The Khalili Foundation has been announced as the Founder Member of The King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme (KCFP) at an event hosted at the University of Samoa with His Majesty King Charles III, Professor Sir Nasser David Khalili, The Hon. Philip Davis, Prime Minister of the Bahamas and The Rt Hon David Lammy MP, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom.
Commonwealth Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are among the most vulnerable countries in the world, facing numerous economic and environmental shocks, youth out-migration and skills shortages in public services, and experiencing disproportionate and deeply damaging effects of climate change, much of which combines to further threaten peace and security across societies and nations.
The new fellowship programme has been developed in response to these urgent needs and will be implemented through the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU). An ambitious interdisciplinary three-part initiative, it will offer fellowships for mid-career professionals, undergraduate scholarships, and PhDs. Delivered together, these three strands will enable sustained short, medium and long-term impact for Commonwealth SIDS and their communities.
Inspired by The King and established with the support of The Khalili Foundation, alongside a significant personal donation from His Majesty, The King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme (KCFP) has been co-created in partnership with universities and stakeholders in SIDS and from across the Commonwealth.
Professor Sir Nasser David Khalili, Founder and Chairman of the Khalili Foundation, said:
“We at the Khalili Foundation are honoured and proud to be the Founder Member of The King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme and to support the ACU in this quest to support Small Island Developing States combat climate change.
His Majesty has been at the forefront of promoting environmental sustainability and encouraging harmonious societies for many decades, issues and values that are closely aligned to our mission and priorities at the Foundation. I look forward to this being the beginning of a long and impactful partnership.”
Activities included in the programme will take place in-country, with an emphasis on local impact and retaining skills and talent in SIDS regions. The programme aims to strengthen climate resilience, build capacity in education, health and engineering, and develop resilient public services and the skills of those who support them, by:
- supporting civil servants, local government and mid-senior career professionals to further develop their skills, knowledge and understanding of climate resilience and its impact on other sectors through part-time fellowships undertaken alongside work;
- addressing significant capacity challenges in key education, healthcare and engineering sectors via undergraduate training;
- upskilling university academic staff and ‘train the trainers’ of future generations of researchers and workers in industries vital to SIDS resilience, through PhDs delivered in collaboration with ACU’s network of universities across the Commonwealth.
This prestigious programme will fully fund, train and support multiple cohorts of undergraduate, postgraduate and mid-career King’s Fellows in its first few years and seeks to engage participants from every Commonwealth SIDS. The programme will be tailored to the specific and unique needs of SIDS, but with broad thematic focus areas to facilitate knowledge sharing. Participants will have the opportunity to join a cohort of SIDS King’s Fellows, with the opportunity to network and exchange learning and shared problem solving with peers across SIDS and with ACU’s wider network of universities.
