The points I hope you will remember when you leave here to return home are that:

	Technology has changed the way we live, work, and educate. It has created a networked world and a global community. As a result, people need lifelong skills but many providers will compete for that market;
	Our ability to learn 21st century skills—as individuals and as institutions—will determine how competitive we are in the future; and
	Only by returning again and again to the philosophies of a Learning College will we be able to provide what our communities need.

Having spent time with different institutions and working with educators in other parts of the world, I’m constantly reminded that our perceptions often reflect a particular outlook on the world. That outlook does not necessarily represent reality. In fact, we know that nothing is more dangerous than an idea when it is the only one you have.

Since World War II the U.S. dominance of the world economy has been shifting:

	Since WW II the U.S. economy has fallen from 40% of the world's output to 22%.
	One in 5 of the largest companies are quartered outside the U.S., Japan, Germany, France and the U.K.
	95% of the world's consumers live outside the U.S.
	Economic growth is more rapid outside the U.S.

It is significant that 95% of the world’s consumers live someplace other than the U.S. One-third of U.S. economic growth depends on exports. That means that even if our economy is healthy, if things are not going well elsewhere in the world it can affect us. A case in point is the recent Asian economic crisis and its spread to Russia and Latin America.

There are many ways to measure dominance in the global economy. We can look at the location of leading companies in any number of industries and discover an interesting trend:

	In 1970, 55% of the largest companies were in the U.S.; today it is 31%.
	Of the 18 largest chemical companies, only 3 call the U.S. home.
	Of the 64 largest commercial banks, only 9 are U.S. based.
	Of the 11 largest food companies, only 5 are in the U.S.
	Of the 26 largest motor vehicle & parts manufacturers, only 6 are in the U.S.

The point is that by any number of measures, U.S. dominance in the world market has eroded.

If we look around ourselves, we may receive that summons. In the world of global education, for example, we see a number of powerful trends:

	Some institutions are expanding rapidly;
	There is strong growth in proprietary and for-profit education;
	Learners are becoming more selective;
	Economic development is linked to government and business interest in education; and
	The development of skill standards is underway.

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