Caribbean

COL Focal Points from ten Commonwealth nations across the Caribbean — Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago — attended the meeting of the Caribbean Region Focal Points in Kingston, Jamaica in late January 2023.

Jamaica’s Minister of Education and Youth, the Honourable Ms Fayval Williams, declared the meeting open. In her inaugural remarks, the minister stated that the future of education is uncertain, and countries must be open and ready. She also noted that COL has been the one reliable agency helping countries become ready for this uncertain future by making use of open and distance learning, open educational resources and appropriate technologies for education.

Professor Kanwar emphasised that developing countries must take advantage of OER to achieve quality education for their people. She encouraged governments to foster supportive policy environments, promote inclusive and equitable access to quality OER and ensure resources are culturally relevant and available in national languages, while also developing sustainability models for OER use.

COL facilitators included Dr Mairette Newman, Education Specialist: VUSSC and Professor Wale Adekunle, Adviser: Lifelong Learning for Farmers.