CSA FIRESIDE

The Commonwealth Student Safety and Security Agreement is a formal consensus among students across the commonwealth on cross cutting issues that concern the safety of students. It concerns the protection of student of all ages in any educational program. In this episode we hold free conversations with the European Student’s Union on the drafted articles to share their disagreements/solidarity as w...

In this episode, we discuss violent extremism in Pakistan, We’re enlightened on how religion and politics have influenced it, its impact on higher education institutions and the students in them. We learn about the role of higher education in combatting it.

With only 30 days left for the Commonwealth Students’ Association to commence the Year of Youth Tour (2023-2024), thé planning committee holds a meeting to discuss how far they are in their readiness. The CSA’s aim is to be more transparent with most activities and meetings held in every step of it works for Commonwealth students and therefore we bring you an episode that will enlighten you on thi...

The CSA Fireside podcast once hosted Malaysia in Season 1 alongside Bangladesh and Pakistan to discuss whether “the student voice is taken seriously in Asia.” With the need to understand more about this diverse nation, Malaysia returned in season 2 where we discuss the language of instruction of their Education (Malay or English); its advantages and disadvantages and; its role in the struggle to d...

Ceylon, officially known as the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a home to many cultures, languages and ethnicities found in South Asia. In this episode, we bring you panelists who discuss with us the political history of Sri Lanka, the impacts of its current economic situation, the state of its higher education i.e. Is there equitable access to it, which programs are offered, which s...

The Republic of the Maldives is an archipelagic state know for its distinct white Beaches and blue waters attracting a vast number of tourists to it. Tourism contributes more than 28% of GDP and 60%of foreign exchange. In this grand episode, we ponder the issues within the labour force in the Maldives; whether the country’s reliance on tourism is disproportional; the social benefits/protection for...

In a sweet twist of events, we were honoured to host thé Commonwealth Youth Council Chairperson, Mr. Kim Allen. In this dialogue, Mr. Benjamin Fraser and Mr. Kim Allen discuss freely about the different forms of leadership,authority, micromanaging,building trust and empathy as a leader. They further discuss the workload in their positions and delve into performance based incentive models, how they...

Samoa is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands Savai'i and Upolu. It is a sovereign state and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The CSA had a discourse with the Samoan NSO to delve deep on the issues affecting education like the strengths and weaknesses of the education system,how the COVID-19 pandemic affected its normalcy, the effects of climate change induced natural...

The Commonwealth Students's Association has an Executive Committee made up of the Chairperson, Regional Representatives from the Pacific, Asia, Africa, Caribbean &Americas, Vice chair for Communications & Research, Vice Chair Advocacy & Partnerships, Vice Chair Democracy & Participation. This team of versatile and dynamic student leaders has been entrusted with the responsibility to continue the i...

South Africa is a middle power in international affairs, a member of both the Commonwealth of Nations and G20. It's a multiethnic society encompassing a wide variety of cultures, languages and religions with 80% black who experienced apartheid ( institutionalised racial segregation) from 1948 to 1994. Today we sat down with the South African NSO to discuss how apartheid shaped education, it's ling...

Brunei is a nation on the Island of Borneo surrounded by Malaysia and the South China Sea, known for its beaches and biodiverse rainforests. It is governed by an absolute Monarchy. The CSA sat down with student leaders of Brunei Darussalam to discuss the state of education, the value of the student voice in Brunei as well as student safety and security.

"The Pan-Commonwealth Team Meeting held on August 5, 2023 brought together all Team Members from the Executive Committee, regional working groups and all supporting committees. Our Chairperson shared the vision of the CSA and a charge, inviting all CSA volunteers to think about their "why"

As of 2016, UNPFA reported that 43% of women 25-49 years had married by 18 years. According to Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) in 2018, almost 25% of Ugandan women had given birth by the age of 18. These figures spiked to 1025 teenage pregnancies per day in 2020 in Uganda due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, we discuss the causes,conséquences, and what needs to done to address these s...

In Preparation for the Year of Youth Tour in 2024, thé Commonwealth Students Association started the CSA Fireside Podcast. The CSA Fireside Season 1 has gathered first hand information for you from a number countries like Ghana, Namibia, Singapore, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Kenya, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea,Guyana, Jamaica,Malaysia,Belize, Pakistan and the Global students Forum. Join us as we start...

Africa is the 2nd largest continent. It boasts the mountain ranges of the Kilimanjaro, dessert Saharan plains and exotic islands of Seychelles and Mauritius, inhabited by 100,000 and 1.2 million people respectively. We sat with the CSA Country Representatives from these islands to discuss issues in education in their respective countries.

The National Students' Union of Belize (NSUB) is a young and vibrant national student organization. Belize is a nation on the eastern coast of Central America and is part of the Caribbean. Offshore, the massive Belize Barrier Reef, dotted with hundreds of low-lying cayes, hosts rich marine life. We sat with the student leaders of the NSUB who represent student interests of a nation of 400,000 to d...

The Global Student Forum (GSF) is the global umbrella organisation of the world’s major representative, independent and democratic student unions of school and university students, representing and advocating for the educational, cultural, economic, and social interests of over 300 million learners worldwide. We were joined by the Executive Director of the Global Students Forum to discuss how the...

Kenya is facing a youth bulge: 75% of the Kenyan population is aged below 35 years old. Youth unemployment in Kenya is as high as 35% (4.5 million young men and women), compared to the overall national unemployment rate of 10%. We sat with the past and present CSA Kenya Country Representative to discuss unemployment, education and student safety and security in Kenya.

We were joined by the CSA Nigeria Country Representative as well as senior executive members of the National Union of Nigeria Students (NANS) to discuss the impact of the removal of the oil subsidy and the ASUU strikes. Students in Nigerian universities, particularly federal institutions, spend more years than their counterparts studying the same course in private-owned schools. The reason is not...

The Guyana National Students Organization (GNSO) was established in 2020 to represent the voices of students in Guyana. Shortly after it commenced working on organizing and recruiting members, the COVID-19 pandemic threatened to halt the progress of the young organization. Their determination is a testament to the quality of student leadership in Guyana and the truth that youth are interested in p...

The Republic of Singapore is an island nation of 5.5 million people. It is one of 8 countries in Asia that are part of the Commonwealth. As we continue to spotlight Asia and the Pacific, we sat down with Eileen Goh, former volunteer with the Commonwealth Youth Council and former Assistant Program Officer at the Commonwealth Secretariat. We discussed the student movement in Asia and approaches to i...

The Jamaica Union of Tertiary Students (JUTS) is the national student representative body for tertiary students in Jamaica. The JUTS has been organized at a national level since 1972, by the government, in its democratisation plan within the education system. The JUTS is an independent, democratic independent, non-profit, non-sectarian and non-partisan student organization comprising a confederati...

The New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) has a long and proud history of supporting students. Since 1929, they’ve tirelessly advocated and represented students in universities and polytechnics across Aotearoa New Zealand. On this episode, we had one of the hard conversations that is typically avoided. Our guest, Ellen Dixon, President of the NZUSA engaged us on the topic "Decoloniza...

International Day of the Girl Child is an international observance day declared by the United Nations; it is also called the Day of Girls and the International Day of the Girl. October 11, 2012, was the first Day of the Girl Child. On this International Day of the Girl, let us work together to ensure that girls are connected, supported and empowered so that we are co-leading the journey of digital...

Joshua Opey, our the CSA Ghana Representative, hosted a discussion on Scholarships, particularly opportunities to study in the United Kingdom. He was joined by Lawrence Dankah, Ato Dadzi-Dennis both Commonwealth Scholars and Stephen Tettegah, Chevening Scholar. They share insightful guidance into the scholarship application process and practical tips on how to make your application stand out.