Commonwealth of Learning - International organisations and resources

United Nations

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
As officially authorised at the 144th working session of its Executive Board in March 1994, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and COL entered into a formal co- operation agreement. Recognising common aims and objectives, the agreement calls for regular consultation between the bodies, participation at respective meetings, exchange of information and documents, and future co-operative endeavours. The agreement formalised a working relationship that had been developed over several years. Most recently, COL has been actively involved with UNESCO's Education for All programme and its work with the nine high population developing countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan -- where, collectively, three out of four illiterate adults live. The main objective of UNESCO is to contribute to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science, culture and communication in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations.

National Commissions for UNESCO:
Canada
United Kingdom
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
COL has observer status with this intergovernmental organization,
one of the 16 specialized agencies of the United Nations system of organizations.
WIPO administers various multilateral treaties among its member states.
International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
ITU is the United Nations specialised agency for telecommunications. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, it is an international organization within which governments and the private sector coordinate global telecom networks and services. At its World Telecommunications Development Conference (Buenos Aires, March 1994), ITU accorded official recognition to the need for formal collaboration between the communications representatives and organisations, such as COL, engaged in promoting the use of distance learning internationally.
The World Bank Group
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, frequently called the "World Bank" was established in July 1944 at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. The World Bank opened for business on June 25, 1946. The World Bank's goal is to reduce poverty and improve living standards by promoting sustainable growth and investment in people. The Bank provides loans, technical assistance and policy guidance to developing-country members to achieve this objective.

The World Bank's education pages:
   Education and the World Bank
   Tertiary Education
   ICT and Education

The World Bank's Global Distance EducationNet (DistEdNet) is a knowledge guide to distance education designed to help its clients and others interested in using distance education for human development. The Network consists of a core site located at the World Bank and regional sites in all parts of the world. The Commonwealth of Learning has contributed several of its publications and serves as both a site project manager and a "partner institution."

The World Bank's Development Forum is a public venue for online discussions on development issues sponsored by the World Bank and its partners on behalf of the entire development community. Its focal point is a series of new and ongoing moderated electronic discussions on key issues and challenges facing the development community and the world's poor, with a particular emphasis on learning from the experience of those who face these challenges in their daily lives. Discussions in the Development Forum are open to participants from around the world. In order to assure that those with limited Internet access can participate, these dialogues are conducted by means of moderated email lists, archived to the Development Forum website. Participants with web access, however, will be able to send or reply to messages using the website. As a Global Knowledge partner, COL's first virtual conference (October 1998) was one of the first to be included in the World Bank's "Development Forum."

GlobalTrainingMarket.com (formerly Global Training Resource Directory) is a knowledge brokering service from the World Bank Institute/The World Bank. It is a one-stop online shop for professionals who need training all over the world to learn about in-service training and professional development opportunities worldwide. The purpose is to improve the ability of businesses, governments, and other development-oriented organisations around the world to acquire comprehensive and timely information on training opportunities resources.

World Bank Institute - the learning and knowledge dissemination arm of The World Bank Group

infoDev (the World Bank's Information for Develompent Program) - "Promoting Information and Communication Technologies for Social and Economic Development.
International "Millennium Development Goals" web site, hosted by The World Bank Group. "At the Millennium Summit in September 2000 the states of the United Nations reaffirmed their commitment to working toward a world in which sustaining development and eliminating poverty would have the highest priority. The Millennium Development Goals grew out of the agreements and resolutions of world conferences organized by the United Nations in the past decade. The goals have been commonly accepted as a framework for measuring development progress."
Other United Nations organisations
( United Nations System search)

Other international and intergovernmental organisations

Panos
Panos is a non-profit organisation incorporated in the U.K. with offices in several other countries. It works with journalists in developing countries to produce news, features and analysis about the most critical global issues of today. Panos is also known for it's large photobank.

Union of International Associations (UIA)
Links to over 11,000 international organisations, NGOs and intergovernmental agencies