"Good governance" is one of the core values of the Commonwealth. It is an integral element in sustainable development and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. At the core of good governance is transparent, informed decision making based on participatory, democratic processes.
What is COL's interest in Governance? Please see "Frequently Asked Questions" on WikiEducator's Governance page: www.WikiEducator/WikiGovernance/FAQs/Purpose
COL's efforts focus on local level governance. By working in partnership with non-governmental organisations (NGOs), government and education institutions, and applying its expertise in open and distance learning (ODL) to governance initiatives, COL is helping to expand the number of people reached by these initiatives in several areas of the Commonwealth.
COL's Governance activities include:
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Training for civil servants in Papua New Guinea
More efficient and effective ways of training its civil servants is an important part of Papua New Guinea's Public Sector Reform Initiative. In partnership with the University of Papua New Guinea, COL is working with all levels of government and education partners to address the training needs of officials at the district, local government and village levels as well as civil society. By working with local stakeholders, COL is helping to develop solutions for challenges such as a widespread lack of formal education while finding ways to build on the strong clan system to ensure greater transparency and accountability.
www.upng.ac.pg
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Building Governance capacity in Bangladesh
Rupantar is an NGO that addresses social issues by building on traditional culture through drama productions, folk music and popular publications. Because of varying literacy levels and time commitments, this group is not well suited to traditional education. COL is working with Rupantar to strengthen the skills and knowledge of elected local government representatives in Bangladesh.
With COL's support, Rupantar has developed four training modules that focus on:
- The new roles and responsibilities of local government,
- Participation in the government system,
- Accountability and transparency, and
- Ensuring the participation of women in government systems.
The modules include print materials supplemented by folk songs and drama on DVD. Implementation will begin in the southwest region of Bangladesh. The next steps include ODL for good governance for community radio. Rupantar has applied for a community radio station, and they hope to deliver programming within the next year, supported by COL and the Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA).
www.rupantar.org
COL is working in partnership with the Institute of Social and Economic Change in Bangalore, India to field test indicators that have been developed by community organisations for gender-friendly schools at the primary and secondary levels. There will be four sets of indicators - one for each of the following groups:
- School management committees,
- Parents,
- Students, and
- Teachers and school administration.
Once the indicators have been finalised, they will be posted online and an online toolkit will be developed to allow other communities to amend them or develop their own indicators tailored to their needs.
www.wikieducator.org/WikiGovernance/GenderSensitiveSchools
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Conflict resolution training in Vanuatu
COL is working with local NGO Wan Smolbag to create DVDs to also be aired on television, based on a drama dealing with witchcraft, resolving conflict and women's role in society. The four-part series will be broadcast to a larger audience in the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu on television, village cinema events and at secondary schools.
www.wan-smolbag-theatre.org
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Strategic planning for schools in Bangladesh
COL is working with Action Aid, a local NGO, to improve strategic planning related to the operation of primary schools. Existing training resources are being converted to ODL formats to reach the many remote areas of Bangladesh with the goal of encouraging involvement of parents and community members in schools.
www3.actionaid.org/Bangladesh