24th AAOU Annual Conference Hanoi Vietnam - Part 1

Prof. Tian Belawati, President of AAOU 2010 delivering her speech

The 24th Asian Association of Open Universities (AAOU) Annual Conference began in Hanoi on 26th Oct 2010. As usual the AAOU board members will hold their annual meeting to discuss any matters arising.

The dragon dance performance during the Opening Ceremony

Honoring the exco members of AAOU

Emeritus Prof. Dr. Anuwar Ali delivering his keynote address

Among the participants from OUM (from left), Prof. Dr. Latifah, Prof. Dr. Mansor Fadzil, Tan Sri Dr. Anuwar Ali and Richard Ng

The AAOU 2010 conference which was held at the Melia Hanoi hotel in Vietnam was officiated by the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam, Prof. Nguyen Thien Minh. Earlier, Prof. Dr. Pham Minh Viet, Organizing Chairman of the conference delivered his welcoming address. The opening session was followed by a dragon dance performance. In his speech, Prof. Nguyen hoped that the conference will be able to assist Vietnam in developing its Open and Distance Learning.

Richard Ng with Prof. Pham of Hanoi Open University, the Organizing Chairman of AAOU 2010

Signing of MOU between Open University Malaysia and Open Universities of Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam

Among the keynote speakers invited to speak during the conference include Emeritus Prof. Dr. Anuwar Ali, the President of Open University Malaysia. Others include Prof. Asha Kanwar of Commonwealth of Learning, Emeritus Prof. Gajaraj Dhanarajan of Wawasan Open University, Prof. Jon Baggaley of Athabasca University, Prof. Insung Jung of International Christian University, Prof. Hiromitsu of The Open University of Japan, Prof. Lam of Thang Long University, and Dr. Gatot Hari of SEAMOLEC.

Prof. Mansor presenting his first paper

More than 500 participants from over 20 countries attended the 3-day conference. A total of 173 papers were presented under 5 different sub-themes; Ideology and philosophy; Partnership and Communication; Methodology and Technology; Sustainability, Accessibility,Equity and Quality; and Opportunities and Challenges. The most popular sub-theme is Methodology and Technology with 73 papers.

Recipients of the best paper award: (from left) Gold Medalist - Korea, Silver Medalist - Philippines, Prof. Tian Belawati, President of AAOU, Silver Medalist - Malaysia

Presenters from OUM include Prof. Mansor Fadzil (Senior VP), Prof. Latifah, Dr. Janet Woo Tai Kwan, Richard Ng, and Umi Hanim. Dr. Janet's paper was one of the shortlisted papers for best paper award.

For three consecutive nights, participants were hosted for dinners by Conference Organizer, The Ministry of Education and the Government of Vietnam. The 3-day conference ended on 28 October 2010. During the closing, it was announced that a new president for AAOU has been elected for the period 2011 till 2013.

Prof. Tian Belawati, the outgoing AAOU President from Indonesia (right) passing the AAOU flag to the newly elected AAOU President, Prof. Wong Tat Meng of Malaysia

The handover ceremony was held briefly with the passing of the AAOU flag from the current President Prof. Tian Belawati of Indonesia to Prof. Wong Tat Meng of Malaysia. It was also announced that the next AAOU Conference will be held in Penang in Sept 2011.