Empowering the Pacific Youth through Innovation and Technology.
@COL4D’s Pacific Partnership for Open, Distance, and Flexible Learning #ODFL, funded by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade @MFATNZ, renders flexible education and training more easily accessible across the Pacific. This collaboration, implemented by COL in partnership with the Pacific Centre for Flexible and Open Learning for Development #PACFOLD at the University of the South Pacific, Fiji, @UniSouthPacific is enabling stakeholders in training to leverage innovation and technology for a wider reach.
2024 Key Highlights:
Kiribati: In partnership with the Ministry of Women, Youth, Sport, and Social Affairs, vocational training empowered 147 youth, including women and persons with disabilities (PWD), with practical skills such as sewing, computing, cookery, English, and domestic wiring.
Looking Ahead: Six new courses, including welding and auto maintenance, will launch in 2025, further strengthening pathways to employment.
Papua New Guinea: Through the Pacific Partnership for ODFL, we are enhancing opportunities for youth through targeted vocational training programmes.
Bougainville Youth in Agriculture: 244 participants gained expertise in sustainable gardening and business management.
Awest Pacific Leadership Training: 108 youth were equipped with critical skills in accounting, carpentry, and leadership.
These activities exemplify how strategic investment in education and skills development is fostering resilience, advancing gender equity, and contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Pacific.
#MFATNZ #COL4D #STEMEducation #OER #GenerativeAI #PacificInnovation #EducationForAll
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Country Profile: Malawi
In Malawi, women and girls face significant barriers to equality and opportunity. Women and girls participate less in the labour force (63.3%) than men and boys (72.4%). Among those employed, 67.2% work in agriculture, with many being smallholder farmers lacking job security. 38% of women and girls are married by age 18, often due to poverty, norms surrounding marriage and pregnancy, and limited opportunities for education and work. With 65% of smallholder farmers being women, climate change and drought disproportionately affect women and girls.
These realities highlight the urgent need for investment in education, economic empowerment, and climate resilience for women, girls, and marginalized groups, including persons with disabilities.
Learn more on why we work in Malawi: empoweringwomenandgirls.col.org/countries-of-focus/malawi/
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