The new project, Preventing Child, Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM) Through Open Distance and Technology-Based Education and Training, aims to break the cycle of CEFM by creating and enhancing educational opportunities for girls, including those who are already married. It will enable them to develop the skills they need to create better futures for themselves and their families.
The Commonwealth of Learning will use new technologies and distance learning, such as community radio or basic cellphones, to reach some of the world’s most vulnerable girls and young women, often in remote communities, to ensure they have access to educational opportunities and skills development training. The flexibility offered by this type of learning will enable girls to stay in school or return to their studies after marriage or childbirth.
The Commonwealth of Learning was created in 1987 at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia, to encourage the development and sharing of open learning and distance education knowledge, resources and technologies. It is one of the three intergovernmental bodies of the Commonwealth, along with the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Foundation.
The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives provides direct funding assistance to community groups, non-government organizations, people’s organizations and, in exceptional cases, international NGOs, and government institutions for small projects addressing governance, democracy, capacity-building, economic and other social development issues.
