SCP Courses

Singapore hosted a course in Community Health Promotion from 3 to 7 December 2012 for 13 officials from the Pacific Island states of Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.  

The course is jointly organised by the World Health Organisation's Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) and Singapore's Health Promotion Board with the support of the Singapore Cooperation Programme as well as the Singapore Ministry of Health. The course facilitators and participants shared their experiences on basic health promotion theories and models through relevant case studies. Site visits to our food centres and supermarkets were also arranged to allow participants to experience first-hand how Singapore weaved in health promotion policies into our day-to-day living.  

Ms Alicia Hipa, a Health Promoting Officer from Niue, said, "The course was excellent. I liked that there was a lot of practical work as opposed to lecture style teaching. I enjoyed the case studies shared and am inspired to introduce programmes similar to the Health Promotion Board's to help locals stay healthy."

Singapore, in partnership with Colombo Plan, shared experiences in climate change, energy and the environment with 15 government officials from 12 Colombo Plan member countries over a five-day course held in Singapore from 20 to 24 February 2012. Organised under the auspices of the Singapore-Colombo Plan Third Country Training Programme (TCTP) and conducted by the Nanyang Technological University Centre for Continuing Education, the course provided insights into Singapore’s inter-agency contribution and approach in formulating sustainable energy solutions to climate change.

In her opening address, Ms Belinda Tay, Deputy Director for Technical Cooperation from the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs, recognised the longstanding and fruitful partnership between Singapore and the Colombo Plan in sharing knowledge with representatives from Colombo Plan member countries.

Mr Adam Maniku, Secretary-General of the Colombo Plan, agreed in his opening remarks that Singapore and the Colombo Plan could foster a harmonious collaboration for South-South cooperation to grow.

At the closing ceremony, Class Representative Ms Pebbles Badillo Sanchez expressed her gratitude to Singapore and the Colombo Plan for the relevant and timely course. She added, "We are truly appreciative of the generosity of our lecturers from the Nanyang Technological University for sharing with us their technical expertise and research and development programmes."

The Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) jointly organised a 12-day workshop on developing e-learning materials on educational leadership. It was held at the National Institute of Education (NIE) International, Singapore, from 17 November to 2 December 2011. Facilitated by two resource persons from COL, 23 senior-level educators from the small states of the Commonwealth crafted content on educational leadership. Sir John Daniel, President and Chief Executive Officer of COL, and Mrs Belinda Tay, Deputy Director for Technical Cooperation, Singapore MFA, co-officiated the opening ceremony of the workshop.

The workshop provided a platform for international collaboration among the small states of the Commonwealth to brainstorm current issues, policies and technologies affecting the management of educational institutions. Six groups examined the strategies and tools required to lead change. Their discussions culminated in the creation of a set of educational leadership training materials that would be published on COL’s website as open resources for use and adaptation by individuals and institutions.

At the closing ceremony of the workshop, Mr John Lesperance, COL’s Education Specialist for VUSSC who also facilitated the workshop, said that the training had not only been an enriching and educational experience, but a cultural one as well. He observed that the participants had learnt a lot from the team of NIE trainers and from one another, and he urged them to pass on the knowledge acquired to their colleagues back home.

Professor Abdullah Mansaray, Dean of Postgraduate Studies in Njala University, Sierra Leone, in his thank you speech on behalf of the participants, expressed gratitude to MFA, COL and NIE for organising the workshop. He remarked that the workshop had been an “exceptional experience and unique learning opportunity” for all of them, and encouraged fellow participants to “make a difference in their home countries”.