Drafting Tampere University thank-you letters

<<November 11, 1999>>

P. Tapio Varis, Ph.D, Professor <tapio.varis@uta.fi>

Dr. David A. Johnson, AICP <daj@utk.edu>

Dear Tapio:
===========

(1) It was my great pleasure to have met with you at Chemists Club on 11/5th
and during the TeleLearning*NCE99 conference in Montreal, Canada on
11/6th to 8th. I hope you had a very fruitful symposium at the InfoDev
of the World Bank in Washington, D.C., on 11/9th and 10th.

(2) Upon your request, I have drafted samples of your "thank-you" notes to
suppliers of greetings and financial supporters of our Tampere event.

Pls feel free to revise them. Pls use the samples for other greeting
suppliers after reading their greetings at <www.uta.fi/EGEDL> -- Dr.
Mayor's is in ATTACHMENT III and my friend, Mr. Utsumi's in ATTACHMENT
IV for your reference -- pls make the one for your friend, Dr. Juan
Somavia, Director-General of ILO. Pls email me copies of all letters for my files.

Dear David:
===========

(3) I took the liberty of utilizing your summary for press release which was
made at the last day of our event. Thank you for that.

Dear Electronic Colleagues:
===========================

(4) We welcome your suggestions and comments.

Best, Tak

****************************************
ATTACHMENT I

November 10, 1999

Dr. Federico Mayor
Director General
UNESCO
PLace de Fontenoy
75007, PARIS
FRANCE

Dear Dr. Mayor:

Albeit very belated, we would like to express our sincere gratitude for your
providing us with a very stimulating greeting during our international
workshop and conference on "Emerging Global Electronic Distance Learning
(EGEDL)" which was held from August 9th to 13th at the University of Tampere
in Finland. Your greeting was one of highlights of the event and greatly
encouraged our attendees.

Experts on Distance Learning from 14 nations discussed practical ways to
harness the emerging electronic technological evolution to provide affordable,
global distance education across national and cultural boundaries. The group
formulated specific pilot projects focussed on five major regions of the world
to reduce the growing digital divide between information rich and information
poor populations, as reaching out to the massive numbers of people who are
deprived of opportunities to learn. The conference chairman, Dr. Tapio Varis
of the University of Tampere, was asked to lead the effort to seek funding and
carry out the projects as Acting President of a newly formed Global University
System. Dr. Marco Antonio Dias, former director of Higher Education of your
UNESCO, has also kindly accepted to serve as the Vice President for
Administration of the GUS. The GUS will facilitate connectivity among current
Distance Learning efforts around the world and will provide support and
guidance to selected pilot projects intended to serve as models for adoption
around the world.

The conference proceedings, including the transcripts of your greeting, photos
and audio/video clippings, is available for your peruse at our web site
<http://www.uta.fi/EGEDL>. The final report of the event with draft proposals
of the pilot projects is now under construction at <http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS>.

Thanks to our highly successful event with extraordinary supports and
cooperations of many funding sources and colleagues around the world,
substantial momentum for our Global Initiative is now building up to have
follow-up workshops and conferences to forge ahead the establishment of the
GUS with global broadband Internet and Global Service Trust Fund (GSTF) by
multilateral collaborations. We would like to realize the motto of your
UNESCO, education (and healthcare) for all," at anytime and anywhere.

We understand that, after many years of substantial contributions to the
people of the world, you are soon to pass the baton of the Director-Generalship to
Mr. Matsuura. We would like to whole-heartily congratulate you on your
accomplishments. On the other hand, as recalling your inspiring videotape
greeting for our "Global Lecture Hall (GLH)" videoconferencing in the fall of
1995, we would like to keep in touch with you so that we can ask your guidance
on our project.

We hope that you are pleased with the results and we would gladly provide
additional information on request. We would appreciate your continued support
and participation during some of the future events.

Very sincerely yours,

P. Tapio Varis, Ph.D.
General Chairman, Tampere event
Acting President, Global University System
University of Tampere, Finland
tapio.varis@uta.fi; http://www.uta.fi/~titava

Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D.
Program Chairman, Tampere event
President Emeritus, Global University System
Chairman, GLOSAS/USA
utsumi@columbia.edu; http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS

****************************************
ATTACHMENT II

November 10, 1999

Mr. Yoshio Utsumi
Secretary General
International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
Place des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 20
Switzerland

Dear Mr. Utsumi:

Your greeting was one of highlights of the event and greatly encouraged our
attendees. We were particularly very delighted to learn that you are a firm
believer of distance learning as having been an avid user of its methodology
several decades ago when you learned English language and other courses by
radio to enter into one of the prestigious universities in Japan.

Experts on Distance Learning from 14 nations discussed practical ways to
harness the emerging electronic technological evolution to provide affordable,
global distance education across national and cultural boundaries. The group
formulated specific pilot projects focussed on five major regions of the world
to reduce the growing digital divide between information rich and information
poor populations, as reaching out to the massive numbers of people who are
deprived of opportunities to learn. The conference chairman, Dr. Tapio Varis
of the University of Tampere, was asked to lead the effort to seek funding and
carry out the projects as Acting President of a newly formed Global University
System. Dr. Marco Antonio Dias, former director of Higher Education of
UNESCO, has also kindly accepted to serve as the Vice President for
Administration of the GUS. The GUS will facilitate connectivity among current
Distance Learning efforts around the world and will provide support and
guidance to selected pilot projects intended to serve as models for adoption
around the world.

Thanks to our highly successful event with extraordinary supports and
cooperations of many funding sources and colleagues around the world,
substantial momentum for our Global Initiative is now building up to have
follow-up workshops and conferences to forge ahead the establishment of the
GUS with global broadband Internet and Global Service Trust Fund (GSTF) by
multilateral collaborations. We would like to realize education and
healthcare for all" at anytime and anywhere with advanced telecommunication
technologies.

Incidentally, during our event our colleagues demonstrated very successfully
inexpensive videoconferencings via narrow- and broad-band Internet and ISDN
for affordable and assessable distance learning and telemedicine across
Atlantic ocean and national boundaries. We are sure that these approaches in
global scale will alleviate your concerns on motivating youngsters for life-long

learning with intimate close interactions with their instructors and
among their fellow learners.

Very sincerely yours,

P. Tapio Varis, Ph.D.
General Chairman, Tampere event
Acting President, Global University System
University of Tampere, Finland
tapio.varis@uta.fi; http://www.uta.fi/~titava

Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D.
Program Chairman, Tampere event
President Emeritus, Global University System
Chairman, GLOSAS/USA
utsumi@columbia.edu; http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS

****************************************
ATTACHMENT III

GREETINGS PRESENTED FOR THE "EMERGING GLOBAL ELECTRONIC DISTANCE
LEARNING" CONFERENCE, TAMPERE, FINLAND, 9-13 AUGUST 1999

It is a great pleasure for me to present greetings to the Emerging Global
Electronic Distance Learning? Conference.

UNESCO gave early support to the field of distance learning and executed
numerous development projects in this area. It contributed thereby extensively
to the advancement of this field, fostering opportunities for lifelong
learning for all ﾟ a cornerstone of the Organizationピ policy and therefore a
priority area of action. In pursuance of its policy, UNESCO encourages
activities that make greater use of distance learning approaches. In doing so
it seeks to expand access to education as well as to enhance the effectiveness
of educational systems. This includes exploring the potential of alternative
modes of educational communication, using different technologies and human
processes.

The potential contribution of distance learning to the development of higher
education and teacher education is also fully recognized and supported by
UNESCO. National and sub-regional initiatives are encouraged and supported,
among other modalities through UNESCO Chairs and inter-university co-operation.

In the world of today, the revolutionary changes brought about by
technological developments and the emergence of new information infrastructure
cannot be ignored. These changes are already having a dramatic impact on the
field of distance learning, an area so crucial for lifelong learning. The new
developments in information and communication technologies come at a time that
lifelong learning is increasingly becoming an essential condition for
effective participation of citizens in their societies and communities.

It is important to recognize that the new information and communication
technologies exist side-by-side with other technologies that have often gone
through a long history of continuous perfection and sophistication. All
through its history, UNESCO has taken great interest in these technological
developments and in exploring and assessing their potential for human
development purposes, particularly for learning. Through that involvement,
UNESCO now has a wealth of accumulated knowledge and wisdom in this area. It
has particularly become clear to us that no single technology stands on its
own and that it is particularly unfruitful to overly focus on the new to the
detriment of exploring what one already has.

In general, therefore, using technology in distance learning is not usually a
question of choosing just one technology, but of selecting an appropriate mix
of technologies as well as human processes to serve the overall objective of
fostering lifelong learning for all. In fact, the successful introduction of
technologies has often less to do with their cost or innovative power than
with the development of peopleピ competencies to take full advantage of them
and the existence of political will to put the necessary conditions in place
at the societal level.

UNESCO's Learning Without Frontiers? initiative is particularly interested in
creating a seamless world of learning. No person should be excluded from
asserting his or her right to learn. The currently available technological
options, if used well and wisely, can go a long way to creating a learning
environment that is truly integrated, comprehensive and inclusive. The best
and richest in potential of what emerges must be explored in conjunction with
the best and most effective of what already exists. This may lead to creative
frameworks in which the most sophisticated and high-powered technologies are
complemented by processes in which the last mile is done on foot or on
horseback.

Many unsubstantiated claims ﾟ both positive and negative ones ﾟ surround the
introduction of new technologies. There is thus a great need for serious
applied research in this area that can guide decision making. Such research
should focus on technology in context, rather than on technology per se.

Technologies are not ends in themselves, they are used to extend opportunities
of learning to new groups, to make learning more efficient and flexible, and
to enrich the learning processes. In fact, the use of information and
communication technologies provides the opportunity to begin questioning some
of the basic assumptions on learning by reopening discussions around the
nature of learning, the content of learning and the role of facilitators and
places for learning. It is important to view technology in its entire
political, social and economic context, rather than in isolation. By
considering all of the interrelated components, technology can help to create
learning environments suited to the needs of the learners and made relevant to
the situation of the learners. The challenge therefore is to utilize this
potential in accordance with the learning requirements of the society of
today, integrating cultural and intellectual developments, to ensure the
conditions of lifelong learning for all.

I wish you success in contributing to the creation of a true learning society.

****************************************
ATTACHMENT IV

"The Challenge of Education"
Mr. Yoshio Utsumi
Secretary-General
International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Address to EGEDL 99 (Emerging Global Electronic Distance Learning Conference)
University of Tampere, Finland
10 August 1999

Format: pre-recorded video message
Length: 10 minutes maximum (approximately 3 minutes)
Recording session: Tuesday, 13 July at 15h00

Please forgive me for not being able to be with you "live" in Tampere,
especially since the word "alive" is something I would like to see injected
into distance learning education. But let me share with you some personal
thoughts on the subject.

I was born in Shikoku province in the south east part of Japan and grew up
there during the last war. As you can imagine, the economic environment at the
time was poor in the area where I lived. But we did have educational programs
on the radio and I had the privilege of being able to listen to NHK, a radio
station of the calibre of the BBC, which offered programs for high school
students, including English language training. Some of the commercial radio
stations also broadcast various courses on the radio that were intended to
give a high-school type education and prepare students for university entrance
exams.

My hometown was not in Tokyo, but in a remote area of the country and for
three whole years I listened to these programs daily for at least an hour
every evening, and in this way I was able to be taught by the very best
teachers in Japan. I went on to pass my entrance exams and was admitted to one
of the best universities in the country. So, you see, distance learning is
something I firmly believe in since it made it possible for me to have the
best education available at the time.

Then, distance learning was by means of radio broadcasts. Today we have much
better means - we have television and we have the Internet. Our children have
been raised in a much better economic environment and television and the
Internet are a part of their lives. However, they are no longer interested in
distance learning. They are no longer hungry to learn and to study using such
means. They prefer to go to private schools and be with their fellow students.
The technology exists for distance learning to form an integral part of our
education systems. But how do we whet the appetite of the younger generation
for such learning? Is this not the real challenge of the new means of
education?

Perhaps the answer lies in the preference of young people to interact with
others and their need to find a human face. Perhaps we must bring to distance
learning more of a human touch, more of the feel of learning through play and
discovery, in the same way that our young play with and discover the Internet
and all the new possibilities of convergence.

It is how we use the technology that is now important. The very best teachers
must be found and they should be encouraged to find new ways to ignite and

re-ignite a passion for learning in our young people to enable them to explore
new and exciting worlds of possibility and pave their own way for a future
with a human face.

Personally, and on behalf of ITU, I wish you every success with your
conference.

Thank you.

****************************************
List of Distribution

P. Tapio Varis, Ph.D, Professor
Acting President, Global University System
Chairman, GLOSAS/Finland
Professor and Chair
Media Culture and Communication Education
Hypermedia laboratory
University of Tampere
P.O.Box 607
FIN-33101 Tampere
FINLAND
Tel: +358-3-215 6110
GSM: +358-50-567-9833
Fax: +358-3-215 7503
tapio.varis@uta.fi
http://www.uta.fi/~titava

Dr. David A. Johnson, AICP
Board member of GLOSAS/USA
Former President of Fulbright Association
Professor of School of Planning
College of Arts and Sciences
University of Tenneseee
108-I Hoskins Library
Knoxville, TN 37996-4051
USA
Tel: +1-423-974 5227
Fax: +1-423-974 5229
daj@utk.edu
http://web.utk.edu/~djohnutk/

**********************************************************************
* Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D., P.E., Chairman, GLOSAS/USA *
* (GLObal Systems Analysis and Simulation Association in the U.S.A.) *
* Laureate of Lord Perry Award for Excellence in Distance Education *
* Founder of CAADE *
* (Consortium for Affordable and Accessible Distance Education) *
* President Emeritus and V.P. for Technology and Coordination of *
* Global University System (GUS) *
* 43-23 Colden Street, Flushing, NY 11355-3998, U.S.A. *
* Tel: 718-939-0928; Fax: 718-939-0656 (day time only--prefer email) *
* Email: utsumi@columbia.edu; Tax Exempt ID: 11-2999676 *
* http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/ *
**********************************************************************

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