Peter Scott

Delighted to see the Commonwealth of Learning team honoured by OEGlobal yesterday: a Board Award for Dr Sanjaya Mishra, awards.oeglobal.org/awards/2025/bo… and an Open Assets award for our Pacific Partnerships work awards.oeglobal.org/awards/2025/op… - congratulations also to so very many of our great friends and partners in open learning, given well earned recognition! @col4d

11th Pan-Commonwealth Forum on #OpenLearning has started! A very warm welcome at #PCF11BW - President of Botswana, Adv. Duma Boko meeting with COL President Peter Scott. #COL4D Lets explore together the next three days of Innovative Open Education across the #Commonwealth. @BWGovernment @BotswanaOpenUni @BWPresidency @peter_scott

That’s a wrap! 🎉 #PCF11BW united educators, policymakers & innovators from across the Commonwealth. 🙏 Heartfelt thanks to our co-hosts, Government of Botswana, Ministry of Education & Skills Development, and Botswana Open University, and to all sponsors for making it possible. Together, we advanced innovative open education for resilient societies. @BotswanaOpenUni @BWGovernment @peter_scott #pcf11bw #openlearning

Honoured to take part in my first #CFAMM as Commonwealth Secretary-General at #UNGA. Our Foreign Ministers are charting a course for a more resilient and purposeful #Commonwealth that delivers for our people, drives economic transformation and strengthens multilateralism.

Celebrating India at 'Namaste Canada' over the weekend, with the Consul General and his team @cgivancouver and some @COL4D India team members as two powerful Commonwealth nations connect, here in Vancouver.

The inspiration continues from #PCF11BW in Gaborone, Botswana. With renewed commitment to making open education a force for transformation across the Commonwealth, Keynote speaker Dr Rajiv Jhangiani reminded us of what made the Forum unforgettable: ✅ Despite diverse regions and contexts, we share common challenges and solutions. ✅ Immersing in Botswana’s culture and leadership highlighted how education is deeply connected to history, identity, and community. ✅ Critical conversations pushed us to ensure open education, from OER to AI, strengthens equity and inclusion. @profjhangiani

Today I am proud to share @CommonwealthSec’s Strategic Plan 2025-2030. Our Plan sets out how we will focus our work to help the 56 #Commonwealth member countries to: 🗳 Strengthen democracies 📈 Build resilient economies 🌍 Protect people & planet Read more here 👇

The Commonwealth is strengthened by the strong support of leaders like the Canadian FM @AnitaAnandMP, UK Foreign Secretary @YvetteCooperMP and Australian FM @SenatorWong. I am truly grateful for their partnership in championing our shared #Commonwealth values. #UNGA80

Great to see some of our recent work captured in the latest Connections news: see them all here: oasis.col.org/handle/11599/7… and my favourite recent picture of the inspiring work of Women and Girls in Pakistan, on page 10.

As an intergovernmental organisation of the Commonwealth working together to advance innovative, open education, it was a pleasure to welcome Secretary of State (International Development) @randeepssarai today to our Vancouver Headquarters. We highlighted our collaborative work across the 56 Nations – strengthening sustainable skills development with Canada’s Commonwealth partner nations through joint work, such as our Empowering Women and Girls (EWG) project, funded by @GAC_Corporate. @EWG_23 @peter_scott

Welcome back to Downtown Vancouver Team @COL4D

Pleased to meet with the President and CEO of the Commonwealth of Learning, Professor Peter Scott. We discussed the importance of strengthening partnerships across the #Commonwealth family to deliver on the priorities of our member countries.

Time for a change, as @COL4D moves back to downtown Vancouver, tomorrow. Change is good.

COL is hiring. col.org/working-with-u… some great opportunities for leadership in sustainable development with the Inter-Governmental Organisation devoted to learning innovation for the 56 members of the Commonwealth family. COL HQ in Canada calling all emerging Commonwealth leaders.

“Mindset change is essential for digitalisation in education.” This was the message from an inter-ministerial webinar organised by @COL4D. Chaired by the Hon. Justin Valentin, Minister of Education, Seychelles, and joined by senior official Ms Tiffany Harvey from the Ministry of Education, Guyana, as a panellist, the webinar saw the participation of several experts from countries in the Caribbean, Indian Ocean Region and sub-Saharan Africa. The panellists, including Professor Peter Scott, President of COL @peter_scott, dwelt in depth on three critical questions: 1. How are we expanding education beyond traditional campuses? 2. How can we make online learning fair and affordable for everyone? 3. What have we learned from rolling out educational technology to large numbers of students? The panellists posited that: - There was clarity in what online or technology-assisted learning does; *It is not meant to displace the teacher and the curricula; *It is more an infusion and a means rather than an end in itself; and - There are significant limitations in digital infrastructure availability in most countries. There is also notable progress. Professor Scott gave examples from Pacific Island countries, where significant challenges in the availability and access of technology are being overcome with teacher training and sensitization of officials. The Guyana team gave examples of how technology-enabled learning was gradually getting mainstreamed in the country. The panellists agreed that implementing digitalisation in education also posed serious risks. Minister Valentin gave examples of how limited access to bandwidth was posing challenges to learners living in resource-limited areas. A cooperative approach to detecting and mitigating risks was proposed. The Minister, as well as senior officials, thanked COL for its support in enabling technology infusion in learning in their countries. Also discussed was how a regional cooperative framework on micro-credentials would facilitate countries' bridging of informal and formal learning within and across boundaries. The Virtual University for Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC) framework has been helpful in the past and can be modernised with a dedicated digitalisation group. PLEASE NOTE: On 25 September 2024, there will be another webinar of a similar nature for the Pacific region. Stay tuned for more details. #CHOGM2024 #Resilience #DigitalisationInEducation #MindsetChange #OnlineLearning #InclusiveEducation #TechnologyInEducation #TeacherTraining #MicroCredentials #COL4D #PacificIslandsEducation #VUSSC

Congratulations to the people of Malaysia on your 67th National Day. @COL4D is honoured to collaborate with you in advancing education and sustainable development. @GOS_Gateway @KemPendidikan @MYHicomLondon

COL is hiring. More roles to come soon, watch this space! Now we are seeking a Director, Management Services - the DMS will play a critical role in advancing the effectiveness of COL's operations. jobs.candidate.kornferry.com/job/Korn-Ferry…

Happy 78th Independence Day! #IndependenceDayIndia - as India is a power house of open educational innovation at scale, @COL4D and @CEMCA_COL are proud to assist you in your efforts to empower the Indian people through learning. @rashtrapatibhvn @narendramodi @HRDMinistry @dpradhanbjp @ugc_india @niostwit @VCofficeBHU, @HCI_Ottawa @HCI_London @VDoraiswami @sujitjoyghosh @cgivancouver @Masarung

Challenging gender inequality in Malawi In #Malawi, gender inequality is a big issue since, traditionally, women have been restricted to taking care of the house and cooking. To advocate for change, the Centre for Research and Development Initiative (CERADI), with funding from Global Affairs Canada (GAC) @GAC_Corporate through the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) @COL4D, embarked on its Empowering Women and Girls (EWG) @EWG_23 journey – a three-year project being implemented in the Traditional Authorities of Simphasi and Kapondo in Mchinji and Kalembo in Malawi’s Balaka region. One of the project’s aims is to empower women and girls through vocational skills, such as welding. CERADI is a local Mchinji-based organisation with the goal of improving the lives of people in rural communities by promoting self-reliance among women and girls through education, both formal and informal. Sophie Tibula, a 19-year-old from Mzati Village, recently enrolled in the welding and fabrication trade and had this to say: “I am so grateful to CERADI for giving me this opportunity to become a welder. It has been my dream since I left secondary school. In my village, welding is regarded as men’s work, but when I got the news that I am one of the successful candidates to be enrolled on vocational skills training in welding, I was so overwhelmed. It feels so good because this dream is going to come true; I have always wanted to be an artisan. Though I have just started, I am confident I will make it because this will transform my life, and I believe I will inspire more girls in my village. My plan is to start my own workshop in my village to prove to them that no job is only meant for men. It is in my best interest to contribute towards the development of my village through training that I will be offering to my fellow youths.” Frances Ferreira, COL’s Senior Adviser: Women and Girls, commented on some of the recent outcomes of the EWG project on Malawi: “This project is facilitating the increased labour market participation of females through their new skills in industrial trades previously reserved for men. According to the International Labour Organization, ‘Women who enter male-dominated sectors make three times more than women in female-dominated sectors.’ This demonstrates that the work we are doing in the EWG project can transform the lives of women and girls.” #GenderEquality #EmpowerWomen #GirlsInSTEM #MalawiWomen #WomenInTrades #VocationalTraining #WomenEmpowerment #GenderJustice #WomensRights #InspireChange #SkillsForLife #EqualOpportunities

We send our warmest wishes to our friends, partners, and the people of #Pakistan on the celebration of your #IndependenceDay. @COL4D is eager to continue our partnership in advancing #HigherEducation and the mission of educating and empowering women and girls. @EWG_23 @AsifAZardari2 @PMMianShehbaz @DrMFaisal @PakistaninUK @EduMinistryPK @OfficialAIOU @FJWU_official @VUPakistan  @BedariPakistan