Plenary Hall, KLCC, 27 November: Former President of COL, Sir John Daniel, delivered the 8th edition of the Asa Briggs Lecture where he paid tribute to the late Asa Briggs whom he had the privilege to work with while serving as the Vice-Chancellor of Open University, United Kingdom.
Briggs was then the Chancellor of the University. Sir John described Briggs as the "Student", the "Soldier", the "Teacher and Scholar", and the "Vice-Chancellor and Chancellor" who was instrumental in establishing the Commonwealth of Learning (COL). His vision was to see learners in the Commonwealth be given the opportunity to study through distance learning, offered by bona fide colleges and universities within the Commonwealth.
He said Brigg's legacy lives on through the "Four Opens" where higher education is now Open to People, Places, Methods and Ideas. These four “Opens” have helped in creating a new map of learning for the 21st century.