The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is an

intergovernmental organisation An international organization or international organisation (see spelling differences), also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states a ...

The Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territorial evolution of the British Empire ...

headquartered in

Metro Vancouver The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. Working collaboratively with governmental and nongovernmental organizations and other institutions in the Commonwealth, as well as with international development agencies, COL has the mandate to promote the use of

open learning Open learning is an innovative movement in education that emerged in the 1970s and evolved into fields of practice and study. The term refers generally to activities that either enhance learning opportunities within formal education systems or b ...

and

distance education Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually in ...

knowledge, resources and technologies. The Board of Governors is chaired by Professor Narend Baijnath, former chief executive officer, Council on Higher Education, South Africa.

History

COL was founded at the

1987 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting The 1987 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the tenth Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Vancouver, Canada, between 13 October 1987 and 17 October 1987, and was hosted by that country's Pr ...

(CHOGM) and inaugurated in 1988. Its title is a phrase used by philosopher

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...

to describe the body of knowledge developed over time by scientists and other thinkers, for the benefit of all people. At the time of its founding, COL focused on promoting economic development by providing education and teaching skills. In 2012, Professor Asha Kanwar was appointed the president and chief executive officer of COL. In 2015, COL created a six-year strategic plan to align itself with the

Sustainable Development Goals The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...

(SDGs), specifically SDG4, which work to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all by 2030. Th
Strategic Plan for 2021-2027
was developed against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this Plan, COL has reinvigorated its mandate to provide access to learning opportunities to those in need, making use of distance education and technologies. The 2021-2027 Strategic Plan also re-animates COL's various roles as enabler, capacity builder and catalyst for educational development. COL hosts a triennial Pan-Commonwealth Forum (PCF) on Open Learning where its Excellence in Distance Education Awards (EDEA) are presented. The Ninth Pan-Commonwealth Forum (PCF9), co-hosted with The Open University, United Kingdom was held at BT Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland on 9–12 September 2019. The Forum brought together 541 policy makers, practitioners and thought leaders from 61 countries. The resultin
Edinburgh Statement
summarised the collective actions necessary to significantly accelerate progress towards the aim and targets of SDG4.

Funding

Financial support for COL's core operations is provided by Commonwealth governments on a voluntary basis, with primary funding renewed every three years. COL also receives additional contributions from other development sources and provides fee-for-service distance education and open learning course delivery and training for various international agencies. COL's major financial contributors include

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, Canada,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, all of which have representatives on COL's Board of Governors.

References

External links

Official WebsiteCOL in The Commonwealth Website
* ttp://allafrica.com/stories/200803270835.html Nigeria: Country Partners Commonwealth on Distance Learningbr>SLADE, COL to empower farmersInformation Management Resource Kit (IMARK)
{{Authority control Commonwealth Family Distance education institutions based in Canada Organizations based in Vancouver Organizations established in 1988