06. Speeches & Presentations
Permanent URI for this community
Browse
Browsing 06. Speeches & Presentations by Subject "Access"
-
PublicationAccess to Education: A Guarantee of a Less Divided World?( 2001-07-02)Access to Education: A Guarantee of a Less Divided World? The Sixth G. Ram Reddy Memorial Lecture, Gyan Darshan Educational Channel of Doodarshan, Indira Gandhi National Open University, The Commonwealth of Learning, New Delhi, India 2 July 2001 by Dr. H. Ian Macdonald, Chairman, The Commonwealth of Learning // I hope that Ram Reddy would have approved of the title of my Lecture- Access to Education: A Guarantee of a Less Divided World? I am sure that he would. During the all too brief period when I was privileged to work with him on the Board of Governors of The Commonwealth of Learning, I became instantly aware of two qualities: first, he insisted on knowing the objective of any course of action; second, he was in every sense a citizen of the world. And so, although he was a pioneer in the methodologies of distance education and open learning, he was forceful in forever raising the issue of the basic purpose of education. That purpose was no narrow or self-serving end; rather, it had a relationship to the concept of making the world a better place, both locally and globally. That is the task with which I wish to wrestle in my reflective monologue today. // For many years and in most places, philosophers have argued about the purpose of education: is it for individual betterment as an end in itself, or should it be for occupational preparation? In his famous discourses in 1852, Cardinal John Henry Newman argued: "Knowledge is capable of being its own end. Such is the constitution of the human mind, that any kind of knowledge, if it be really such, is its own reward." And yet, at that very time, the great universities of Oxford and Cambridge were also designed for occupational preparation: to produce teachers, lawyers, ministers, doctors and public servants. -
PublicationAccess to Justice( 2022-11-25)Presented by Professor Asha Kanwar, COL President & CEO at the Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting (CLLM) in Mauritius, on 25 November 2022.
-
PublicationAccess to Learning and Asian Open Universities: In Context( 1998-11-04)My presentation this morning is about meaningful access and it begins with my belief that education, as a resource, is a basic and fundamental right. [...] I wish to take this presentation further in three parts: First, I would like to find out whom the Asian Learner is. Secondly, I would like to share with you some of the barriers that impede access to the Asian Learner. Thirdly, I would like to challenge you to design initiatives that would enable freedom of access to learning by ALL those who want that access, here in Asia. This challenge is not just to policymakers and senior managers, but also to academic colleagues who hold the key to ultimately make a difference and bring about change.
-
PublicationAccessible OER: Where to Start?( 2017-12-20)Presented by Professor Asha Kanwar, President & CEO, Commonwealth of Learning, at the 6th International Conference on Information and Communication Technology and Accessibility, 20 December 2017, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. Co-written with Dr. Ishan Abeywardena, Adviser: Open Educational Resources, COL and Dr. Sanjaya Mishra, Education Specialist: eLearning, COL
-
PublicationBridging the Higher Education Gap: The 3-R Challenge( 2012-08-30)Let us look at the three R’s, Reach, Resources, Relevance, that could help us to address the gaps of access, equity and quality.
-
PublicationBridging the Technology Gap: The Case of the Missing Content( 2012-08-30)In this session we bring you some perspectives on how the technology gap can be bridged to increase access, improve quality and cut the costs of education.
-
PublicationCombating Poverty through Adult Education( 2001-03-05)Combating Poverty through Adult Education Silver Jubilee Celebration Institute of Distance and Continuing Education University of Guyana Inauguration of the Dennis Irvine Lecture Series First Lecture by Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan President and Chief Executive Officer, The Commonwealth of Learning, 5 March 2001 // May I first congratulate and compliment the University, its Institute of Distance and Continuing Education, the Vice-Chancellor, and Mr. Samuel Small on the Silver Jubilee of the Institute and in celebrating and recognising a great regional academic leader, scholar, administrator, international public servant, Dr. Dennis H. Irvine, through a Lecture Series in his honour. Secondly, please accept my sincere gratitude for giving me the honour of delivering this inaugural lecture in the Series. I am humbled by your invitation, flattered at the thought of addressing such a distinguished gathering, enormously pleased to pay homage to a great friend of The Commonwealth of Learning (COL), and at the same time to also have the opportunity to publicly place on record the gratitude of COL for the unstinting service and support Dr. Irvine rendered to COL while he was in Canada and when he returned to his native land, Jamaica. All those who have come to know him, hold Dennis, in great awe. We are constantly amazed at the erudition, energy and passion he brings to the things he does and through his powers of argument, persuasion and clever diplomacy, the contributions he has made to education, not only here in Guyana but to the greater Commonwealth also. When he invited me, Mr. Small suggested that I speak of adult education and poverty alleviation. The first I know a little about through professional experience and the second, a little bit more through personal experience. This lecture is therefore based less on scholarship of the subject and more arising out of a sense of despondency witnessing the indignities and inequalities suffered by those who have been denied greater opportunities for learning for one reason or another.
-
PublicationDigital Education: Unlocking the Potential of Every Mind( 2023-03-02)Presented by Dr Sanjaya Mishra, Director: Education, Commonwealth of Learning at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Digital Skills Taskforce Webinar organised by CARICOM and UNESCO, held in Kingston, Jamaica on 2 March 2023.
-
PublicationExpanding Access, Openness and Flexibility( 2017-10-17)Presented by Professor Asha Kanwar, President & CEO, Commonwealth of Learning, at the World Conference on Online Learning: Teaching in a Digital Age - Re-thinking Teaching & Learning, 17 October 2017, Toronto, Canada.
-
PublicationFrom the Triangle to the Pentagon: Open Universities in the 21st Century( 2004-11-28)I have entitled this address From the Triangle to the Pentagon: Open Universities in the 21st Century. In the light of current events I hasten to add that I am not talking about the Sunni triangle and the building in Washington from which the war in Iraq is directed. Many of you know my fondness for explaining the success of educational technology in general, and open and distance learning in particular, in terms of an iron triangle made up of the vectors of access, cost and quality. Some colleagues in India even call this the Daniel Triangle, although I disclaim any ownership. // The importance of these three parameters in education is obvious. I first heard them used as a way of analysing developments in higher education when I was a new university president attending one of my first meetings of the Council of Ontario Universities in the mid-1980s. The then president of the University of Toronto, George Connell, used these three vectors to analyse Ontario government policy for higher education and the idea has stayed with me ever since. Today, however, I am going to add two more vectors and look at today's challenges to open universities as a pentagon.
-
PublicationGender and Access to TVET: Challenges and Progress( 2020-12-02)Delivered by Terry Neal, Education Specialist: Technical and Vocational Skills Development (TVSD), Commonwealth of Learning at the Women in Technical Education and Employment International Hybrid Conference on ‘Gender and sustainable development goals in Africa’, 2-4 December 2020. Terry’s presentation ‘Gender and access to TVET: Challenges and progress’ outlines the inequity that exists between male and female participation in TVET, particularly STEM related TVET, factors contributing to this and examples of interventions that aim to overcome these challenges.
-
PublicationLessons Learned from Covid-19: Mitigation and Recovery Strategies( 2022-04-27)"Lessons Learned from Covid-19: Mitigation and Recovery Strategies", presented by Professor Asha Kanwar, COL President & CEO, at the Ministerial Roundtable at the 21st Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (21CCEM), Nairobi, Kenya, on 27 April 2022.
-
PublicationMaking ODL Inclusive: The Role of Technology( 2017-12-20)Keynote address presented by Professor Asha Kanwar, President & CEO, Commonwealth of Learning, at the 6th International Conference on Information and Communication Technology and Accessibility, 19 December 2017, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman. Co-written with Mr. Ricky Zhiyong Cheng, Knowledge Services Manager, COL.
-
PublicationOpen Educational Resources Status and Trends( 2022-02-14)Open Educational Resources: Status and Trends, a virtual presentation and interaction by Dr. Sanjaya Mishra, Director: Education with the students of Indiana University, Bloomington on February 14, 2022.
-
PublicationOpening Remarks: Educational Technology 2000( 1996-08)I believe that access is what this Conference is all about; it is certainly what the Commonwealth of Learning is all about. And the miracles of educational technology make access possible now on a scale heretofore unimagined.
-
PublicationSmart OER: Bridges for Sustainable Education( 2018-03-11)Presented by Professor Asha Kanwar, President & CEO, Commonwealth of Learning, at Innovation Arabia 11, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 11 March 2018. Co-written with Dr Ishan Abeywardena, Adviser: Open Educational Resources, and Dr Sanjaya Mishra, Education Specialist: eLearning.
-
PublicationWidening Access to Quality Higher Education: the Role of Private Universities and Open and Distance Learning( 2006-05-04)The title of the conference asks whether private universities and open universities are the future of education. My topic is Widening Access to Quality Higher Education: the Role of Private Universities and Open and Distance Learning. // Let me start by putting my remarks in context. Making quality higher education widely available is increasingly seen as one of the keys to national development and success in the 21 st century. It is not necessary to believe everything that one reads about our living in an information age or a knowledge society to subscribe to the view that wide participation in higher education is important.