New Education Forum Website Widens Policy Debate

28 August 2002

NEW EDUCATION FORUM WEBSITE WIDENS POLICY DEBATE

The Education Forum's new website www.educationforum.org.nz, launched today, contains a wide range of education-related information that will contribute to lifting and broadening the debate on New Zealand's education policies, Forum chairman John Morris said today.

Mr Morris said the new website is a key feature of the Education Forum's strategy of creating a better environment for debate on education issues. "Since it was formed 11 years ago, the Education Forum has always believed that better education policies will only come about through serious debate based on sound facts and evidence. Our new website will be a comprehensive vehicle for material to inform that debate," Mr Morris said.

Features of www.educationforum.org.nz include: Briefing Papers on topical policy issues; OpEds - education opinion pieces from a variety of commentators; and links to some 100 education policy-related websites in New Zealand and around the world. Subscribers to the site also have the opportunity to win an iPAQ Pocket PC from Hewlett Packard.

Mr Morris said that in addition to the new site, the Education Forum is adopting other strategies to widen the scope of the education debate. "We'll be extending the range of our membership, broadening our policy research into industry training, early childhood education and strengthening our coverage of tertiary education issues, and revamping the 'Education Forum' newsletter," he said.

"We'll be increasing the quantity and variety of material on the new site," Mr Morris said. "We hope it will become a 'must see' among the education community and policymakers," he said.

The new Education Forum website will be formally launched at an event in Wellington tonight, prior to an address on higher education and the knowledge economy by Australian tertiary reform analyst Professor Lauchlan Chipman.

ENDS

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