17th Conference of Commonwealth Ministers of Education, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 18 June 2009, PRESENTATION TO MINISTERS, COL in the Commonwealth: How technology can help you in an economic downturn, Sir John Daniel & Professor Asha Kanwar, Commonwealth of Learning // The purpose of my short presentation today is to persuade you to ratify COL’s Three-Year Plan for 2009-2012. I shall not go into the detail of the plan but simply explain how COL can help you sustain education in an economic downturn. // We have given you two documents. // The first is COL in the Commonwealth: 2006-2009 Country Reports. This tells you what COL has done in each of your countries in the last three years. After 16CCEM in Cape Town we developed with you a specific Action Plan for each of your countries. COL in the Commonwealth contains 53 reports on the fulfilment of those plans. They are arranged by region and we also give summaries of regional and pan-Commonwealth work. // We can use these reports as springboards to design Country Action Plans for the next three years with each of you in the weeks following this Conference. // The second document, called Learning for Development, is our Three-Year Plan for 2009-20012, approved by COL’s Board of Governors, which I respectfully invite you to ratify today. // This morning I shall explain the essence of the expertise and assistance that COL offers you and show why it is particularly relevant in an economic downturn.