Prime ministers inaugurate PCF10

PCF10 opened with a memorable message from the Right Honourable Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who welcomed the delegates from across the Commonwealth and extended a special greeting to the Honourable Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, Prime Minister of Samoa, who delivered the Inaugural Address. Mr Trudeau delivered a strong statement of support in the efforts and accomplishments COL has made, particularly during and after the Covid–19 pandemic, “Our government remains steadfast in our support of the Commonwealth of Learning’s mission. The work we’re doing is more important than ever, especially after Covid–19 which has disrupted the education of kids across the globe … and we remain committed to creating more open, distance and technology-enabled learning.”

To view a full version of Prime Minister Trudeau’s video address, please visit: https://youtu.be/mIiXIeOZg3I.

The Honourable Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, spoke about the significance of climate change in the context of ODL and outlined how a state of emergency due to a measles outbreak in November 2019 had a major impact on her nation’s educational capacity. This was compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic, which prompted another state of emergency.  ”Our experience with Covid-19 and our ongoing fight with climate change, and its impacts on our people and infrastructure, reinforce our conviction of the importance of technology and open, distance and online learning for providing access to quality education,” the Samoan Prime Minister said.

She added, “Technological innovations will be the key to building a resilient education system, but for places like Samoa, the best technological innovations will be those that are affordable, accessible and easy to use.”

To view the full version of Prime Minister Mata’afa’s address to PCF10, please visit: https://youtu.be/T4NZV2XFK_0.