1.1 Consortium for APEC Cyber Education Cooperation (ACEC)
The second grant installment of US$103,000 was made to the Consortium in July. With the commitment of the Consortium members, the ACEC project made significant progress (http://www.goacec.com). International recognition and active participation by APEC member economies in activities has increased. ACEC has been enlarged with the participation of China (Higher Education Partner Schools), Malaysia (Seminar on Best Practices and Innovations), Chinese Taipei (APEC Cyber School and Networked Collaborative Learning) and Thailand (APEC Sister School Networking) as Task II members. Task II projects also include additional projects by Korea (International Cooperative Research) and the United States (We are APEC Online). In addition, ACEC established a study secretariat in the United States to further improve its programs.

1.2 2002 Call for grant proposals
In July, the AEF announced its second call for grant proposals, focusing on enhancing ICT capacity building for small and micro enterprises, especially for those businesses operated by women entrepreneurs and those to be undertaken on an APEC-wide and multilingual basis. In response to the call for grant proposals, over 100 institutions and consortia from 17 member economies and several non-member economies submitted grant applications. In November, 32 applications were selected in the first round of screening. However, due to the budget constraints, further action was deferred pending the Korean government’s agreement to make a financial contribution of US$1 million (KRW1.2 billion) on a matching fund basis.

2. Strengthening the Foundation's Governance and Management

2.1 The Third Meeting of the Board of Governors
The Third Meeting of the Board of Governors was held from June 9-10 in Seoul, Korea. Dr. Choong Yong Ahn, Dr. Robert Gard, Mr. Michael Mullen and Dr. Zhong-lie Wang took part in the meeting. Government officials from Korea, the United States, China and New Zealand participated in portions of the meeting as observers. The Board elected Dr. Choong Yong Ahn as the new Chair of the Board and Dr. Carlos Salazar Silva, Rector of the University of Colima, as a new Board member. The Board members reviewed and approved the Foundation’s work program, and decided to accelerate efforts to raise funds from both member economies and the private sector. The Board also decided to enhance publicity and outreach efforts, and strengthen the linkage with APEC fora and other activities in order to raise the Foundation’s profile and generate greater interest and active participation in the work of the Foundation among member economies.

2.2 Grant-monitoring visit
Following the Board meeting in Seoul, Governors made a grant-monitoring visit to Wellington, New Zealand, on June 11-14. Dr. Carlos Salazar joined the other Governors in Wellington. The visit enabled the governors to observe activities of APEC Cyber Education Cooperation (ACEC) projects and to discuss the project's achievements and challenges with experts in the field.

2.3 Changes in membership
In 2002, Amb. Roger Peren and Mr. Michael Mullen resigned from the Board of Governors. Dr. Carlos Salazar Silva, Rector of the University of Colima, joined the Board of Governors as a new member in June.

3. Participation in APEC Activities

3.1 The 10th APEC Leaders’ Meeting and the 14th Ministerial Meeting
The AEF submitted its progress report to the 14th APEC Ministerial Meeting held on 23-24 October in Los Cabos, Mexico. Dr. Choong Yong Ahn, Chair of the BOG, Dr. Jaebong Ro, Executive Director, and the Secretariat staff participated in the meeting. While in Los Cabos, Dr. Ahn held a consultation meeting with Ambassador Larry Greenwood, U.S. Senior Official for APEC. At the meeting, Ambassador Greenwood emphasized the U.S. commitment to taking initiatives in promoting e-learning strategies in APEC and asked for the Foundation's support. It was suggested that the Foundation act as an umbrella or platform for coordinating objectives among APEC activities in the field of cyber education cooperation and for promoting e-learning efforts in APEC.

APEC Leaders and Ministers welcomed progress in the revitalization of the APEC Education Foundation and expansion of the Consortium for APEC Cyber Education Cooperation as follows:

3.2 The Third APEC Senior Officials Meeting (SOM III) and Related Meetings
Dr. Choong Yong Ahn, Chair of the Board of Governors, and the Secretariat staff participated in the Third APEC Senior Officials Meeting and related meetings in Acapulco, Mexico from August 15-21, 2002.

During the plenary meeting of SOM III, Dr. Ahn briefed APEC Senior Officials on the Foundation's recent developments and activities, emphasizing its role as a vehicle in implementing key APEC endeavors such as the e-APEC Strategy, the Human Capacity Building initiative and other APEC education and human resources development initiatives that focus on utilizing information technology. Dr. Young Hwan Kim, Chair of the Consortium for APEC Cyber Education Cooperation (ACEC), the Foundation's signature project, also reported recent progress to the Senior Officials on the expansion of the Consortium through the participation of new members: China, Chinese Taipei, Malaysia and Thailand. APEC Senior Officials welcomed the work of the Foundation and the Consortium. The Foundation and the Consortium were also well received at the Ecotech Sub-Committee Meeting.

While attending SOM III in Acapulco, Dr. Ahn and staff members of the Secretariat held consultations with Amb. Larry Greenwood, the U.S. APEC Senior Official, and government officials from APEC host economies for 2002-2005 (Mexico, Thailand, Chile and Korea) to discuss future cooperation.

4. Public Outreach

Efforts to enhance public outreach were made through both printed and electronic media to help member economies better understand the Foundation’s activities. The second issue of the AEF e-Newsletter was distributed to APEC members and relevant institutions in August 2002. The on-line newsletter is designed to keep APEC members and interested institutions informed of the Foundation’s recent activities and developments.

The Foundation’s brochure was distributed at the major APEC meetings including the Ministerial Meeting and the Senior Officials Meeting to help further the understanding of the activities of the Foundation.