The Empowering Women and Girls project team recently attended PCF11, hosted by the Commonwealth of Learning, in partnership with the Botswana Open University and the Ministry of Higher Education of the Republic of Botswana. The conference took place from September 10-12, 2025 in Gaborone, Botswana. The conference theme, "Innovative Open Education: Fostering Resilient Societies for Sustainable Economic Development” offered a unique opportunity to reflect on the ways innovation can support our work in empowering women and girls. Here are some of the highlights from our time at PCF11.

Connecting with EWG community partners from our countries of focus.

Before the conference officially started, our EWG team and community partners gathered for a pre-conference workshop from September 8-9. This was a unique opportunity for our partners to learn from each other. We explored the Community Report Card (CRC) and how it can strengthen accountability and empower communities. As a group, we had rich discussions on how the CRC gives communities a voice, encourages creative problem-solving, and goes beyond identifying gaps to suggest practical solutions.

Hearing from keynote speakers and presentations at PCF11.

At the heart of PCF11 was a series of rich, inspiring keynote presentations aligned with the  four sub-themes of the conference, which together shaped the dialogue throughout the event. Keynote presenters dug into how open, flexible, and distance learning can be transformed and leveraged to build resilient educational systems. These talks offered evidence, inspiration, and frameworks for widening access, advancing equity, and sustaining learning communities across the Commonwealth.

Showcasing the EWG project through research papers, workshops and presentations.

Throughout the conference there was opportunity for us to showcase the EWG project. Project partners presented several research papers as part of various conference sessions. Some of these highlights included:

• Damodaram Kuppuswami and Frances Ferreira presented the research paper, “The Role of Monitoring in Sustaining Communities of Learning and Practice”.
• Kuntal De presented the research paper, “Strengthening Communities to Attain Resilience and Food security: The genesis of a training programme to build capacity of (COL) EWG partners and community resource persons”.
• Md. Omar Faruque Haider, Md. Mofizul Huq, Md. Zohurul Haque and Zakia Akter presented the research paper, “Empowering Rural Adolescent Girls in Bangladesh through Open TVET”.
• Muhammad Saleem, Pakistan, presented the research paper, “Engaging Men in promoting gender equality and girls’ education".
• Dr. Philip Uys presented the research paper, “Collaborative Peer Learning for International Course Development in the Empowering Women and Girls (EWG) Project: Challenges and Lessons Learned”.
• Samina Afzal presented the research paper, "Empowering Rural Women through Vocational Training and Secondary Education: A Model for Skills Development and Lifelong Learning".

Sharing more on the EWG project at the poster session.

As part of the conference, there was a poster session that highlighted a vibrant array of research and community-driven solutions. Project partners had the opportunity to showcase their work with the following posters that were open for conference attendees to explore:

• Frances Ferreria, Veronica Sudesh, Commonwealth of Learning, showcased the poster, “Breaking Barriers, Building Futures: Catalysing Gender Equality Across Five Nations”.
• Sabeen Almas, Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC), Pakistan showcased the poster, “Empowering Women and Girls: A Community-Led Approach to Gender Equality, Inclusion, and Open Learning Communities”.
• Sashi Stephen, Women's Development Centre (WDC), Sri Lanka, showcased the poster,“Village to Market”.
• Tambosi Phiri and Florida Malamba, Centre for Research and Development Initiative (CERADI), Malawi, showcased the poster, “Aptus Pi An Enabler of Mobile Learning CERADI Experience, Malawi".

Testing a board game based on our human rights and gender-based violence manual.

One of the most engaging moments at the conference was the hands-on testing of our board game, designed using the learning content from the Women’s Rights and Gender-Based Violence Training Manual. Participants explored the game’s interactive format, which uses scenarios and role-play to spark dialogue, raise awareness, and build understanding of GBV issues.

Connecting with colleagues and making new connections. 

Beyond the many impactful sessions for learning, our team actively engaged with fellow participants, building new connections and strengthening existing partnerships. We exchanged ideas with researchers, educators, and practitioners working on similar challenges, exploring opportunities for collaboration and sharing insights from our own projects. Our EWG team even attended the conference gala, finding time to make lasting connections.

Our time at PCF11 was a rich opportunity for us to come together for reflection and learning, highlight the work and success of EWG and be inspired on how we can continue to innovate. As we return from Gaborone, we carry forward new insights and renewed commitment to supporting women and girls in their communities.