The CSC is happy to present the latest case study showcasing the work of Commonwealth Alumni. This study features Rachael Guzman De Vlugt, an Alumnus from Trinidad and Tobago, who was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship in 2017 to complete an MSc in Education for Sustainability at London South Bank University. Since her graduation, Rachael has built a diverse career spanning adult education, youth crime prevention, and sustainable development.
Rachael in the National Adult Education Programme Administrative Office
After volunteering with incarcerated youth from the 1980s, Rachael founded the NGO Operation Miracle Hour in 2006 to deliver community interventions for at-risk young people. Her expertise was recognised by UNESCO, who partnered with Operation Miracle Hour to establish a multimedia centre for incarcerated youth. Seeking to understand the global policy context shaping national education systems, Rachael pursued a Commonwealth Distance Learning Scholarship, graduating in 2020:
Knowledge is power. I received knowledge that I did not have before, and as a result of that, I was empowered to carry out my job in a very sustainable way.
This qualification led to her appointment as National Coordinator of Trinidad and Tobago’s Adult Education Programme, where she oversaw 26 centres and more than 200 tutors. Her skills and experience in this field resulted in her being selected to lead her country’s contribution to UNESCO’s Global Report on Adult Learning and Education. Alongside this role, she continued her NGO work, developing a national Active Parenting Curriculum to support families in the digital age.
Today, her work continues to expand across sectors and life stages, encompassing interventions in parenting capacity development and lifelong learning for retirees, alongside sustained advocacy for education as a cornerstone of sustainable development, through local government reform and partnerships with organisations such as UNICEF.
In my opinion, in order to achieve all 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals, we need to have education programmes tailored for each one of those pillars.
Read about Rachael Guzman De Vlugt’s case study here.
