This document reviews the 10-year history of the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), which is an intergovernmental organization that was created by Commonwealth of Nations heads of government to encourage the development and sharing of open learning and distance education knowledge, resources, and technologies. The following are among the topics discussed in the document's six sections: (1) the challenges facing the COL at its inception; (2) the Briggs and Daniels reports as the impetus for the COL's establishment; (3) major COL activities (creating and developing institutional capacity; developing programs in distance education; providing information and consultancy; supporting staff training and management; establishing communication links; conducting education and applied research; providing access to teaching materials; establishing policies for recognizing academic credit; providing support services to students); (4) the need for open learning and distance education around the world (needs of marginalized groups and people in developing countries); (5) the COL's role in establishing a bridgehead into the information age; and (6) new directions for the COL in a global world (factors likely to increase the importance of open and distance education; selected initiatives to improve delivery of open and distance education; and strategies for the future). (A list of 170 COL publications is appended.) (MN)