Presentation note to Commonwealth Education Ministers 14th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (14CCEM)

Abstract

In preparation for the 14th triennial Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers, The Commonwealth of Learning is pleased to present Ministers with two documents (attached). // In the first document, Expanding Learning Horizons: COL's Summary Report 1998 - 2000 , COL is delighted to be able to report on several recent programme accomplishments from its Three-year Plan 1997 - 2000, in the areas of staff development, training, policy formulation, collaborative materials development, technology applications, knowledge sharing and research. // The second document, COL's Three-year Plan 2000 - 2003 , is based on the ideas that COL presented to Commonwealth Heads of Government, at their biennial summit (CHOGM, Durban, November 1999), on how it can best serve the Commonwealth in the future. It reviewed the basis for a new and modestly ambitious plan for the next three years (2000 - 2003) which shifts the agency's focus somewhat and in so doing positions it to exploit the assets of the knowledge era to add value to the Commonwealth's aspirations to develop its human capital. Funding requirements were also outlined. This vision was endorsed by CHOGM's Committee of the Whole, which noted that COL is an "ideal instrument" to meet their needs.