Commonwealth of Learning

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)

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.

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.