The Commonwealth Consortium for Education

The Commonwealth Consortium for Education has been established by a group of education-related Commonwealth NGOs, to coordinate their efforts on behalf of Commonwealth education, to stimulate more coherence in their work and to provide a collective mechanism for interaction with ministries and official Commonwealth organisations.

Initial activities have focused on making representations to Commonwealth Governments regarding the place of education in future Commonwealth priorities and programmes at the time of the Coolum summit meeting in 2002. A calendar of events in Commonwealth education has been circulated and will be updated regularly. Future joint activities of the Commonwealth Consortium for Education are expected to include development action, advocacy, information sharing, and research and development of policy. A particular concern is to promote education about the Commonwealth, and its fundamental values of democracy, tolerance and respect for diversity. The group will constitute a forum that will promote cooperation between members. In the context of the Conferences of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEMs) and Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGMs), it aims to mobilise support for education cooperation programmes, working closely with official Commonwealth bodies, national governments and agencies, and other NGOs.