/
www.col.org/jdaniel
www.london.ac.uk/vice_chancellor.html
Dave Wilson
Communications Manager
Commonwealth of Learning
info@col.org
Binda Rai
Head of Communications
binda.rai@london.ac.uk