MEDIA ADVISORY

18 August 2020
9:00 am PDT / 6:00 pm CAT

THE EVENT WILL BE STREAMED LIVE

14 August 2020, Burnaby, Canada – A virtual convocation will bring together learners from 17 African nations to celebrate the successful completion of online courses offering new pathways to employment during COVID-19. The event will be co-hosted by COL and Coursera on 18 August 2020 in the framework of the Workforce Recovery Initiative and will mark the launch of the regional convocation series.

“COL has partnered with Coursera to make a difference to the lives of 50,000 Commonwealth citizens whose immediate need is to acquire new skills to regain employment,” noted Professor Asha Kanwar, COL President and CEO.

“The economic slowdown caused by the pandemic has resulted in job-losses around the world, including the livelihoods of many across the Commonwealth,” said Jeff Maggioncalda, Coursera CEO. “We’re excited to see the impact of our partnership with COL in the region, enabling more than 18,000 people to gain job-relevant skills needed to re-enter the workforce.”

Under this new initiative, registered learners have gained unlimited and free access to 3,800 courses taught by highly reputed professors and mentors from top universities and companies around the world through 31 December 2020.

Botswana’s Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, Dr Douglas Letsholathebe , Ghana’s Minister of Education, The Honourable Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, and Namibia’s Minister of Art, Education and Culture, The Honourable Ms Ester Anna Nghipondoka will join Professor Kanwar and Mr Maggioncalda in celebrating over 2,000 programme graduates hailing from the region..

For more information, contact:

Natalia Angheli-Zaicenco,
COL Stakeholder Relations Manager
nzaicenco@col.org

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