BURNABY, CANADA, 26 JUNE 2020 – The Commonwealth of Learning is pleased to announce that the 10th Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF10) will be held in Calgary, Canada, in September 2022, in partnership with Athabasca University (AU).
PCF10 is designed to promote discussion and develop recommendations for common action to widen education access and bridge the digital divide. The Forum will focus on ways to build resilient education systems in the face of global challenges.
“The most recent education crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the need for education systems that not only respond to disaster but are resilient to it, through integrating distance and online learning focused on the most vulnerable and the most marginalised,” said Professor Asha Kanwar, COL President and CEO. “It will be an important milestone in our joint work with Athabasca University and an opportunity to lead the change in how we teach and learn.”
“We are thrilled to be co-hosting such a prestigious event with colleagues from around the globe to look at the future of online education at this pivotal time in history. We need global cooperation to broaden access to education and overcome technological and economic barriers that exist in many parts of the world,” noted Dr. Neil Fassina, AU President.
Held every three years, the Forum is one of the world’s key events in open, distance and technology-enabled learning, attracting hundreds of delegates from across the Commonwealth and beyond. Since 1999, the Forum has been held in Brunei Darussalam, Jamaica, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, and the UK. PCF10 will mark the first time the Forum will be held in Canada.
The event includes the presentation of COL’s Excellence in Distance Education Awards to those who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in open, distance and technology-enhanced education.
For more information, contact:
Natalia Angheli-Zaicenco,
COL Stakeholder Relations Manager
nzaicenco@col.org
