COL’s EWG project: Strengthening women’s empowerment in Pakistan.
The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) @COL4D, through its Empowering Women and Girls (EWG) @EWG_23 initiative, is collaborating with local authorities and civil society to advance women’s empowerment in Pakistan’s Bhakkar District. In partnership with the District Police Officer (DPO) and Deputy Commissioner (DC), COL’s efforts focus on enhancing women’s access to justice, mobility, and economic opportunities – benefitting hundreds of women in the region.
A key milestone is the partnership between the DPO Bhakkar and COL’s Pakistan-based partner, BEDARI @BedariPakistan. By appointing a dedicated focal person to educate women regarding their legal rights, the DPO’s office has improved women’s awareness and confidence in seeking legal protection. A number of women have participated in these awareness sessions, resulting in measurable increases in their willingness to report violations and seek redress.
The DPO Bhakkar has played a crucial role in ensuring women are informed about their legal rights by assigning a dedicated focal person to participate in awareness sessions. This initiative has strengthened women’s understanding of legal protection mechanisms and available support services. Additionally, BEDARI has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the DPO’s office to provide automotive driving skills training to women with the support of the police, helping to enhance women’s mobility and economic independence while also helping break the prevalent gender stereotypes about occupations such as driving.
The DC Bhakkar is actively supporting community-based initiatives for women’s empowerment. Bedari holds meetings with the DC every two months to discuss progress, exchange ideas, and refine strategies to ensure sustainability. These discussions focus on improving women’s access to financial resources, vocational training, and essential government services.
This collaboration between Bedari, the DPO, and the DC demonstrates a sustainable model of institutional support that fosters women’s empowerment, access to justice, and economic inclusion. By working together, we are building a stronger, safer, and more inclusive future for women in Bhakkar.
#COL4D #BEDARIPK #WomenEmpowerment #GenderEquality #EducationForAll #SkillsDevelopment #WomenInSTEM #EconomicEmpowerment #DigitalLearning #Pakistan #InclusiveGrowth #CommonwealthOfLearning #VocationalTraining #WomenLeadership #SustainableDevelopment
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The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) #COL4D, through its COL4D's Empowering Women & Girls project (EWG) course support, is positively impacting girls' lives in #Pakistan. EWG’s work in Pakistan. Through COL and EWG’s local partner, BEDARI, implements and facilitates various skills training programmes for underprivileged girls throughout Pakistan.
With funding from Canada’s International Development – Global Affairs Canada, COL initiated a three-year EWG project with the aim of improving the realisation of human rights for women and girls from disadvantaged communities in selected areas of five Commonwealth member states, including Pakistan.
#ComputerSkills #BEDARIPK #SkillsTraining #SkillsForLife #globalaffairscanada
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Open Education Week: A COL video podcast series. Eps 3. with Gino Fransman.
Open Education Week (OE Week) is an annual celebration and opportunity for those working in Open Education to actively share their achievements and learn about what others are achieving worldwide.
OE Week was launched in 2012 by Open Education Global as a collaborative, community-built open forum. Every year, OE Week raises awareness and highlights innovative open education successes worldwide and provides practitioners, educators, and students with an opportunity to build a greater understanding of open educational practices and be inspired by the wonderful work being developed by the community around the world.
From 3-7 March 2025, Dr Jako Olivier, Adviser: Higher Education at the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) @COL4D, will interview open education experts on various timely and topical subjects.
In Episode 3 of the COL video podcast series, Dr Olivier meets up with Gino Fransman of Nelson Mandela University, South Africa, to talk about OER and Student Advocacy. Here, Gino Fransman discusses the Open Education Influencers (OEIs) project, which empowers students to advocate for and engage with OER at Nelson Mandela University in South Africa and beyond. He emphasises the role of student advocates in promoting OER adoption, creation, and licensing while linking open education to broader social justice goals like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He highlights the need for more diverse representation in open education, warns of the risks of underrepresentation in AI-driven language models, and encourages collaboration among institutions to reduce barriers, increase student engagement, and enhance lifelong learning opportunities.
Watch the streaming video below or click the full YouTube interview here: youtu.be/6JhBHbUlULM
#COL4D #OpenEducationWeek #OEWeek2025 #openeducation #OER #StudentAdvocacy #highered #edtech #openaccess #OEP #sustainableeducation #sdgs #inclusiveeducation #lifelonglearning #equityineducation #AIandEducation #educationforall #openlearning #GlobalEducation
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