UNESCO OER COMMUNITY is The Recipient of the 2008 MANeLA Leadership Award –
Accra, Ghana, West Africa – May 30, 2008
International MANeLA Award Selection Committee (Chair Selection Committee, Dr. Laura Franklin, NVCC –USA)
UNESCO, with the support of the Hewlett Foundation, has taken a leadership role in raising awareness in its Member States of the potential of Open Educational Resources to equalize access to knowledge worldwide. Education for All and equitable knowledge societies are UNESCO priorities that can be advanced by this objective of the OER movement. The formation of the UNESCO OER Community allows those who might never otherwise have a chance to meet in person to assemble in cyberspace to discuss and debate, to identify and explore important issues, and to share information and intelligence. The trace of their interaction has been captured in documents and reports and shared on the OER wiki that serves a means of disseminating broadly the work of the community, and also as a common work space (http://oerwiki.iiep-unesco.org/index.php?title=Main_Page). A group of 500 individuals came together in 2005 and they remain together today, a community now numbering 650 members from 98 Member States, of which 67 are developing countries. And this Community now plays a leadership role itself, determining the priorities for the advancement of the OER movement and working together to identify strategies and create resources that will allow members to take up their own awareness raising action to promote OER development and use at the local level. It is an honour for UNESCO to support and accompany them in their individual and collective deliberation and development of Open Educational Resources.
