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OpenWHO is the World Health Organization's online learning platform that was launched in 2017. The COVID-19 pandemic led to massive growth in the number of courses, enrolments and reach of the platform. The platform is built on a stable and scalable basis that can host a large volume of learners. The authors aim to identify key factors that led to this growth.

In this research paper, the authors examined OpenWHO metadata, end-of-course surveys and internal processes using a quantitative approach.

OpenWHO metadata showed that the platform has hosted over 190 health courses in 65 languages and over seven million course enrolments. Since the onset of the pandemic, there have been more women, older people and people from middle income countries accessing courses than before. Following data analysis of the platform metadata and course production process, it was found that several key factors contributed to the growth of the platform. First, OpenWHO has a standardised course production pathway that ensures efficiency, consistency and quality. Further, providing courses in different languages increased its reach to a variety of populations throughout the world. For this, multi-language translation is achieved through a network of translators and an automated system to ensure the efficient translation of learning products. Lastly, it was found that access was promoted for learners with disabilities by optimising accessibility in course production. Data analysis of learner feedback surveys for selected courses showed that the courses were well received in that learners found it useful to complete courses that were self-paced and flexible. In addition, results indicated that preferred learning methods included videos, downloadable documents, slides, quizzes and learning exercises.

Lessons learnt from the WHO's learning response will help prepare researchers for the next health emergency to ensure timely, equitable access to quality health knowledge for everyone. Findings of this study will provide valuable insights for educators, policymakers and researchers in the field who intend to use online learning to optimise knowledge acquisition and performance.

The popular uprising (Aragalaya) combined a protest movement with a movement towards commons or a solidarity economy. The popular uprising from March to August 2022 was a reaction to the authoritarian heteropatriarchal Rajapaksa regime, which drained public revenues instigating an economic crisis. The Aragalaya was based on non-violence, independence from political parties, participatory democracy, collective leadership, politico-aesthetic strategies (art activism) and collective learning. While there were multiple contradictions, along with state repression, the Aragalaya expressed new forms of solidarity, strengthening struggles for democracy and citizenship.

The political crisis related to two main factors internal to the public revenue system, namely financial markets and the commercialisation of the state, and three related external factors, pertaining to the pandemic, popular discontent and inequality. The emphasis on financial markets since the mid-1990s expanded the commercialisation of the state while neglecting public accountability and government oversight. The efforts to shore up public finances through the tax system is increasingly undermined by the global tax architecture, enabling financial secrecy and illicit financial flows.

The pandemic revealed the significance of women’s work, paid as well as unpaid care work. The pandemic also exposed the limitations of a domestic economy, based on export-oriented development, over-reliant on tourism and remittances from migrant workers. Combining with the on-going dengue epidemic, the pandemic highlighted the urgency of climate adaptation. Meanwhile, the popular discontent conveyed an accumulation of grievances linked with cultural discrimination, political misrepresentation as well as economic maldistribution. The participation of new middle-class segments in the protests foregrounded new tendencies significant for strengthening the labour movement as well as working-class parties in their demands for redistribution, reframing democracy as well as citizenship.