Footnote [21]:
UNESCO's "Learning Without Frontier" program has "Distance Education Initiative in Nine High Population Countries (DE9)" project.

"In December 1993, at the Education for All Summit in New Delhi, the leaders of nine selected high population countries - Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan - launched the Joint Distance Education Initiative (DE9). Covering half the world's population and almost three quarters of its illiterates, the nine giants identified distance education as an important modality through which the countries could make significant advances, working collaboratively, in major educational issues, i.e. training of teachers, addressing learning needs of neo-literates and out-of-school youth.

UNESCO (ED/LWF) was asked to facilitate networking between the nine participating countries and has, within this framework, supported the organization of several workshops and study tours in participating countries (India, Indonesia), and provided technical assistance at request (Brazil, Egypt).

The five Asian DE9 countries benefit from a Asian Development Bank funded Regional Technical Assistance (RETA) project: "Primary School Teacher Training through Distance Education." Within the context of this project, UNESCO organized a Regional Seminar in Bangkok from 21 to 25 October 1996. UNESCO facilitated the participation of the other four countries in the Seminar. The meeting resulted in a proposal for DE9-wide training in key areas of distance education development.

In February 1994 UNESCO organised an informal planning meeting on distance education in the nine high-population countries in Manilla, resulting in a DE-9 Concept Paper."

See more information on the "Learning Without Frontier" program and DE9 at: <http://www.education.unesco.org/educprog/lwf/lwf_activities.html>.