As the world marks the International Day of Education, the COLE’ctive Initiative has unveiled COLE2Learn, a youth-centred education platform designed to empower 230,000 young people across Rivers State as active co-creators of education and development outcomes.

Aligned with the 2026 global theme, “The Power of Youth in Co-Creating Education,” Mr. Tonye Patrick Cole, whose leadership vision inspires the COLE’ctive, said the initiative was created to reposition education as a tool for empowerment rather than passive instruction.

According to him, COLE2Learn is structured to equip young people with the knowledge, skills, and civic confidence needed to build healthier lives, stronger livelihoods, and safer communities.

The programme targets youths across all 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers State, enabling them to apply learning directly to real-life challenges in public health, economic inclusion, climate resilience, and community security.

By placing young people at the centre of the learning process, COLE2Learn reframes education as a shared civic system that promotes agency, responsibility, and participation.

Rather than duplicating classroom-based education models, COLE2Learn focuses on practical, outcome-driven learning, embedding education into everyday civic participation, enterprise development, innovation, and leadership pathways. According to Mr. Cole, this approach ensures learning is connected to lived experience and immediate community needs.

He added that the learning framework is built around areas that strengthen youth self-reliance and leadership capacity; civic and democratic empowerment; health and wellbeing; economic, financial, and enterprise skills; digital, innovation, and media literacy; environmental and climate awareness; and peace, security, and community safety education.

It also includes gender, disability, and inclusion learning, as well as culture-based education that reinforces identity, unity, and shared values. Delivery is achieved through community learning hubs, digital platforms, mobile media channels, and peer-to-peer civic exchanges, enabling young people to learn by doing, leading, and contributing to solutions within their communities.

A COLE’ctive programme representative described COLE2Learn as an empowerment mechanism rather than a conventional education programme, noting that it equips young people with practical knowledge and decision-making capacity, positioning them as drivers of development.

By linking education directly to outcomes, COLE2Learn transforms learning into a pathway for self-determination. Health literacy strengthens prevention and wellbeing, enterprise education expands economic independence, while civic and security education builds trust, stability, and social cohesion.

As International Day of Education 2026 underscores the importance of youth-led and co-created learning systems, COLE2Learn stands as a people-powered model for empowering young people to shape a healthier, more prosperous, and secure Rivers State.