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Pictured (l-r): Mette Villand
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In preparation for the campaign, Dr. Ferreira visited ICDE in Oslo, Norway. Discussions were held with staff of the secretariat including new Secretary General Gard Titlestad, and meetings held with a number of Norwegian member institutions and cooperating partners:
- The Norwegian Association for Distance Education
- NKI Distance Education
- Lillehammer University College
- The University of Oslo
The meetings provided significant input to the evaluation of need and concepts at the basis of the campaign and enabled the recruitment of institutions from Norway to the reference group which will provide input to and assessment of the next stages of the campaign.
Symposium at 24th ICDE World Conference
A mapping survey of existing marketing initiatives promoting distance education has been carried out among ICDE member institutions. The results of this survey together with plans for the campaign will be presented in a special symposium at the forthcoming ICDE World Conference on 3 October. The symposium is open to all participants with an interest in promoting the role of distance education to the public at large, to learners, faculty, institutional management and policy makers. Participants will also have the opportunity to provide input to the campaign planning and concepts through a workshop.
A report on the symposium and the results of the mapping survey will be published on the ICDE website in early November.
How to contribute to and benefit from the campaign
ICDE member institutions and associate members which have not already done so are kindly asked to register support for this initiative by completing this brief online form: http://surveys.unisa.ac.za/index.php?sid=12684&lang=en.This will guarantee a seat for your institution on the reference group, acknowledgement on the website and in all publications.
Contributing data on your institution's specific marketing and communications activities through the longer survey will ensure that your institution receives priority acknowledgement including your logo and website link on the ICDE website and in publications: http://surveys.unisa.ac.za/index.php?sid=91985&lang=en
The campaign will develop draft promotional materials, online tools and examples of best practice which may be adapted for local use, as well as an anthology of success stories.
Background
In ICDE’s Strategic Plan, the organization announced its intention to work with the education sector internationally to support the development of an understanding of the values and possibilities of distance education as an instrument for lifelong learning. At the Policy Forum held at the 2010 ICDE Standing Conference of Presidents in South Africa, members asked ICDE to develop an advocacy programme focusing on increasing awareness of the contribution that distance education can make to national and international development goals.
Further information
Should you have any queries regarding the questionnaire, please contact Dr. Marie Ferreira ferrem@unisa.ac.za.
5 September 2011