 Since its inception in 1989, it has been an exciting, successful and rewarding journey. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Commonwealth of Learning. Welcome to our celebration. Happy 10th anniversary Commonwealth of Learning. Happy birthday, Carl. I'm extremely glad to know that the Commonwealth of Learning is celebrating its 10th anniversary of existence. Congratulations on your 10th anniversary. May your efforts continue to be a fruit well into the new age of the millennium. Of the University of South Africa, UNICEF, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate the Commonwealth of Learning on its 10th anniversary. As Prime Minister of Canada, I am very pleased to be part of this celebration of 10 years of the Commonwealth of Learning. Welcome to our celebration of 10 years of achievement. The last 10 years has seen remarkable developments taking place in the way the world has invented and applied communication technologies for purposes of entertainment, information dissemination, and more recently, education and training. It is in this context that the Commonwealth of Learning will find a continuing role for itself in its second decade of life as new technologies will create enormous opportunities for teaching and learning. There is definitely something to celebrate. Commonwealth of Learning, or CALL, has enjoyed a successful 10 years. The results of its work toward developing human resources through the application of distance education techniques and technologies is having an impact in every region of the globe. We have been very fortunate to be assisted by the Commonwealth of Learning. Through local adaptation and train the trainer programs, CALL has had a direct influence on the success of a variety of distance education programs. CALL meets requirements throughout the Commonwealth from basic education to vocational training to continuing professional education. The Commonwealth of Learning has been an inspiration to contact North and a source of encouragement to share its expertise and experience with other countries in the Commonwealth. While operating out of Vancouver through the hospitality of the governments of Canada and British Columbia, information on CALL and distance education is distributed throughout the world. CALL has acted as broker for us in a number of things. A linkage between the University of the West Indies and three Canadian universities. So the Commonwealth of Learning is very important to people like ourselves. Partnerships both with local institutions and other international agencies are key to CALL success. CALL and the Commonwealth Secretariat are working with the University of the South Pacific to develop distance training programs for laboratory technicians based on materials obtained from Britain. In India, CALL is working with the Indira Gandhi National Open University. CALL awarded 100 Rajiv Gandhi Fellowships in 1996 to enable students from 19 developing countries throughout the Commonwealth to follow a Masters of Distance Education program through IGNU, 60 graduated in 1998. The Commonwealth Educational Media Center for Asia is another important resource with over 10,000 educational radio and television programs. Building on this success in Asia, a Commonwealth Educational Media Center for Southern Africa is planned. And perhaps some of its most important work has been to put developing countries in touch with each other. CALL is currently working with eight Southern African countries, upgrading secondary school teacher skills and resource materials. New members of the Commonwealth are already benefiting from CALL's rich resources and experience. With partners such as Australia and New Zealand, CALL addresses the special needs of the Commonwealth's many small island countries. One of CALL's specialties is the application of low-cost educational technologies. Much of CALL's work impacts the Commonwealth as a whole. CALL's ongoing advocacy is important as it helps build awareness of the value of distance education and facilitates the sharing of learning materials and resources between institutions. The Commonwealth of Learning's advocacy of these approaches has done much to highlight the work being done by open universities and given a boost to UNICEF and similar institutions. The transformation of educational systems throughout the world over the past decade can be credited in part to CALL's promotion and development of distance education within the Commonwealth. CALL's network of resources can be assembled to provide consultative services to other agencies and governments outside of the Commonwealth. CALL is especially committed to improving conditions for women and children through better access to education, training and technologies. Community-based non-formal education can also provide important personal improvement and health information. CALL's briefcase radio station has been installed in several locations for this purpose. CALL is helping governments meet the staggering human challenges posed by an interdependent global environment. But above all, as a means for people, people everywhere to achieve their individual dreams and potential through education and training. That is what the Commonwealth of Learning is all about. Today, CALL's mandate is even more crucial. CALL is now perfectly positioned to play a large role in meeting the demand for ever-widening access to educational opportunities at all stages of people's lives. During the past 10 years, CALL has played a significant role in distance education and open learning on the brink of a new millennium or looking ahead to another decade of growth and accomplishment. To our celebration of 10 years of achievement, Commonwealth leaders when they met in Vancouver in late 1987 demonstrated amazing foresight in agreeing to create an agency for the promotion and development of distance education. The Commonwealth of Learning came into existence in January 1989 when its headquarters was established here in British Columbia and since then has grown to be a valuable asset of not only the Commonwealth but also the wider world. Working with associates all over the Commonwealth, the agency has been at the forefront of developing knowledge and capacity in distance and open learning around the world. By doing so, it has helped change the perception of government leaders, policy makers, educational managers, academics and the lay public as to the value and importance of applying innovative techniques and technologies to take education and training to users wherever they may be. Today, almost all 54 countries of the Commonwealth use distance education methods for one purpose or another. The Commonwealth of Learning can take pride in the role that it has played. Working with associates all over the Commonwealth, the agency has been at the forefront of developing knowledge and capacity in distance and open learning around the world. By doing so, it has helped change the perception of government leaders, policy makers, educational managers, academics and the lay public as to the value and importance of applying innovative techniques and technologies to take education and training to users wherever they may be. Today, almost all 54 countries of the Commonwealth use distance education methods for one purpose or another. The Commonwealth of Learning can take pride in the role that it has played in shifting distance education from being a side stream to a mainstream provision in many of these countries. It did this by making use of the plentiful talent of the Commonwealth for the needs of the Commonwealth. The last 10 years has also seen remarkable developments taking place in the way the world has invented and applied communication technologies for purposes of information dissemination, entertainment, commerce and more recently education and training. The ability of digits to move across national borders and other barriers at almost the speed of light also enables knowledge to do likewise. It is in this context that the Commonwealth of Learning will find a continuing role for itself in its second decade of life. While the new technologies will create enormous opportunities for teaching and learning, there will also be threats and fears. Opportunities need to be exploited for the benefit of the people of the Commonwealth, but capacities also need to be developed to cope with the threats and the fears. On the basis of the confidence it has built among Commonwealth governments and people, in the past call its best place to add value to Commonwealth thinking in maximizing on the one hand the enormous opportunities and minimizing on the other the limited threats and perhaps unfounded fears. In closing, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the many Commonwealth governments that have supported the call over the last 10 years both in terms of their financial contribution as well as in helping others by sharing their knowledge, the experience, expertise and products. The heads of Commonwealth countries showed a remarkable vision a decade ago when they decided to establish the Commonwealth of Learning. Their collective confidence in the value of distance education and the generosity of a number of governments, especially Canada, which provided a home for the new organization in Vancouver, enabled a unique international experiment to begin operations in 1989. Since that time, distance and open learning have become established throughout the world. Moreover, the revolution in information and communication technologies that has occurred during the last decade has resulted in an immense widening of the scope for these techniques to be applied. This is bringing to the most remote corners and least advantaged communities of our countries the benefits of education including better employment prospects and health, equalization of opportunities for women and girls and enhancement of the quality of life. In each 10th year of operation, the Commonwealth of Learning can be proud of the substantial contribution it is making throughout the Commonwealth to this revolution in education. With governments having renewed their commitments to support CALL as an important service provider and partner in development, CALL is now perfectly positioned to play a large role in meeting the demand for ever-widening access to educational opportunities at all stages of people's lives. As Prime Minister of Canada, I am very pleased to be part of this celebration of 10 years of the Commonwealth of Learning. Arising the potential of the information highway is a key goal of our government. We see the internet not only as a rapidly expanding market for business, but above all as a means for people, people everywhere to achieve their individual dreams and potential through education and training. That is what the Commonwealth of Learning is all about. And I am proud that Canada has played a role in its growth and development. Thank you very much. I am fortunate to be assisted by the Commonwealth of Learning. The Commonwealth of Learning was, in my view, one of the final initiatives taken by the Commonwealth Secretariat under Sir Shridat Ramfal as Secretary-General. I remember being invited to be a member of the committee under Lord Briggs, which really set up the organization. We envisaged at the time that the whole thing of teleconferenced distance learning could be an excellent means of guaranteeing access to quite a large number of Commonwealth citizens if I may use that term to hire education and also to consultancy services. And even to the level of work done in secondary schools, if you like, in community colleges and certainly in sort of university outreach work. My colleague, Professor Gerald Laylor, had himself been part of a committee which had discussed much of this. He later was drafted on to another committee. This, I think, established that close link which has always existed between the Commonwealth of Learning and the University of the West Indies. Through the efforts of Professor Laylor, we had gone ahead with what we called the Shridat teleconferencing delivery of certain courses offered by the University to what is really a far-flung empire that constitutes the West Indies, the contributing territories to the University of the West Indies. Originally, many of us had thought that this would have been a regional center of A.C.U.L. as indeed the University of the South Pacific would be a host to another regional center in that part of the world. It didn't quite work out that way, but we managed to keep in touch. CALL has acted as broker for us in a number of things, and one of the most recent being the search for a director of distance education who has come now to the Caribbean with his vast experience from the South Pacific and from India. One of the most recent activities of cooperation between CALL and the University of the West Indies has to do with CALL brokering linkage between the University of the West Indies and three Canadian universities, Athabasca, Memorial, and Mount St. Vincent. These three universities along with the University of the West Indies have targeted certain important areas of study, and these are teacher education, tourism management, and information technology. These are very important to the development of the region and certainly promise to produce much that is likely to benefit a large number of our citizens. This, of course, will add a great deal to the texture of the offerings by the University of the West Indies which is seen as a major instrument of development or instrument of growth in development strategies of the region. So the commonwealth of learning is very important to people like ourselves, and in its decade or so of existence it has definitely demonstrated its pivotal importance to far-flung island territories like Oroon in the Caribbean and to large land masses as in Asia and supposedly in Africa. This, I repeat, by ending where I started, that it was one of the fine initiatives taken by the Commonwealth Secretariat and one that promises to do a great deal to link the millions of people across the Commonwealth. I am extremely glad to know that the Commonwealth of Learning is celebrating its 10th anniversary of existence. In the last 10 years, Carl has contributed significantly in the development of distance education and open learning systems all over the Commonwealth. India has been very closely involved with the activities of COL right from its inception. India has also been taking advantage of the expertise and other supports coming from COL for developing its own open learning institutions. The Indira Gandhi National Open University and the National Open School has been the main beneficiaries from the facilities provided by COL. The National Open School of India, which is one of the largest open schools in the world, has been interacting with the Commonwealth of Learning in the last about five years. COL has helped NOS in training its own faculty members, holding international workshops and also in bringing out publications and also strengthening its infrastructure. The special mention has to be made about COL's contribution in facilitating the open schooling activities of women and other disadvantaged groups in the developing countries. The workshop which was organized by COL where participants from more than 20 countries deliberated on evolving more alternative models for open schooling activities for basic education will be of great help for NOS in strengthening its own basic education program which it has initiated in the last two years. We had the opportunity to be associated with the Commonwealth of Learning in different capacities right from its inception in 1988-89. I have been seeing that the COL has been focusing more on education at the tertiary level. However, I am glad to see that in the last few years COL has supported open schooling activities to a very great extent. I hope this trend will continue and in the coming years also COL will provide a lot of support to open schooling activities keeping in mind education for all. On behalf of the University of South Africa, UNISA, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate the Commonwealth of Learning on its 10th anniversary. The most significant developments in education over the past two decades have been in distance education and the open learning areas in which UNISA has been specializing for more than 50 years. The Commonwealth of Learning's advocacy of these approaches has done much to highlight the work being done by open universities and given a boost to UNISA and similar institutions. UNISA has remained in touch with the Commonwealth of Learning since its inception and thereby become more aware of practices being adopted elsewhere. For example, to increase access and equity and to enhance quality. In the continuing efforts to modernize the institution, UNISA's programming has taken on board many of the better practices advocated by the Commonwealth of Learning. UNISA's current approach to the design and development of its courses and the wider use of information and communication technologies in delivering programs owes much to the influence which the Commonwealth of Learning's present and former staff brought to bear. UNISA stands ready to assist the Commonwealth of Learning in further development of programs, especially for Africa, where our efforts are highly valued. It's a great pleasure to bring greetings to the Commonwealth of Learning on its 10th anniversary from both a personal point of view and as Vice Chancellor of the Open University. From a personal point of view, because I was the Chairman of the Planning Committee of the Commonwealth of Learning in 1987 that led up to the foundation of CALL by the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement, and those were very exciting times, and I'm proud of what has since developed. When I came to the Open University in 1990 I found that there was a major agreement between CALL and the Open University and also that the Chairman of the Board of Governors of CALL was the Chancellor of the Open University, Lord Asa Briggs. So I found myself back in some intense links with the Commonwealth of Learning. The object of the CALL-OU collaboration was to develop a database on distance learning institutions and on distance education literature for the benefit of those who wanted to know more about it. That was done through our International Center for Distance Learning, and I believe that the work of that center and the compiling of a database of courses and institutions around the world has been extremely helpful in the tremendous developments of distance learning that we've seen in the Commonwealth in particular and in the world in general over these last ten years. I think it's been a remarkable phenomenon. What of course I think is the special aspect of CALL is that it has focused on the benefits that open and distance learning can bring to the developing world and perhaps some of its most important work has been to put developing countries in touch with each other. So it's no longer simply countries like Britain and Canada that are helping other Commonwealth countries, but India is playing a big role as well. And finally, it has been a real pleasure over these last few years to see the extremely strong and effective team that is at the head of CALL, Ian McDonald as chair and Raj Dhanarajan as president. And we are delighted that the Open University can claim both Dr. McDonald and Professor Dhanarajan as honorary doctors of the Open University of the UK. So happy birthday, CALL. It is my pleasure to bring you greetings from our institution which is situated near Johannesburg in South Africa. Congratulations on your tenth anniversary in a world of change where organizations and endeavors come and go. This is indeed a special milestone in your history. I know that all of us as members of the Commonwealth of Learning have benefited richly from the work of the organization. We welcome informed windows to global best practice and the opportunity to share and exchange ideas and research outcomes in an open and distance learning. May your efforts continue to bear fruit well into the new age of the millennium. We are technique on essay here in South Africa share with other Commonwealth institutions common challenges. We as an institution serving a developing nation in a new democracy are engaged in the finding educational solutions that best serve our clients. I sincerely believe that we have come a long way since the inception of this institution in 1980. And our national and international partnerships have helped us along the way. Technicon essay is the largest institution for career specific distance education in Southern Africa. It is an institution of flexible and distance learning which in 1997 reached more than 85,000 students throughout Southern Africa. These students, 67% of whom are black are mainly learners who are employed or live distant from the city. These learners have chosen the affordable and practical option that TSA provides. Distance education enables them to study at home or at work using study material provided by TSA and attending tutorial sessions with their tutors and fellow students. TSA aims at promoting the concept and practice of lifelong learning which enables learners at any stage of their careers to improve qualifications without giving up their jobs. In a country where many thousands of deserving students were disadvantaged in the past, TSA's mission is to open access to higher education to as many able students as possible. This means providing innovative ways of recognizing prior learning and experience and of supporting new students in the provision of foundation courses which upgrade qualifications. In this way, TSA is able to address the gap created by the stringent admission requirements of the universities. However, we are proud of the fact that since 1995 TSA qualifications have been recognized as on par with those of South African universities. We regard learner support for our distance students as a crucial element of success. TSA operates according to its model of integrated learner-centered distance education, so-called ILCDE. ILCDE provides for learner support on a regional basis. At 20 regional offices throughout the country, students are able to make use of a wide range of academic and administrative support services. Increasingly, these services are also available online to students with access to computers. TSA is involved in a number of special projects. Most of them are aimed at enhancing levels of learner support, international best practice, or at expanding areas of involvement in community development. Recently, the Integrated Technology Centre was established at TSA with a view to providing the infrastructure and expertise to facilitate educational innovation and bring the benefits of technology to the learners, educators, and other clients. Already, students are able to access a variety of services online. These include an increasing number of courses translated into virtual campus format and registration facilities, a biographical assignment and examination details. The establishment of study centres throughout the country is a project that is aimed at enhancing the opportunities for learner support and the success of ILCDE. TSA is increasingly engaged in initiatives aimed at assisting the Southern African Development Community, or SADEC, countries in providing opportunities for flexible and distance learning to their citizens. For example, the TELISA project aims to support educational access throughout the SADEC region by providing appropriate technology at community centres for access by learners of all ages. Also, TSA is discussing with its counterparts in African countries the development of special programs for the education and training of learners in the SADEC region. TSA's four academic divisions of economic and management sciences, community sciences, public safety and criminal justice, and applied natural sciences present more than 70 academic and career-focused programs. TSA is also in the business of developing specially designed short courses to meet the needs of the corporate clients. TSA welcomes cooperation with other South African and international institutions, particularly in the sharing of facilities, research, projects and specialist expertise. In this regard, it is involved in a number of fruitful alliances. In addition to our membership of the Commonwealth of Learning, we are also an active and executive member of the International Council for Distance Education. In addition, TSA has ongoing contacts and exchange programs with universities and other tertiary institutions in Australia, Europe and in Britain. The institution regularly hosts academic conferences that attract international delegates. Technicon SSA started its operations in 1980 as a modest institution serving a limited number of local students. Finally, our reach is far broader and more comprehensive. In conclusion, I would like to say that we at TSA are proud to be members of the Commonwealth of Learning and we look forward to the future collaboration with you and all your members. In wishing you well for the future, I would like to extend this sincere invitation to you, to those of you who might visit South Africa in the future to make a call at our campus near Johannesburg. We would be happy to show you around and share some of our thinking with you. I would like to wish you Hambagashle, which in the Zulu means go well, and Lalagashle, which means stay well. Focus. The Commonwealth of Learning has been an inspiration to Contact North and a source of encouragement to share its expertise and experience with other countries in the Commonwealth. My longtime colleague and friend, Dr. Daniel Rajan and the senior staff at the Commonwealth of Learning have provided Contact North with ongoing advice with respect to its international involvement. Happy 10th anniversary Commonwealth of Learning. Education mode diploma of education is to provide opportunities to increase access to a certified course of teacher education to those teachers who cannot attend the Thomas Institute of Education. This will mean that the teachers out in the field can improve their qualifications in their own place and at their own place. This, we hope, will assist them in performing their roles in the classroom more effectively. A total of 23 staff are currently involved with the program. We have one coordinator, ten writers, seven content editors, two formators, one copyright officer, one illustrator and one audio visual aid officer. I hope you are meeting this afternoon. I know you are all very busy, but making the effort to be here is very much appreciated. I also like to thank you for the progress made in the development of our course materials. You have all been aware that while the trial program is underway, we still continue with the development of the remaining course materials. And this meeting is being called so that we can look at some curriculum writing issues which I believe will help us to improve our task. I would like to start first of all by thanking you, all writers for the quality work you have done so far. And if I do start by starting with the main task of the writers before I move on to the feedback we got from students while trying our first units from our three courses. Firstly, as writers, if you could recall, one of your most important tasks was to prepare clear objectives. Secondly, to select and design appropriate activities. Thirdly, to organize and structure the teaching content. Fourthly, to write appropriate assessment items together with answers. If you could look at some of those booklets you have with you which are the Tongan studies. If we start with the Tongan studies, I think this is a very good example where all the important points that I raised during the training workshop is reflected in this Tongan studies first unit. If you look at the objectives on page six, those are clearly set up. The six objectives are there as well as the learning outcomes. And if you follow that little, small unit rule you will find that each lesson, the teaching content is very clear and focused in digestible files or in small sizes. And in addition, the new pictures. I mean, it's very important that if you... What is this? Can you identify what is in this? In other words, yeah. See, it's no use having a picture if they cannot read or find anything in the scanning machine. So even those are the main feedback that came out from the English unit which would help me to improve the unit for the final production. We have been very fortunate to be assisted by the Commonwealth of Learning. They have donated funds which help us with the development of course materials, training of staff and provisions of equipment. They also provided technical assistance to Mrs. Mavis Bird who came to Tonga in November 1997, April 1998 and she will also visit us again in early January 1999 to evaluate the feedback from the trial program and advise on refinements for implementation. A trial program is currently under way in three areas, English, Tongan studies and research science. The trial consists of one unit from each of these areas. Each area is made up of an average of eight units. The aim of this trial is to ensure that all aspects of the program are working smoothly when the full pilot commences in early 1999. The trial will test areas such as administration, distributions, student support, tutoring and the standard and quality of the course materials. There are 14 students participating in the trial program, seven from Tonga Tapu, the main island and the other seven are from the Outer Islands, that is two from the Hawkeye Group, two from Mavao, two from Ewa and one from the second most northern island of the Tonga Group and that is Newa Tapu. Five of these students are men and nine are women and we are hoping to enroll 25 students for the pilot program next year. In the opening of the Diploma of Education by Distance mode, Dr. Taufeolungaki said that there are about 700 primary teachers who are either with a certificate or still untrained. Only 15 teachers can attend the Institute of Education each year. This would mean that it will take more than 40 years to train or upgrade all teachers. She said that the Diploma of Education by Distance mode would speed up the training process. My name is Namikin Taufeolungaki, a teacher, wife and a mother. I'm so glad to be able to join this program for its mean. I can improve my qualification while continuing to end my living. I'm able to stay with my family and not leave them behind to attend the Institute of Education. I can study at my own time at my own pace. This program also helps me widen my horizon and sharpen my teaching skills. I really appreciate the offering of Diploma in Education by the Distance mode. If it wasn't for this opportunity, I don't think I would have a chance to attend the Institute of Education. And if I do, it will take a long, long time before I can come to teach God. So, are they going to come back or they'll be shutting down after that two hours? Two hours starting at two hours over. Okay, thank you.