 Greetings from the Commonwealth of Learning on International Women's Day 2018. The theme this year is Press for Progress, a call for the entire global community to come together to achieve gender parity. A top priority for call is to close the gender gap by promoting women's economic empowerment by providing access to learning. To do this, we use appropriate technologies to achieve both speed and scale. Call has adopted a targeted approach to reaching women and girls in remote areas and providing them the knowledge and skills they need for employment and entrepreneurship. The results have been very encouraging. Of the 35,000 women and girls trained in five countries, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Mozambique and Tanzania, 9,000 girls already have enhanced opportunities for livelihoods. Take for example Atya in Bangladesh. Atya was married at the age of 12 to a 15-year-old boy and was already a mother at 14. She participated in a call-supported training in sewing and tailoring and obtained a loan from her father to buy her own sewing machine. As a small business owner, Atya has now been able to make a significant change in her life, including opening a bank account where she deposits her savings regularly. She has more confidence and an increased role in household decision making. The prevalence of child early and forced marriage is still a matter of concern. Call's advocacy efforts with communities is beginning to bring about social change. In Mozambique, for instance, Flora's early marriage was prevented by the timely intervention of a member of the community, a religious leader, who convinced the parents and the husband to be of the benefits of education. As a result, the marriage has been postponed until Flora completes school and is 18 years of age. Because of the training Call is supporting, women and girls are seizing new opportunities. Shagufta in Pakistan is the first female reporter in her district. Shagufta completed life skills and vocational training with Call's partner, Spark, which encouraged her to pursue work in the media by enrolling in an internship program at a local TV station. These examples show how Call is pressing for progress, but much more needs to be done. Let me add two more please to the theme of press for progress. The first is passion. Let's have a strong desire to make a difference and let this passion be contagious. The second is perseverance. It's not easy to bring about social change and we will encounter many barriers and challenges along the way, but the point is to never give in. With strong determination and clear action, let us press on. Thank you.