PCF10 Day 2 featured the Inaugural address by The Hon. Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, Prime Minister of Samoa. Introduced to the stage by Professor Asha Kanwar, President and CEO of the Commonwealth of Learning, the first female Prime Minister of Samoa spoke of the impact climate change is having on small island nations in the Pacific. She also highlighted other challenges like Samoa’s measles epidemic and Covid-19 which have had dire consequences on the country’s economy.

Samoa just opened its borders on 1 Aug 2022 – one of the first countries to close due to the Covid pandemic with no tourists able to visit its spectacular tropical islands for 865 days.

“Our experience with Covid-19 and our ongoing fight with climate change, and its impacts on our people and infrastructure, reinforce our conviction of the importance of technology and open, distance, and online learning for providing access to quality education,” the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister also noted that disruptions in education have been ongoing, and more investment is needed for education. ODL is a necessity for Samoa to a build a more robust and resilient education system and create sustainable management for present and future generations.