The Sustainable Development eLearning Network evolved from an earlier initiative involving many organizations and individuals who collaboratively established the Asia Pacific Regional Technology Centre (APRTC) early in 2001. With financial support from the multinational Crop Science Industry over a period of 3 years, APRTC and its partners developed 7 online public domain courses focused on the promotion of sustainable agriculture and implemented 31 offerings of these courses representing some 900 learning opportunities. Participants in these courses were agricultural professionals and educators from 20 Asian and 17 African countries working in a broad range of agricultural support sectors - academic institutions, government organizations, private sector agribusiness and development oriented NGOs. Although APRTC no longer exists as a legal entity, an archive of its original Website and courses is available by clicking [here]. Modified versions of APRTC course materials have also been published by CropLifeAsia under agLearn.net.

At the end of the third year of APRTC's operation, a decision was made by its Board to scale back education activities and reorient the Centre's focus. However, many of the original collaborators in APRTC remained committed to the original vision of the Centre - the promotion of sustainable development through the dissemination of impartial science-based knowledge taking advantage of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and adhering to best practices in eLearning. Thus was born SDLEARN - the Sustainable Development eLearning Network. The network allows the various members - donors, development agencies, research organizations, and educational institutions - to take advantage of the expertise and resources of its members to achieve individual and mutual goals in promoting sustainable development.

Approach

The network does not deliver courses on its own behalf. Instead, it provides a mutually supportive mechanism allowing members to cost effectively make online courses available to targeted groups of individuals. Selected members of the network work with each other and with the SDLEARN Secretariat to help define educational messages and needs, target audiences and implementation strategies. Through extensive consultation and discussion, pedagogically sound courses are developed, made available on SDLEARN's Website, participants enrolled and fully facilitated courses are implemented for selected target audiences. Most courses are "owned" by a lead organization but some are delivered under the name of the network.