COL Blog: COL supporting International Youth Day, every day
By Dr Tony Mays, Director: Education COL
On 12 August 2025, the Commonwealth will observe International Youth Day. It is a day on which the world recognises the essential contributions that young people can make as agents of change, leaders and mobilisers in promoting development.
This year’s global theme is “Local Youth Actions for the SDGs and Beyond”.
This resonates well with the Commonwealth of Learning’s (COL) commitment over the years to youth development and its continuing efforts. For example, youth development and empowerment are cross-cutting themes in COL’s imminent Eleventh Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF11).
In planning for PCF11, we felt we must emphasise the vital role of youth in driving sustainable development and tackling global challenges. With over 60 per cent of the Commonwealth population under the age of 30, there is an urgent need to empower this demographic through education and skills training. But further, to achieve profound social change, the educational agenda must also be opened to a lifelong learner, to empower parents and young workers as we empower youth. With a signature team of powerful IGOs and NGOs, the many nations of the Commonwealth – particularly the small, more agile states – can innovate with new forms of education no longer on the horizon, but here, and now.
In a similar vein, in the Pacific, one of the challenges driven by the limited capacity of the education sector is low skill levels and high youth unemployment. The impacts of Covid-19 have exacerbated youth unemployment issues, with young women and Persons with Disabilities (PWD) affected the most. While there are potential economic impacts, there are also increased risks of social disengagement, poorer health outcomes and unsafe behaviours.
COL’s Partnership for ODFL in the Pacific project, supported by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sought to promote economic opportunities for youth in two ways: Professional Development of Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) / Education Providers and Skills and Leadership Training for Youth, Young Women and PWD
Through professional development of TVET education providers, the project provided in-service training opportunities that TVET trainers could access using remote and distance learning methodologies to improve the quality of their teaching. It was felt that enhanced capacity of TVET trainers would improve the quality of TVET instruction and result in increased access to high-quality learning and training opportunities for youth.
The project also aimed to build the entrepreneurial and leadership skills of youth, particularly out-of-school youth and those who are unemployed, with a focus on young women and people living with disabilities (PWD). The project worked with local NGOs to build their capacity to leverage ODL by supporting ODFL, developing structures and strategies to deliver leadership/vocational courses. Commonwealth of Learning had a partnership with three NGOs to provide skills training for youths.
In partnership with Global Affairs Canada (GAC), COL has also spearheaded the three-year Empowering Women and Girls (EWG) project. This project aimed to improve the realisation of human rights for women and girls, including PWDs from rural, remote, and underprivileged communities in selected areas of five Commonwealth Member States: Bangladesh, Malawi, Mozambique, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The project has focused on empowering women and girls through strategic interventions to advance their educational attainment and skills development, increase their economic participation and improve their health and well-being, which will in turn lead to sustainable social transformation. The goal has been to ensure that women and girls can assert their equal rights, live a life of dignity, and be free from all forms of gender-based discrimination. The project team has also worked with men, boys and community leaders to garner broad-based support for the empowerment of women and girls and their role as full socio-economic contributors to their families and communities.
Dr Tony Mays, COL’s Director: Education, notes that observances such as International Youth Day are important to help us reflect on what we have achieved to date and to galvanise action towards what remains to be achieved. With one in five children unable to access traditional secondary education and large and growing numbers of youths not in employment, education and training, more flexible and innovative ways need to be found to empower young people to take control of their own destinies, including addressing cross-cutting challenges such as democratic, economic and Climate Change resilience. This requires that we support our youth every day.
www.col.org/news/col-supporting-international-youth-day-every-day/
#PCF11 #COL4D
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Samoan STEM Teachers Level Up with Open Educational Resources.
Recently, 40-plus educators gathered at the Ministry of Education and Culture in Malifa, Samoa, for a national workshop on Open Educational Resources (OER).
Hosted by the National University of Samoa with support from the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) @COL4D and funding from New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade @MFATNZ, the training empowered STEM teachers to create curriculum-aligned lesson plans using AI tools and digital platforms.
Highlights included:
• Hands-on sessions with the COL OER Generator Tool
• Group work in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Math and Computing
• Draft lesson plans + sustainability strategies
• 82 per cent said they gained real skills in OER and AI
• 93 per cent praised the workshop’s structure & delivery
Participants were selected by the Ministry of Education and Culture to ensure inclusive representation from across the country. The final group included 29 STEM teachers from 23 government schools, four teachers from private and mission schools and seven Subject Organisers from the Ministry.
Mentors then set up a communication group to keep the momentum going. The workshop wrapped with powerful presentations and a certificate ceremony, marking a new chapter for STEM in Samoa.
#COL4D #MFATNZ #OERWorkshop #STEMinSamoa #CommonwealthOfLearning #OpenEducation #TeachingWithAI #COLPacificPartnership #SamoaSTEM #OERDevelopment #TeacherTraining #NationalUniversitySamoa
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