As the global community marks the International Day of Education 2026, The COLE’ctive Initiative is spotlighting COLE2Learn as its cross-cutting education platform—designed to align learning with real-world outcomes in public health, economic resilience, and community security across Rivers State.
Aligned with the 2026 international theme, “The power of youth in co-creating education,” COLE2Learn reframes education as a shared civic system rather than a standalone sector. The programme is structured to empower 230,000 young people across all 23 Local Government Areas with applied, sector-linked learning that directly supports development priorities and strengthens people-centred governance.
Rather than duplicating formal education systems, COLE2Learn functions as the learning backbone of the COLE’ctive ecosystem—integrating education across civic participation, enterprise development, climate action, innovation, humanitarian response, and leadership renewal.
“Education must be designed around outcomes, not abstractions,” said Mr. Tonye Patrick Cole, whose leadership vision inspires The COLE’ctive. “COLE2Learn connects learning to healthier lives, stronger livelihoods, and safer communities.”
A Cross-Cutting Education Framework for Development Outcomes COLE2Learn draws its learning architecture directly from the sectors represented across The COLE’ctive’s programmes. Its cross-cutting education areas include:
- Civic and democratic literacy, supporting informed participation and accountable governance
- Health, wellbeing, and social protection education, strengthening prevention and community resilience
- Economic, financial, and enterprise literacy, improving employability and income stability
- Digital, innovation, and media literacy, enabling productive participation in the digital economy
- Environmental and climate literacy, supporting green and blue economy resilience
- Peace, security, and community safety education, reinforcing social cohesion and preparedness
- Gender, disability, and inclusion education, ensuring equitable participation and dignity
- Culture-based learning, strengthening identity, unity, and social cohesion
These learning areas are delivered through community learning hubs, digital platforms, media mobility channels, and civic exchange formats—ensuring education is embedded in everyday participation rather than confined to classrooms.
A COLE’ctive programme representative underscored the systems approach.
“COLE2Learn is not an add-on to development programmes,” the representative said. “It is the mechanism that ensures every sector—from health to enterprise to climate—benefits from informed, capable participation.”
Education as Infrastructure for Health, Wealth, and Security
By linking learning directly to life outcomes, COLE2Learn strengthens the foundations of stability and growth. Health literacy improves prevention and wellbeing; financial and enterprise education expands economic opportunity; civic and security education reinforces trust, safety, and social order.
This integrated approach positions education as infrastructure—supporting long-term resilience rather than short-term interventions.
“When education is aligned with development priorities, it becomes a stabilising force,” said a COLE’ctive institutional spokesperson. “COLE2Learn demonstrates how learning can simultaneously improve health outcomes, economic inclusion, and community security.”
Embedding Education Within the COLE’ctive Strategy
COLE2Learn is embedded within The COLE’ctive’s five-part strategy—advocacy, activation, aggregation, acceleration, and alleviation. By strengthening knowledge and capability across all programmes, the platform ensures that participation is informed, leadership is credible, and development outcomes are sustainable.
Education and governance stakeholders have welcomed the programme’s outcome-oriented focus.
“Education that is connected to governance, livelihoods, and resilience delivers greater public value,” said an education and development stakeholder. “COLE2Learn offers a practical model for translating global education commitments into local impact.”
Marking International Day of Education 2026 with Systems Change
As International Day of Education 2026 calls for renewed emphasis on youth-inclusive and co-created learning systems, COLE2Learn stands as a practical example of how education can be embedded within civic life and development strategy.
By aligning learning with health, wealth, and security outcomes, COLE2Learn reinforces a central principle of The COLE’ctive Initiative: when education is designed as a shared system, it strengthens people, institutions, and society as a whole.
About COLE2Learn
COLE2Learn is the cross-cutting education and learning platform within The COLE’ctive Initiative. It integrates applied learning across civic, economic, digital, environmental, and social sectors to improve health, wealth, and security outcomes through informed participation and people-centred development across Rivers State.