1.1 Program Focus: Utilization of Information and Communication Technology for Furthering Education
The Foundation generally awards grants within the following three broad areas: Educational Cooperation, Research and Scholarship, and Community Building. Witnessing both challenges and opportunities in the digital age, the Foundation's Board of Governors decided to focus our work on the utilization of information and communication technology for furthering education. AEF's grants program for 2000-2001 focus on educational cooperation and collaboration among educational institutions and programs across the region and on the use of advanced telecommunications technologies to extend the reach of educational resources and faculty.

Call for Grant Proposals

In this vein, while reviewing proposals received in 2000, a call for grant proposals was announced in April 2001 under the theme of "Education and Human Resources Development: Bridging the Digital Divide" to member economies, APEC Secretariat and APEC fora and regional organizations.

Review and Approval of the Proposals

Over 70 institutions and consortia from 17 APEC member economies and several regional organizations have submitted grant proposals. Included here are a variety of institutions that have participated individually or by forming a consortium: education institutions, government ministries and related agencies, international and non-governmental organization and private corporations.

17 APEC member economies: Australia; Canada; China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Russia; Thailand; United States; Vietnam

2 international organizations: United Nations Economic Social Council for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC)
By priority area, 72 applications are divided into the following categories

- ICT and Educational Innovation in Primary and Secondary Education: 19 applications
- ICT and Quality Teacher Training: 19 applications
- ICT and Effective Technical and Vocational Education and Training: 9 applications
- ICT and Enhanced Educational Opportunities for Disadvantaged Groups: 10 applications

These proposals were reviewed by the Secretariat, an international review committee and the Board of Governors. The AEF Board stated that many of those outstanding proposals had a similar focus: providing support and guidance for secondary educators with effective utilization of ICT. Recognizing an apparently felt need in this area and the growing importance of cyber education in the region, the Board also felt the need to bring complementary projects into one initiative in order to foster cooperation and more effectively address the digital divide in the region. Thus, the Board decided to encourage and support the establishment of a "consortium" of several institutions that share and have demonstrated a professional interest in addressing such need.

1.2 The Signature Project for 2001 and Onward: "The Consortium for APEC Cyber Education Cooperation (ACEC)"
The decision to encourage the establishment of a consortium was based on the view that there was much potential for generating synergy effects and that it would foster multilateral cooperation across the region. The aim is to set up an AEF project with input from various institutions in APEC members which will provide a multilingual APEC-wide service available to all teachers, policymakers and researchers as and when they have access to the Internet.

The AEF has invited the following groups to constitute the Initial Group of a consortium: the Centre for Information Technology in School and Teacher Education (CITE), University of Hong Kong; the Knowledge Sharing Network represented by the U.S. Department of Education and Singapore Ministry of Education; the Korea Education Research and Information Service (KERIS); and the 2020 Communications Trust Group, New Zealand.

The relevant project leaders then met to discuss the feasibility of a consortium at a meeting held on June 25-26, 2001, prior to the 23rd APEC HRD Working Group Meeting in Mexico City. They welcomed the opportunity to work together and agreed to establish a Consortium for APEC Cyber Education Cooperation (ACEC) in order to collaborate with each other in knowledge sharing, online community building and human capacity building activities.

With the participation from the private sector organizations, the ACEC has become a tripartite venture among government, business, and education and training institutions. The implementation of this project will continue to pursue cooperative action among the various stakeholders concerned, as human resources development in the Asia-Pacific region requires. Attention will also be paid to the diversity of experiences and situations in the region.

Convinced that this kind of initiative will greatly contribute to the realization of the APEC Leaders' vision to enhance digital opportunities for all and build human capacity in the region, the AEF Board approved a grant of US$679,000 to the ACEC in August 2001. The first installment of the AEF grant to the ACEC was made in the amount of US$325,000 on September 5, 2001. The Consortium has also been remarkably successful in mobilizing matching funds of some US$1.8 million. With the commitment of the Consortium members, the project has been up and running smoothly. Progress with the ACEC has been presented at the relevant APEC meetings that expressed their support to the Consortium.

1.3. Sponsoring Initiatives to Bridge the Gender Digital Divide
In order to contribute to the identification of effective strategies to address the gender digital divide and to enhance the status of the Foundation in the region, the AEF sponsored an Asia Pacific Regional Symposium on Gender Equality/Equity through ICT/Internet on March 29-30, 2001 at Sookmyung Women's University, Seoul, Korea. Organized by the Asia Pacific Women's Information Network Center (APWINC) of the university, the symposium was jointly sponsored by UNESCAP, UNDP, the Korean Ministry of Gender Equality and the Korean National Commission for UNESCO. The Foundation made a financial contribution of US$5,000.

1.4. Grants to the APEC Study Centers
The AEF has supported the endeavors of APEC member economies to contribute to the collective learning and enhanced exchange of information. The Foundation has co-funded with the government of Singapore the APEC Education Hubs and APEC Scholarship programs. In 2000 and 2001, grants of about $37,000 have been made to Nanyang Technological University and National University of Singapore. The grants were originally awarded in 1998 in order to help launch the first APEC Education Hub and Scholarships Programs. For the academic year 2000-2001, six students from APEC member economies have been and will be provided APEC Scholarships for study in Business Hubs at the master's level at Nanyang Technological University and National University of Singapore. A Foundation grant has also helped the East-West Center, University of Hawaii, to continue in 2000 the publication of the MEETING MINDS, a newsletter for the APEC Study Centers.

2. Strengthening the Foundation's Governance and Management

2.1. Meetings of the Board of Governors

The First Meeting

The 1st Meeting of the Board of Governors was held on April 16-17, 2000, in Honolulu, United States, in order to discuss the future of the Foundation and to review management and financial affairs. Among the actions taken by the Board of Governors were the appointment of Dr. Kyung Tae Lee as the Acting Chair and the merger of the Administrative Office in Monterey with the Grants and Programs Secretariat in Seoul, to form a single, streamlined Secretariat in Seoul.

The Second Meeting

The 2nd Meeting of the Board of Governors was held on June 4-5, 2001 in Seoul to review the work plan for 2001 and grant proposals, with Dr. Kyung Tae Lee (Acting Chair), Dr. Robert Gard, Mr. Michael Mullen, Amb. Roger Peren, and Dr. Zhong-lie Wang attending. At the meeting, the Board of Governors discussed all the critical issues as well as the general affairs of the AEF and elected Dr. Kyung Tae Lee, Acting Chair of the Board and President of Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, as Chair. Mr. Michael Mullen was decided to serve as the Secretary and Treasurer and Mr. Roger Peren as the Chair of the Grants Committee.

The Board of Governors also reviewed grant proposals, and decided encourage and support the establishment of a consortium of several institutions that share and have demonstrated a professional interest in addressing the need to ensure that teachers of secondary education make the best use of their access to information and communication technology (ICT) and the internet.

The following institutions have been selected as the top four which the AEF believes are crucial to the success of this project:

- Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS)
- 2020 Communications Trust (New Zealand)
- Knowledge Sharing Network represented by U.S. Department of Education and
   Singapore Ministry of Education
- Centre for Information Technology in School and Teacher Education (CITE),
   University of Hong Kong

2.2. Streamlined Secretariat
Following the resolution of the 1st Meeting of the Board of Governors, the Secretariat has been streamlined to form a single Secretariat in Seoul, with its staff strengthened. Dr. Hyungdo Ahn was appointed as a new Executive Director to head the Secretariat in October 2000, and Ms. Yangsook Lee joined the Secretariat as a Program Officer in December 2000. The streamlined Secretariat has allowed the Foundation to operate more actively with increased efficiency and transparency.

2.3 Former Chair of the AEF appointed Korea's Ambassador to the OECD
Dr. Kyung Tae Lee, former Chair of the Foundation's Board of Governors was appointed Korea's Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on December 24, 2001. Due to his new responsibilities, Dr. Lee resigned from the positions of the Governor and Chair of the Board of Governors on December 31, 2001. Amb. Roger Peren will serve as Acting Chair until a new Chair is appointed by the Board of Governors.

3. Participation in the APEC Activities

Leaders' and Ministerial Meetings

The 12th APEC Ministerial Meeting
At the 12th APEC Ministerial Meeting in November 2000 in Brunei, Dr. Kyung Tae Lee, Chair, briefed the Ministers on the current status and future course of the Foundation.
Ministers welcomed "the efforts to revitalize the APEC Education Foundation and urged economies to participate actively in the Foundation."

The 13th APEC Ministerial Meeting and the 9th Leaders' Meeting

At the 9th APEC Leaders' Meeting and the 13th Ministerial Meeting in October in Shanghai, China, APEC Leaders and Ministers officially recognized the work and efforts of the AEF in advancing education cooperation, showcasing the Foundation's achievements among the major outcomes of APEC 2001.

On October 17, 2001, Dr. Kyung Tae Lee, Chair of the Foundation, briefed the Ministers on the progress of the Foundation over the year. Following Dr. Lee's presentation, the Consortium for APEC Cyber Education Cooperation (ACEC) briefed the Ministers on the outline and progress of the Consortium.

"Ministers expressed their appreciation to the APEC Education Foundation for its leadership in launching the APEC Cyber Education Cooperation Consortium and recognized the Foundation's potential as a useful vehicle for HCB efforts, especially in the area of cyber education cooperation. Ministers encouraged further participation in the work of the Foundation and the Consortium by member economies, business, academia and other stakeholders with a view towards realizing an APEC cyber education community." (Paragraph 30 of the Joint Ministerial Statement)

More significantly, APEC Leaders welcomed "the launch of the Consortium for APEC Cyber Education Cooperation initiated and sponsored by the APEC Education Foundation," and other human capacity building initiatives. (Paragraph 11 of the Leaders' Declaration)

In addition, the e-APEC Strategy, adopted as Annex 2 of the Declaration, encourages "greater utilization of the APEC Education Foundation as a vehicle for advancing cyber education" and supports the APEC Cyber Education Cooperation Consortium, including the establishment of a web portal on teaching.

Senior Officials Meeting

SOM III, 2000
In September 2000, Dr. Kyung Tae Lee, Chair, briefed the Senior Officials on the current status and future course of the Foundation at the 3rd Senior Officials Meeting in Brunei. In February 2001, the AEF presented its current status and 2001 work plan at the first Senior Officials Meeting (SOM).

"SOM welcomed Korea's briefing on the work plan of the APEC Education Foundation and asked ESC to consider the matter further and forward any suggestions for consideration."

SOM III, 2001
Dr. Kyung Tae Lee, Chair of the AEF, briefed the third Senior Officials Meeting in August 2001 in Dalian, China, on the Foundation's recent developments. Dr. YoungHwan Kim and Mr. Ross Whitcher, Chair and Vice Chair of the ACEC, also presented on the consortium activities.

SOM "commended the progress in sponsoring the cyber education programs and welcomed the establishment of the APEC Cyber Education Cooperation Consortium. SOM also recognized the possibility of interaction between the consortium initiative and the follow-up project to the Beijing Initiative."

APEC Fora

Human Resources Development Working Group Meeting
The AEF participated in the 22nd APEC HRD WG Meeting in May 2000. Dr. Chan-hyun Sohn, then Managing Director, reported on the AEF's activities at the APEC EduNet Meeting and the APEC Study Center Consortium Meeting.

In June 2001, the AEF also briefed the APEC Human Resources Development Working Group (HRD WG) on the Foundation's activities and efforts for revitalization at the 23rd WG meeting in Mexico City.

ECOTECH Sub-committee of the SOM
On August 20-21, 2001, the AEF presented its activities and grants program, including the establishment of the Consortium for APEC Cyber Education Cooperation (ACEC) to which the AEF had approved a grant of US$679,000, at the 3rd meeting of the ECOTECH Sub-committee of the SOM (ESC) prior to SOM III in Dalian, China. Member economies welcomed the launch of the ACEC, and noted the need for further financial support to revitalize the APEC Education Foundation.

e-APEC Task Force Meeting
The second meeting of the e-APEC Task Force was briefed on the AEF activities and the ACEC initiative on August 21, 2001, in Dalian, China. The Task Force adopted the e-APEC Strategy that proposed to encourage greater utilization of the AEF as a vehicle for advancing cyber education.

Other Special Initiatives of APEC

APEC International Roundtable on "Cyber Education for All"
The Foundation has been exploring educational initiatives to address these issues for possible grant making. As part of such efforts, the Foundation participated in the 1st APEC International Roundtable on "Cyber Education for All" held in Seoul in November 2000.

High Level Meeting on Human Capacity Building
In order to identify ways to contribute to enhancing human capacity building initiatives, Dr. Robert Gard, a Governor of the AEF, and Dr. Hyungdo Ahn, Executive Director, participated in the High Level Meeting on Human Capacity Building, held on May 15-16, 2001, in Beijing, China.

4. Public Outreach

Re-establishment of the Foundation's Website
In order to extend the Foundation's public outreach to the general public, the Foundation's website (www.apecef.org) was re-opened in April.

Distribution of Activity Report and Brochure
Activity report and brochure were published and distributed to APEC members and interested institutions to help better understand the activities of the Foundation in January 2002.

The First International Outreach Visit
The Foundation conducted its first international outreach visit to Japan, Singapore and Thailand in November 2001, with the aim of strengthening cooperation and publicizing the Foundation's work and accomplishments. During the visit, the Foundation held consultations with members of the APEC and PECC Secretariats on the recent developments of the Foundation and ACEC. They also met with Foreign Affairs, Economy and Education officials and exchanged views on the future course of development for the Foundation. Through this visit, AEF was able to build up a useful network with relevant governments, the APEC Secretariat and the PECC Secretariat for future cooperation for advancing the work of the Foundation.

e-Newsletter
AEF e-Newsletter was published and distributed to APEC members and relevant institutions in January 2002. The on-line newsletter is designed to keep APEC members and interested institutions informed of the Foundation's recent activities and developments.