 Greetings to everyone at the National Symposium on Open Education from the other end of the world, from the Commonwealth of Learning in Vancouver. I thank Dr. Wayne McIntosh for giving me this opportunity to be virtually present, to give you Kohl's perspective on open education. As you know, Kohl believes that knowledge is the Commonwealth of humankind and that all educational content developed with public funds must be made available under open licenses so that more people are able to benefit from the initial investments. This is very much in keeping with the spirit of the 2012 Paris OER Declaration that was recently adopted under the leadership of our former president, Sir John Daniel, in June this year. Kohl and UNESCO, as many of you may know, came together to work on a project fostering governmental awareness internationally funded by a very staunch ally and partner, the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation. Both partners carried out a worldwide survey on the use of OER. The report shows, and I quote, that there appears to be a great interest in OER across all regions of the world with several countries embarking on notable OER initiatives, unquote. The report also signals the need for continued advocacy as there is still a great deal of confusion regarding the concept and potential of OER. The Paris Declaration makes 10 recommendations. Let me just refer you to three key recommendations. One, to foster strategic alliances for OER, which the OER Foundation is doing. Encourage the development and adaptation of OER in a variety of languages and cultural contexts. And to encourage research on OER. The Paris Declaration is an important development as governments tend to take such internationally agreed documents led by organizations such as UNESCO and Kohl rather seriously. OER also featured in the communique issued by the Commonwealth Education Ministers when they met for the triennial conference in Mauritius in August this year. Ministers recommend that a common platform for OER materials be set up for ease of access and, and I quote, the development and use of OER in providing quality teaching and learning for all, unquote, be promoted. This communique again is an influential document that is taken seriously by policymakers across the 54 Commonwealth member states of which New Zealand is a very prominent member. So what will the Commonwealth of Learning do to take these recommendations forward? Kohl will continue its partnership with UNESCO and other like-minded organizations to focus on four areas. One, advocacy and awareness generation regarding the benefits and availability of OER. Two, policy development on OER at the national and institutional levels. Three, capacity building so that more governments, institutions and individuals are able to effectively harness the potential of OER. And four, to promote research through its publications on OER and its chairs program and when is the call chair on OER for the region. Underpinning all these efforts is Kohl's fundamental commitment to promoting South-South collaboration. This is done through its Virtual University for the Small States initiative, which is a consortium of 32 small states which have come together to develop capacity in online course development. Several need-based courses on disaster management, tourism, entrepreneurship, fisheries, etc. have been completed and are available on Kohl's website should anybody wish to use them. Teachers who had never developed online courses before are now training other colleagues. Kohl is supporting the teacher education in Sub-Saharan Africa or TESA consortium. Another partnership of 12 African countries for developing and deploying teacher training materials. But Kohl also recognizes that OER are not simply about tertiary education, but need to be promoted for schools as well. Through a six-country partnership, Kohl has developed 20 sets of course materials in print and online formats based on the secondary curricula of Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago and Zambia. Now you'll note that five of these are developing African countries and one is in the Caribbean. This has not only established communities of practice but has helped teachers and institutions save time and money by collaborating on the content development across different countries and cultures. So all this is promoting South-South collaboration. We believe that teachers and students are the fundamental stakeholders in the OER movement. How can we reach them in remote and marginalized communities? It is these communities that need most help to improve the quality of their education. Many of them have still not heard of OER. How can we make them active partners in this movement? The OER Foundation is playing a leadership role in promoting OER worldwide. Kohl has been a co-traveller and we will continue to accompany you on your journey as you venture into uncharted territories and reach for new horizons. On that note, let me wish you all a very memorable symposium. Thank you very much.