Commonwealth of Learning
For Fostering International Governmental Support For OER In Partnership With UNESCO
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Amount$350,000
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Program
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Date Awarded11/15/2011
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Term9.0 Months
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Type of SupportProject
Strategies
Overview
Open Educational Resources has become a global movement over the past ten years. However, if it is to move into the mainstream, leaders and policymakers in governments and institutions worldwide must gain greater knowledge of OER’s potential and encourage their access. In partnership with UNESCO, the Commonwealth of Learning has begun to spread awareness of the value of open content beyond the OER community in the past two years. This grant would support a multilateral effort by these two organizations, Creative Commons, and several development organizations to secure commitments from governments in all regions of the world to the principle of open access to educational materials produced with public funds. This phase of the project would support planning and convening activities in 2012, as a prologue to the UNESCO World OER Conference in June 2012.
About the Grantee
Grantee Website
www.col.org
Address
4710 Kingsway, Suite 2500, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5H 4M2, Canada
Grants to this Grantee
for general operating support
Commonwealth of Learning helps governments, institutions, and organizations expand the scale, efficiency, and quality of learning by using appropriate open, distance, and technology-based approaches. The group focuses on quality learning that leads to secure livelihoods and economic opportunities, greater harmony among all members of society as global citizens, and protection of the environment. The organization advances open education as part of its core strategic priorities, including building capacity for education systems to implement OER, supporting a field that is responsive to diverse educators and learners, and promoting equitable access to lifelong learning. (Substrategy: Field Building)
for general operating support
The Commonwealth of Learning helps governments, institutions, and organizations expand the scale, efficiency, and quality of learning by using appropriate open, distance, and technology-based approaches. The organization focuses on quality learning that leads to secure livelihoods and economic opportunities, greater harmony among all members of society as global citizens, and protection of the environment. The group advances open education as part of its core strategic priorities. In doing so, it promotes equitable access to lifelong learning and supports countries in implementing policies and practices to sustain effective use of OER.
for regional consultations on OER in preparation for the 2nd World OER Congress
The Commonwealth of Learning is an intergovernmental organization that encourages the development and use of open and distance education, including Open Educational Resources (OER). Together with UNESCO, the group will organize and host regional consultations with governments, educational institutions, and civil societies to examine the challenges of mainstreaming OER and lay the groundwork for the 2nd World OER Congress, to be held in the fall of 2017. This work supports the Education Program’s goals of encouraging governments and international institutions to strengthen policies that support OER, and creating and distributing openly licensed materials in the developing world.
