WASHINGTON,
DC -- January 9, 2004 -- LearningTimes,
LLC and The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which
is part of the World Bank Group, announced today the launch
of
an online community in support of an international forum that
will focus on private higher education investment in developing
countries. The forum itself will take place in Washington D.C.
on January 22 & 23, 2004.
A key feature of the forum is a free
live online debate on the
globalization of education, Friday, January 23 at 8:30 am EST
(Washington, DC time), which is 1:30pm GMT (Greenwich Mean Time).
The debate will occur live for IFC and World Bank Group staff
in Washington and will be simultaneously webcast in an interactive
format out to online participants around the world.
Debaters will be John Dawkins, former Australian Treasurer and
Minister of Education, and Dr. Terry Ryan a Director with the
African Centre for Economic Growth and former Advisor to the
Ministry of Finance, Government of Kenya. Onsite moderator Paul
Stacey, Director of Development for BCcampus, will ask the debaters
to address questions from the pre-debate online forum and field
questions from onsite participants. Jonathan Finkelstein, President
and Executive Producer of LearningTimes, will field and pose
questions to the debaters from live online participants.
The IFC online community site will be the home for the globalization
event, as well as host the discussion on the topic of globalization
and related issues in advance of the debate. To access this
community, register for the webcast and join the pre-debate
discussion, please visit: http://home.learningtimes.net/ifc
“We
are pleased to present this international forum, and look forward
to using the Internet to extend the reach of this
live debate around the world,” said Ron Perkinson of the
IFC. “The rich format we’ve chosen in partnership
with LearningTimes includes a multimedia recording of the debate
which will be available along with the discussion forums even
after the event takes place.”
“LearningTimes is proud to offer our expertise in creating
and facilitating this unique opportunity for global debate and
collaboration on these very important issues,” commented
Finkelstein. “The launch of the IFC and World Bank Community
is a particularly exciting moment in the development of the ’LearningTimes
Network’ of online educational communities, which now total
35, serving over 14,000 active members.
About The International Finance Corporation
The mission of IFC (www.ifc.org) is to promote sustainable private
sector investment in developing countries, helping to reduce
poverty and improve people's lives. IFC finances private sector
investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the
international financial markets, helps clients improve social
and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance
and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in
1956 through FY03, IFC has committed more than $37 billion of
its own funds and arranged $22 billion in syndications for 2,990
companies in 140 developing countries. IFC's worldwide committed
portfolio as of FY03 was $16.8 billion for its own account and
$6.6 billion held for participants in loan syndications.
About LearningTimes
LearningTimes,
LLC, designs and produces online learning conferences,
communities and events, and provides the platforms, applications
and promotional expertise that make them successful. The LearningTimes
Network connects each member institution with other learning-oriented
groups and provides unique opportunities for interdisciplinary
collaboration.
