Forum partners from across the Commonwealth, representing 2.7 billion people of the Commonwealth, meeting in Gaborone, Botswana, under the theme of Innovative Open Education: Fostering Resilient Societies for Sustainable Economic Development, and in the spirit of CHOGM 2024’s “One Resilient Common Future,” support prioritising the following collective actions:
1. Equity with quality at scale
Support inclusive, accessible and high-quality Open Learning via Open, Distance and Flexible methods for all learners, especially girls and women, persons with disabilities, disengaged youth and marginalised communities so that every learner can achieve, exchange knowledge and access quality learning.
2. Skills for productive and resilient lives
Encourage the expansion of flexible, work-relevant learning for out-of-school youth and adults; the alignment of micro-credentials and prior-learning recognition with labour-market demand; prioritise TVET training and equipping; and the building of green and blue economy skills that also support intra Commonwealth trade and investment opportunities.
3. Ethical leverage of the digital dividend
Promote the development of Open Learning as digital public goods underpinned by open standards; the building of digital public infrastructure and connectivity for education; and the adoption of ethical, inclusive AI and data-protection guardrails.
4. Teachers as skilled agents of change
Support the creation of flexible, technology-enabled pathways into teaching and learning; scale cost effective, school, college, and university based professional development; and support communities of practice so teachers model lifelong learning and drive change.
5. Reimagine assessment
Encourage the adoption of authentic, supportive and competency-based assessment (including micro-credentials) to strengthen employability and micro-entrepreneurship, with robust quality assurance and portability across borders.
6. Positive disruption in postsecondary education
Strengthen technology-enabled learning ecosystems in TVET and HE; recognise prior and experiential learning; the expansion of OER and open science; and the use of trustworthy digital credentials to remove barriers to learning.
7. Crosscutting commitments
Support resilience for small and vulnerable states and SIDS, climate and ocean literacy, and access to climate finance via skills and knowledge; gender equality and youth leadership integrated across all actions; safe, trusted information ecosystems consistent with Commonwealth principles on expression and media.
Our ambition is to achieve this through:
A. Inclusive collaboration: governments, institutions, communities, business and accredited organisations working together; strengthening synergies across the Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth Foundation and COL to maximise impact.
B. Sustaining the momentum: establishing an action tracker; sharing implementation evidence through CCEM and similar inter-governmental meetings.
We thank the Government and people of Botswana for their warm hospitality and leadership.
Statement Context Gaborone, Botswana. September 12, 2025
The 11th Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning met for three days from 10-12 September 2025. Over 400 participants joined in-person from 48 countries, 44 being Commonwealth Member States. Over 600 submissions were received from which 200 scholarly papers were selected for the main conference and 50 poster/panel/workshops were also included. In addition, 12 pre-event, full day workshops were conducted allowing participants a deep dive into a critical issue for Sustainable Open Education. The Forum was supported by Honourable Ministers and Senior officials responsible for Education from across the Commonwealth.
The 11th Pan-Commonwealth Forum Statement captures key elements of (1) the important directions for Open Learning in the Commonwealth at this time; (2) the CHOGM24 Samoa Communiqué; (3) PCF11 theme and sub-themes; and which (4) builds upon our previous work, as PCF10, Calgary.
References
COL Social Media | www.col.org | X (Twitter) | Facebook | LinkedIn
PCF10: Calgary Communique, 2022.
PCF9: Edinburgh Statement, 2019.
All Proceedings of Pan Commonwealth Forums.
The Commonwealth of Learning Strategic Plan, 2021-27.
The Memorandum of Understanding of the Commonwealth of Learning. 1988, last revised 2014.
CHOGM24 Leaders’ Statement and Samoa Communiqué (26 October 2024).
