Strategic Outlook, 1995 - 1998 // (Presented at the 12th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers held in Islamabad, Pakistan in November, 1994) // When the Commonwealth Heads of Government created The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) in 1988 in Vancouver, Canada, they pioneered a new kind of international instrument, a bold and imaginative initiative designed to advance the cause of distance learning internationally and to exploit the power of modern information technology as a means of accessing opportunities for quality education and training. The accomplishments of this fledging multilateral organisation to date have received widespread commendation. This Strategic Outlook sets COL's course for the future by providing an overview of the organisation's primary operational objectives and priorities for the period 1995 to 1998, in the context of its mandate, the needs of its client community and anticipated resources. The Outlook is a statement of the future strategic orientation of COL and serves as background to support the overall planning process for the organisation and for more general discussion purposes. // By sketching the What (Mandate-Mission-Objectives), the How (Key Functions-Operational Modalities) and the Where (Clients-Regions-Partners) of COL, the document provides a framework for the overall Strategic Plan of the organisation, from which the Work Plan and detailed budgetary/financial projections are to be developed. Further, although the Outlook identifies threshold levels for the operation of the organisation and for a broad linkage of resources with its stated priorities, detailed budgetary information will be produced elsewhere in the form of a three-year rolling budget, articulated as part of the detailed COL work plan (to be reviewed and approved at the meeting of the Executive Committee of COL's Board of Governors in May 1995).