Vancouver, BC (CA), June 2009 - Commonwealth Learning (COL) has finalised its Three-Year Plan for 2009-2012, Learning for Development, which is now available through their website. This final version will also be presented to Commonwealth Ministers of Education for their endorsement at their seventeenth triennial Conference (CCEM) to be held in Kuala Lumpur, 15 - 19 June 2009.
Learning for Development includes an executive summary, a welcome message from the Board Chair, H.E. the Hon. Burchell Whiteman, a foreword from COL President, Sir John Daniel, a fold-out logic model, and a summary of the external evaluation of COL's work during 2006-2009.
The plan benefits from Commonwealth-wide consultation through various formal andpoinformal channels including meetings of COL's country focal points and COL's Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (London, July 2008).
COL achieves impact by promoting powerful models for applying technology to learning for various purposes. It has helped countries create wider access to schooling, improve the health of their citizens, increase farmers' incomes, and link learning to better livelihoods. Continuing analysis and refinement of these models ensure that they can be transferred intelligently from one country to another.
Although it is a small intergovernmental body, not a donor agency, COL has helped Commonwealth countries give millions of people new opportunities to learn over the two decades of its existence. The secret of its success is to empower governments, institutions, and individuals to develop learning systems themselves without relying on donors. This plan extends that process of empowerment.
