Speech by Commonwealth Secretary-General, Hon Shirley Botchwey at the CHOGM 2026 Joint Forums Opening Ceremony on Monday 2 November 2026 at St John’s Pentecostal Church House of Restoration, Antigua and Barbuda.
Let me begin by thanking the Government and people of this nation for opening their hearts to the Commonwealth family. It is a joy to open the Youth Forum and the Women’s Forum together today.
This is the fourteenth Youth Forum and the fifth Women’s Forum.
They have taken their places at the heart of our Heads of Government Meetings. I pay tribute to the generations of Commonwealth citizens who have made these forums what they are today.
The Youth Forum has been designed by young people, for young people. And young leaders from across the Commonwealth make up its International Taskforce.
I thank each one of them, as well as their co-chairs from the Commonwealth Youth Council and from Antigua and Barbuda.
Our Women’s Forum has been shaped by its Programme Working Group, co-chaired by the Government of Antigua and Barbuda. My thanks to them and everyone who has contributed.
To our Commonwealth accredited organisations and partner groups, who have given unsparingly of their time and expertise and to the local working groups, my colleagues at the Secretariat and every volunteer here: a huge, heartfelt thank you.
Sixty per cent of the citizens of the Commonwealth are under the age of 30. Half are women and girls. Together, these forums stand for about 80% of our 2.7 billion people.
But they represent perspectives that are still too often excluded from decision-making. I mean no offence to our Heads of Government, but when I look around their summit table this week, I will not see many young people. And not nearly enough women. That is why these forums matter so much.
They redress an imbalance and ensure that our Commonwealth hears every voice. That is essential in these difficult times, with inequality on the rise and the climate crisis accelerating. Too many of our member states carry debts that leave little room to invest in their people. Too many young people fear for their futures.
The Commonwealth will not stand by. Together, we will act.
Our Heads of Government meet this week under the theme of Accelerating Partnership and Investment for a Prosperous Commonwealth. And this will be a summit of action, not words. That is why I keep saying – watch this space.
We will measure our success by the difference we make in the lives of our 2.7 billion men, women and children.
That success depends on you.
Investing in women and young people brings some of the highest returns.
The Youth Forum will explore what it means to invest in youth agency, and your Outcome Document will go before our Heads of Government.
Make it ambitious and make it practical.
The Women’s Forum will focus on the Commonwealth’s gender equality priorities, from women in leadership, to economic empowerment and climate action.
It will also address the important issue of disability inclusion, and how we engage men and boys in ending violence.
We cannot rest when one in three women experiences gender-based violence.
We cannot accept that, at today’s pace, closing the economic gap between women and men will take more than a century and a half.
Your recommendations will be studied closely by Foreign Ministers and Heads.
Our Charter commits every member to respecting gender equality and listening to the voices of young people.
Our forums have shaped the decisions of past summits, as yours will shape this one. So, speak out boldly. Forge new friendships. And hold us to account.
As you do so, don’t forget the lessons of the past. Business as usual will not transform the lives of the majority of our youth and women.
We need bold, innovative, ambitious action-oriented responses to the challenges we face.
That is why when I looked at the changing world of work and the increasing unemployment and underemployment of our youth, we put together a partnership with the private sector, foundations and high-net-worth individuals to teach digital skills and entrepreneurship to 10 million youth in five years.
That is why we are working with the same grand partnership to mobilise over a billion United States dollars as credit for lifting the Commonwealth’s renewable energy ambitions.
And that is why we are working with Commonwealth institutions and others to make our democracies work, by empowering youth for governance, including through having an economic stake in our political economies.
Many of the new ideas, such as funding adaptive technologies for youth enterprises are coming from youth and high-net-worth individuals.
I am going to be telling our leaders and CEOs tomorrow that the old division of labour between governments, the state and the private sector cannot solve the scale of challenges we face, challenges that you face. We need to do things differently if we are to change the world.
You are the ultimate agents of change because you have the least investment in the systems that are failing you.
This week, Heads will be listening to you. Let’s make these three days count. And let’s leave Antigua and Barbuda ready to deliver.
