Vancouver, British Columbia — Increasing access to quality education and vocational training opportunities for people, particularly women and girls, is a high priority for Canada. The Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of International Cooperation, today reaffirmed Canada's support for the Commonwealth of Learning (COL), which assists developing Commonwealth countries improve access to learning using distance and technology-based approaches.
Minister Fantino announced support to a Commonwealth of Learning initiative: Scaling Up Support for Lifelong Learning for Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa. This project aims to enhance learning opportunities for hard-to-reach smallholder farmers, particularly women, who have limited access to education and vocational training. By providing capacity development for farmers in agriculture, market access and credit negotiation, this project will help to increase farmers' incomes, helping them get out of poverty and into prosperity.
"Moving individuals from poverty to prosperity requires investments in people, educators, growing businesses, and sustainable agricultural development, particularly for women smallholder farmers," said Minister Fantino during his meeting with COL President Asha Kanwar and her team. "This initiative will help improve the livelihoods of individuals and families in rural communities of sub-Saharan Africa and increase the incomes of farmers and landless labourers, particularly women, in remote, and often marginalized, rural communities."
Professor Asha Kanwar, President of the Commonwealth of Learning and a former Pro Vice Chancellor (Vice-President) of India's Indira Gandhi National Open University, welcomed Minister Fantino to Commonwealth of Learning's offices. "We are honoured that Minister Fantino came here to learn more about COL and our work. This year marks COL's 25th anniversary of operations and of being hosted here by the Government of Canada," said Professor Kanwar. "Thanks to the financial and intellectual support of the Government of Canada, COL has been able to respond to the human resource development needs of a wide range of stakeholders—from the rural women in Malawi, goat herders in India, out of school youth in Jamaica to ministries and institutions across the Commonwealth." Minister Fantino also announced further long-term institutional support to the COL to support their efforts in assisting countries to improve the scale, efficiency, and quality of education at all levels. This work will also help communities, civil society, and institutions to improve the livelihoods and health of their members by using learning technologies to enhance skills, share knowledge, and develop new economic opportunities.
"Our government is a strong supporter of the Commonwealth and is proud to be the largest contributor to the Commonwealth of Learning," said Minister Fantino. "Our government will continue to seek innovative ways to give youth the training and knowledge needed to become leaders in their countries and address the challenges they and their communities face."
As part of this commitment, Economic Action Plan 2013 (EAP2013) will promote Canada as a country of choice for study and world-class research, and encourage Canadian students to take advantage of training opportunities abroad through the International Education Strategy.
EAP2013 also reaffirms Canada's commitment to international development investments, such as securing the future of children and youth. The new Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development will maintain the mandate of poverty alleviation and will enhance the coordination of international assistance with broader Canadian values. Furthermore, the amalgamation leading to this new department will achieve greater efficiency, accountability, and focus to continue to help improve the lives of people in need around the world.
Commonwealth of Learning
Founded in 1987, the COL is one of three intergovernmental organizations of the Commonwealth. With headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia, it is the only official Commonwealth institution located outside the United Kingdom, and is an internationally renowned leader in open learning and distance education.
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