Africa and Europe
COL organised a meeting of its Focal Points for Africa and Europe in February 2023. Official representatives from 19 Commonwealth countries in the region participated (Botswana, Cameroon, Cyprus, Eswatini, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania and Togo), with Seychelles’ Minister of Education, the Honourable Dr Justin Valentin, inaugurating the meeting.
Part of the agenda was to clearly identify three to five national priorities in education and skills development, while discussing how COL can assist in addressing them. Other topics included the Green Learning Agenda, advances in OER and technology-enabled learning, the role of Focal Points, how COL can strengthen its network, and the organisation’s monitoring and evaluation programmes. Country Reports covering COL’s activities in the Member States during 2021 were also distributed to the Focal Points.
COL’s team of facilitators included Ms Frances Ferreira, Acting Director: Skills, Mr Robert Okinda, Adviser: TVSD and Professor Jane-Frances Agbu, Adviser: Higher Education.
The Focal Points meeting for the Pacific Region will take place in Lautoka, Fiji in late March 2023.