Republic of Mauritius- University of Mauritius and Open University of Mauritius to offer Commonwealth Youth Work degree

The Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Stephan Toussaint, made this statement, today, at the OU in Réduit, at the opening ceremony of a three-day technical workshop for the delivery of the Youth Work Degree. The workshop aims to provide guidance and strengthen the capacity of participants and their respective institutions in the effective delivery of the Commonwealth Youth Work certificate, diploma and/or degree. The Chairperson of OU, Mr R. Duva Pentiah, and other personalities were also present at the event.

Minister Toussaint stated that the programme will indeed help, motivate and guide the youth in their personal and professional development as well as turn them into responsible citizens.  One of Government’s priorities, he said, is to contribute to a supportive enabling environment for young people so as to create a pool of youth talent. He also spoke of the need for greater investment in the education sector by promoting their professional recognition, education and training.

For his part, Mr R. Duva Pentiah recalled that in the 9th Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting, ministers agreed to promote youth work as a profession through education and training for sectors where youth engagement is important. He added that at the Commonwealth Head of Governments’ Meeting, held in April 2018 in London, Heads affirmed youth empowerment as critical in realising the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) and the aspirations of the Commonwealth Charter.

Speaking on the Commonwealth Higher Education Consortium for Youth Work, he said that it aims to support the education and training of youth workers, and contribute to strengthen youth work policy and practice given that youth empowerment is critical in realising the 2030 Agenda. The Commonwealth Diploma in Youth Development Work, he pointed out, has therefore been upgraded to a bachelor’s degree, and is made available as an Open Education Resource through the Commonwealth of Learning, he added. 

The Workshop

The event is an initiative of the Commonwealth Higher Education Consortium for Youth Work (CHEC4YW), in collaboration with the UOM and the OU. It will comprise plenary discussions, presentations and interactive discussions, and break-out working groups that will take into considerations the following: learning-by-doing and responding to demand and needs of the end-users and institutions; as well as creating a network of trainers to ensure that the impacts of the training session are maintained.

The expected outcomes of the workshop include: improved knowledge about the processes and structures (including online technology) to deliver the course; development of a pool of trained lecturers in Youth Work that could be tapped to facilitate and deliver Youth Work courses across the Commonwealth; strengthened partnerships and collaboration between academic institutions that deliver youth work education and training course, and programmes.

The resource persons are mainly from United Kingdom and Malta and around 35 participants including experienced lecturers/tutors from higher education institutions, civil society and Government representatives are participating in the workshop.