Virtual convocation for graduates of COL-Coursera Workforce Recovery Programme
16 AUGUST 2020
AfLIA is excited to announce that a virtual convocation to celebrate graduates of the COL-Coursera Workforce Recovery Programme will be held on 18th August 2020.
Time: 16:00 pm GMT | 17:00 pm WAT | 18:00 pm CAT | 19:00 pm EAT
The virtual convocation will bring together learners from not less than 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 Commonwealth of Learning, Canada (COL) and Coursera in the framework of the Workforce Recovery Initiative and will mark the launch of the regional convocation series.
The socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be devastating on the continent. The economic slowdown caused by the pandemic has resulted in job-losses around the world, including the livelihoods of many across the Commonwealth. Initiatives such as the Workforce Recovery Program has provided the needed opportunity for people to gain new skills, re-skill and up-skill in order to recover and or secure their livelihoods. The initiative is enabling people to gain job-relevant skills needed to re-enter the workforce. The Program seeks to make a difference to the lives of 50,000 Commonwealth citizens whose immediate need is to acquire new skills to regain employment.
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 (so far) from Africa.
About Commonwealth of Learning
Created by Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1987, the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) helps Member States and institutions harness the potential of distance learning and technologies to expand access to education and training and address the education challenges of today. Visit www.col.org for more details.
About Coursera
Coursera is a world-wide online learning platform founded in 2012. The platform works with universities and other organizations to offer online courses, specializations, and degrees in a variety of subjects, such as engineering, library and information science, data science, machine learning, mathematics, business, computer science, digital marketing, humanities, medicine, biology, social sciences. Click to learn more
About AfLIA
AfLIA is the continental body of library and information associations and institutions. The Body actively pursues the interests of library and information associations, library and information services as well as librarians and information workers and provide a platform to discuss issues and further the cause of the library and information sector in Africa.
For more details about the Workforce Recovery Program, visit here.