The Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF 2022), which is held in parallel with the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) took place in Kigali, Rwanda between 19-21 June 2022 with the theme of ‘Taking Charge of our Future’.
The Commonwealth Youth Forum provides an opportunity for young people of the Commonwealth to build cross-cultural connections and networks, deliberate on youth-led initiatives addressing emerging issues impacting young people, strategise on perspectives to influence decision makers and ensure young people have a voice and agency in its future.
CYF 2022’s theme ‘Taking Charge of our Future’ captures the aspirations and ambitions of our new generation leaders in championing an inclusive and prosperous Commonwealth where young people are key actors and equal stakeholders in shaping the future.
The CYF will reinforce young people’s involvement across the Commonwealth in devising solutions to complex global challenges as well as providing intergenerational spaces to enhance their ability to bring forward meaningful recommendations to the Heads of Government meeting. The Forum will also include opportunities for plenary discussions and action planning breakout sessions, focussed around CHOGM's themes.
CYF incorporates the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) General Assembly (the highest decision making gathering of young people in the Commonwealth). The CYC General Assembly enables young people to take stock of the progress of youth-led action addressing development challenges. The CYC is the recognised voice of over 1.2 billion young people from all across the Commonwealth, advocating on their behalf on issues such as climate change, employment, access to education, universal health coverage and gender equality.
Planning for the CYF and the creation of the agenda was undertaken by a youth-led international Taskforce in partnership with the Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) and the Government of Rwanda. The Taskforce is co-chaired by the CYC Vice Chairperson for Inclusion and Engagement, and the Chairperson of National Youth Council of Rwanda.
Meet the Commonwealth Youth Forum Taskforce
Contact the Commonwealth Youth team
Press releases
Links for livestream recordings are available below.
Sunday 19 June
Read a summary
Watch highlights video
11am-12pm – Official Commonwealth Youth Forum Opening Ceremony
The Commonwealth Youth Forum will officially begin with Welcome Remarks, entertainment, and opening remarks from a Guest of Honour.
Watch recording
|
12pm-1pm – Plenary One: Taking Charge of Our Future
This panel will discuss the role of youth leadership in affecting needed change, and the roles of other actors.
Watch recording
|
2pm-3.45pm – Youth Action Lab One
The Action Lab events throughout the day are breakout sessions on the six CHOGM themes:
- Governance and the Rule of Law: Youth Involvement in Decision-Making
- Youth and Human Capital: Inclusive, Equitable and Accessible Opportunities
- Trade, Entrepreneurship and Employment
- Information and Communication Technology and Innovation
- Sustainability: Environment, Climate Change and Blue Economies
- Health and COVID-19
|
4pm-5pm – Plenary Two: Reimagining Sustainability
This session will include a keynote address and a line-up of experts, change makers and influencers which will explore and redefine sustainability under the current social, political, and economic context.
Watch recording
|
5.15pm-5.45pm – Launch of Youth Led Initiatives: The Commonwealth Youth for Sustainable Urbanisation and Sustainable and Clean Energy Action Group
Watch recording
|
5.45pm-6pm – Closing Debrief and Reflections
|
6pm – Cultural Dinner Reception
|
Monday 20 June
Read a summary
Watch highlights video
9am-10.15am – Plenary Three: Youth Championing Innovation for Transformation and Development
This session will include a keynote address, sharing of stories of impact, and a panel of experts, change-makers and influencers who will explore Innovation, technology and how the youth can leverage their knowledge to accelerate impact.
Watch recording
|
10.15am-10.45am – Launch of Youth Led Initiatives: Commonwealth Youth Taskforce for HPV awareness & Cervical Cancer Elimination and I AM Campaign for Cervical Cancer Elimination
Watch recording
|
10.45am-12.30pm – Youth Action Lab Two
- Governance and the Rule of Law: Youth Involvement in Decision-Making
- Youth and Human Capital: Inclusive, Equitable and Accessible Opportunities
- Trade, Entrepreneurship and Employment
- Information and Communication Technology and Innovation
- Sustainability: Environment, Climate Change and Blue Economies
- Health and COVID-19
|
1.30pm-2.45pm – Plenary Four: Co-creation and Strategic Partnership
This session will include a keynote address, sharing of stories of impact, and a panel of experts, change makers and influencers who will provide tips and insights to identifying and forming strategic partnerships required to take projects and ideas forward.
Watch recording
|
2.45pm-4pm – Youth Action Lab Three
- Governance and the Rule of Law: Youth Involvement in Decision-Making
- Youth and Human Capital: Inclusive, Equitable and Accessible Opportunities
- Trade, Entrepreneurship and Employment
- Information and Communication Technology and Innovation
- Sustainability: Environment, Climate Change and Blue Economies
- Health and COVID-19
|
4pm-5pm – Plenary Five: The Economic Imperative: Skills Development for 21st Century Jobs
This session will include a keynote address, sharing of stories of impact, and a panel of experts, change makers and influencers who will discuss in-demand skills, jobs and predicting needs of the future to future-proof young people and future generations.
Watch recording
|
5.15pm-6pm – Fire side chat
An interaction between youth experts of inspirational experiences.
Watch recording
|
6pm-9pm – City Immersion into Kigali
|
Tuesday 21 June
Read a summary
Watch highlights video
9am-12.30pm – Commonwealth Youth Council General Assembly and Capacity Building Sessions
|
1.30pm-2.30pm – Closing Ceremony, Commonwealth Youth Council Installation and Action Plan Presentation
Watch recording
|
2.30pm-5pm – Commonwealth StartUp Festival! A Celebration of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
The Startup Festival is a celebration of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the amazing contributions of Commonwealth Youth to addressing some of the world's greatest challenges brought to life through a collaboration of various ecosystem partners.
|
Media contact
- Amy Coles Communications Officer, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat
- E-mail
The Commonwealth Women's Forum (CWF 2022), was held in parallel with the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), in Kigali, Rwanda between 20-21 June 2022.
Delegates at the Commonwealth Women's Forum discussed solutions to address pressing challenges affecting women and girls across the Commonwealth and to ensure member countries have robust policies and programmes to meet gender equality targets by 2030.
Proposed solutions from the two-day forum at CHOGM will inform Commonwealth leaders’ discussions and decisions on ending gender inequality – ultimately involving women at the highest level of policymaking to address challenges directly affecting them.
Download the 2022 Commonwealth Women's Forum Outcome Document
Learn more about our Gender work
Download the Commonwealth Women's Forum 2018 Report
Press releases
Links for livestreams and recordings are available below.
Monday 20 June
Watch highlights video
Read a summary
9am - 10.30am: Opening Session
The Commonwealth Women’s Forum will officially begin with a plenary reflecting on gender equality, Welcome Remarks, a young speaker highlighting opportunities in the Commonwealth, and Opening Remarks from a Guest of Honour.
Watch recording
|
11am - 12.30pm: Women in Leadership: Beyond Numbers
What is meaningful leadership, and what does it look like? In considering this question, pioneers who have advanced gender equality across the Commonwealth are invited to show not only that they have achieved high levels of women’s representation in decision making, but that this increased representation has led to real and lasting change for the betterment of society.
Watch recording
|
1.30pm - 3pm: Women’s Economic Empowerment: Breaking Barriers
This session considers the challenges affecting women’s economic empowerment, and opportunities for their full and equal participation in economic life. It examines the hurdles women face in trade and entrepreneurship and will devise key entry points that might to clear the way for greater and sustainable economic empowerment.
Watch recording
|
3.30pm - 5.30pm: Parallel sessions
-
Engaging Men and Boys: Ending Violence Against Women and Girls
The session looks at programmes dedicated to engaging men and boys as agents of positive change and examines the critical role data plays in understanding violence against women and girls (VAWG) and its wider impacts. It will provide a platform to present the Secretariat’s project on the Economic Cost of VAWG (EconVAWG) which utilises a new framework that determines the economic cost of VAWG for various sectors in the economy and the state.
-
Intergenerational Celebration
This session will highlight the recognition and celebration of the contributions and diversity of women and girls of all ages, including older women. The session will explore the multiple and intersecting forms of inequalities and discrimination that can be exacerbated in later life and how best to overcome these challenges. Speakers from across the Commonwealth with a background in aged care and civil society organisations will discuss the responsibility for recognising the role that women of all ages can play in community development.
Watch recording
|
Tuesday 21 June
Watch highlights video
Read a summary
9am - 11am: Gender and Climate Change: Interactions and Opportunities for Progress
This session will be a platform to highlight the role and contribution of women in ensuring successful climate change resilience. It is necessary to include and promote women as vital change-makers and ensure their seat at the policy and decision-making table. With several Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and other vulnerable territories - including cities, home to large informal communities - in the Commonwealth already feeling the harsh effects of climate change and other disaster risks, all sectors of society must be united in protecting the diverse communities of the Commonwealth family.
|
11.30am - 1.30pm: Parallel sessions – Addressing the barriers to gender equality and Women Empowerment
-
Accountability for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment
This session examines the progress that Commonwealth member countries have made in establishing domestic accountability mechanisms pertaining to gender equality and women empowerment. It will consider how governments have participated in existing international accountability mechanisms such as the Universal Periodic Review, highlight innovative Commonwealth best practice in promoting government accountability including with respect to the need to address gender-disaggregated data gaps, and providing concrete recommendations for the development of accountability mechanisms for gender equality.
-
Human Capital Development: Building Girls Leaders of Tomorrow
By exploring the global challenge brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, this session will highlight how digital technologies continue to impact human capital development. Speakers from diverse sectors will discuss the positive and negative lessons learnt across the Commonwealth from the impact of COVID-19 on the ability of women to work, progress in their careers, access education, use coping mechanisms, and address the skills necessary for women to be well positioned in an increasingly digital economy.
|
2.30pm - 4pm: Parallel sessions
-
Peace in the Commonwealth: Women’s Engagement in Peace and Security
This session will be a platform to explore the question of what can be done to enable more meaningful women’s participation in peace and security and how the aspirations of UNSCR 1325 can be more fully realised across the Commonwealth and the world, with an emphasis on transformative conditions that can enable women’s meaningful participation. With speakers drawn from the sectors of peace mediation, military and security institutions and peace programming, this session will provide a forum to explore what practical measures can be taken to enable greater and more meaningful participation of women in peace and security.
-
Conquering Cervical Cancer in the Commonwealth: Realities, Challenges and Opportunities
Speakers from both medical and civil society backgrounds will discuss the importance of prioritising cervical cancer elimination and the challenges the Commonwealth faces with cervical cancer. The Commonwealth accounts for approximately 40% of global cervical cancer incidence and 43% of cervical cancer mortality. The outcome of this discussion will form part of important pre-CHOGM policy recommendations and will build up on the Heads of Government commitments in addressing the rising burden of non-communicable diseases.
Watch recording
|
4.30pm - 5.30pm: Outcomes of Commonwealth Women’s Forum and Closing Remarks
|
Media contact
- Jennifer Woodside Head of Media Relations Media and Public Affairs, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat
- M. +44 7894 593508 | E-mail
- 21-22 June, 2022
- M Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda
The People’s Forum is the single largest opportunity for people to engage with Commonwealth leaders on global development issues.
The Commonwealth Foundation organises the People's Forum. For more information including a full schedule visit the Foundation's website