In 2018 the UK hosted the first ever Global Disability Summit. At this summit, the CSC pledged £300,000 to support outreach activities and to encourage more applications from people with disabilities and for subjects related to the rights of people with disabilities.
In 2020-21 the focus of our Time Limited Programme was on Girls’ Education. This was in support of the UK government’s ambitious initiative to get 40 million more girls in low-and middle-income countries into primary and secondary school in developing countries by 2026 and improve learning levels, so girls can achieve their full potential. This programme directly supported UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 and aligned with our own objectives to ensure gender parity in education.
In response to the UK government’s call to action at last year’s COP26 in Glasgow, the CSC’s Time Limited Programme (TLP) for 2022-2023 is focused on Clean Energy, Air and Oceans.
In March 2022, Commonwealth Alumni Irum Maqbool and Maham Nawaz organised a webinar on digital rights in Pakistan aimed at improving the awareness of secondary school girls’ rights to privacy and data protection when online. Following the webinar, they commissioned the production of an age-appropriate informational video to further raise awareness of the ways in which young people can stay safe online.
Between 24-25 February, Commonwealth Alumnus Bensolo Ken delivered awareness sessions on climate change to two communities in the Fayantina Local Level Government (LLG) of Henganofi District, Eastern Highlands Province in Papua New Guinea. Being from the area, Bensolo’s activity shared information on locally experienced climate change effects and practical adaptation and mitigation measures. Bensolo is currently working with the United Nations Development Programme as Deputy Team Leader on the project Building Resilience to Climate Change.
Commonwealth Alumnus Ricky Kalaluka is a trained teacher, forester, and agroforester. He is currently the Head of Programmes at the Centre for Environment Justice (CEJ) in Zambia. As part of his responsibilities, he is a Project Lead on the five-year project, Disability Inclusion Climate Action (DiCA), financed by the Dutch Government under the Power of Voices (PoV) framework. The project seeks to enhance the inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities in policies and actions to tackle climate change.
On 11 February 2022, Commonwealth Alumnus Suzan Chawe organised a workshop to raise awareness around the impacts of climate change on forest resources used in basketry in Mlowa Village, Iringa Region, Tanzania. The workshop introduced the need to develop processes for the sustainable sourcing of grass reeds that protect both the forest ecosystem and the income of women basket weavers. Suzan is a Sociologist at the National Environment Management Council.
In March 2022, Commonwealth Alumnus Dr Naveen Pandey delivered a workshop titled ‘We Can Mitigate and Adapt to Climate Change Through Education (WeMAC-e)’ in Kaziranga, northeast India. The aim of the ACEF workshop was to raise awareness of climate change in Kaziranga, inform residents about the far-reaching impact of climate change on humans and animals, and how they can increase their resilience and adapt to climate change.
On 9 March 2022, a group of Commonwealth Alumni working at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, held a symposium for female public junior secondary school students from Makoko, an informal settlement in the Lagos coastal area. The symposium was titled ‘Her Dream, Her Future’ and was designed to promote the importance of girls’ education to those from low-income settings and highlight the opportunities available to girls who complete school education.
Commonwealth Alumnus Margaret Kamau collaborated with Our Lady Mercy Girls Secondary School in Makadara Sub County, Nairobi, Kenya to deliver a STEM mentorship camp. Margaret took a multi-activity approach to her ACEF activity, which included activities aimed at strengthening STEM education amongst both teachers and pupils at the school. The camp ended with a school-based science fair exhibition, funded through ACEF. Margaret is the Education Technical Lead in a Girls Education Challenge project with Education Development Trust.
