King Charles III's 'significant personal donation' quietly revealed on Australia tour
King Charles III has chosen the occasion of his Australia trip to announce the launch of an initiative close to his heart.
The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) launched the King's Commonwealth Fellowship Programme today, inspired by Charles and "his life's work to create opportunity and to tackle contemporary challenges including climate change and inequality."
That's according to a press release, which was sent around with little fanfare as Charles greeted a legion of adoring fans at a church service in North Sydney.
Watch the video above.
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King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Sydney, posing in front of the Sydney Opera House. Supplied
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The program will be offer fellowships for mid-career professionals, undergraduate scholarships, and PhDs for those living in Commonwealth Small Island Developing States (SIDS), in order to tackle their respective economic, social and environmental development challenges.
Some Commonwealth SIDS include Samoa, Mauritius, The Maldives, Guyana, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and more.
The program will primarily be focusing on supporting civil servants, local government and mid-senior career professionals to expand their knowledge in climate resilience, supporting undergraduates in education, healthcare and engineering sectors, and upskilling academic staff in industries vital to the development of the SIDs across the commonwealth.
"The programme will be tailored to the specific and unique needs of SIDS, but with broad thematic focus areas to facilitate knowledge sharing," says the press release, with academic participants being able to network with other fellows across different SIDs from different universities over the world.
Charles, who established the program with a "significant personal donation", said: "I am delighted to support this important new initiative."
"Throughout my life I have believed in the power of education to improve lives and unite communities across the Commonwealth and beyond," he said.
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Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla attend a church service officiated by the Archbishop of Sydney Kanishka Raffel at a church in North Sydney. NewsWire
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"There is so much we can learn from one another as we work together within the Commonwealth to tackle the major challenges of our age and, as these Fellowships do in Small Island Developing States, to address them where they are felt most acutely," he said.
"It is my fervent hope that these new Fellowships will play a significant role in furthering the free exchange of knowledge and advancing the spirit of mutual support that lies at the heart of our Commonwealth – today, tomorrow and towards a brighter future for all."
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