Addressing the insufficient, unavailable and inaccessibility of learning materials during the Covid-19 lockdown is the mantra behind a capacity-building program for future writers and publishers.

Held on Wednesday the coaching program was put together by the Ministry of Commerce Industry and Labor (M.C.I.L.) through its Registry of Companies and Intellectual Properties Division, in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (W.I.P.O.) and the Ministry of Education, Sports, and Culture (M.E.S.C.). 

Held at the Ministry's conference room, the project is part of an effort to address some of the challenges which were identified by schools in Samoa during the lockdown following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to the Deputy Registrar of Intellectual Properties, Houlton Fa'asau the idea to undertake such an important program was born out of a pilot assessment undertaken by the Ministry into some of the challenges faced by the students in Samoa during the nationwide lockdown. 

The W.I.P.O. in collaboration with M.C.I.L. through its Registry of Companies and Intellectual Property Division as well as the M.E.S.C. undertook the pilot assessment to assess the status and the need to have more learning materials accessible and available for primary and secondary schools during lockdowns. 

The report was compiled and put together by Oceania Smart Consulting firm and it was completed in March this year. Mr. Fa'asau acknowledged the hard work of Muliagatele Dr. Potoa'e Aiafi and his team from Oceania Smart for putting together the report. 

"The results revealed the great need for Samoa to prepare for such a crisis," Mr. Fa'asau said. "One of the key recommendations from the pilot assessment that has led to today's program is the need to provide assistance and support to M.E.S.C. and schools to address the shortage of textbooks and other learning materials in schools. 

"There is a real need to make reference books affordable, and accessible for Samoa's primary and secondary schools. This project is mirrored in other countries like Samoa so we can learn from their experiences and best practices."

The coaching program offers an opportunity for potential writers and publishers to address the issue with the hope of developing more learning materials locally. 

"We are still searching for more local fragrances and we need Samoan ideas, concepts and suggestions."

This according to Mr. Fa'asau will help the students of Samoa and also prepare the country for any future crisis. He also used the opportunity to thank the Director General of W.I.P.O. and the Head of the Copyright Division of W.I.P.O. for including Samoa as part of the project. 

Mr. Fa'asau also acknowledged the participants for making time to share their knowledge and experiences in coming up with more ideas to encourage writers and publishers in Samoa to publish and create more learning materials for the students in Samoa. 

The Head of the Copyright Division for W.I.P.O. Gao Hang acknowledged the hard work of the M.C.I.L. Registry of Companies and Intellectual Properties Division for their commitment to executing such an important initiative. 

She also expressed her sincere gratitude to all those who were involved in undertaking the pilot assessment and report. 

"One of the impacts identified was the insufficient, availability and accessibility to reading and learning materials for children, particularly primary and secondary schools," said Gao Hang. 

She further added that the need for learning materials available online was in high demand during the lockdown and it was identified by the pilot assessment. The W.I.P.O. is also committed to implementing and supporting projects that will address these issues and prepare developed countries for any future crisis. 

One of the challenges identified by the report is the lack of locally produced learning materials, textbooks, and children's books. Therefore, they hope that the capacity-building program would inspire authors, writers, and publishers to create more learning materials to assist the students with their learning. 

The coaching programme included presentations from Iairo Jnr Tala, a Senior Intellectual Property Officer, Merenaite McCarthy-Afele, a Literacy Specialist from the Curriculum Design and Materials Division within M.E.S.C., Hye Sook Kang, a writer from Seoul, Korea, Ji Woong Kang, Editor of Eumbooks from Seoul, Republic of Korea, and Fa'asau, A.C.E.O. and Deputy Registrar of Intellectural Properties from M.C.I.L.