Latest content: Society and young people

Spouses and partners of Commonwealth leaders are joining forces in a new initiative, aimed at accelerating action on some of the most pressing social issues facing young people, women and other vulnerable groups across the Commonwealth’s 56 member countries.

For Antiguan artist and communications professional Chaneil Imhoff, creativity has always been more than a passion. It has been a way to connect with her culture, advocate for others and inspire change.

Two Commonwealth Young Persons of the Year are harnessing solar technology to tackle environmental and economic challenges. In Nigeria, Stanley Anigbogu turns discarded plastic into lighting for displaced families. In Uganda, Shifra Ainomugisha uses solar-powered cold storage, irrigation and artificial intelligence to help smallholder farmers reduce food losses. Their stories show how youth-led ideas, connected to Commonwealth networks, can grow into pathways to resilience and prosperity.

Remarks by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Hon. Shirley Botchwey, at the Commonwealth Cricket Celebration on 9th September 2026.

The Commonwealth Youth Ministers Task Force has endorsed a new framework to guide the delivery of the Commonwealth Youth Programme over the next three years to advance youth development across member countries.

Blog by Dr Laila Shahzad and Mxolisi Sibanda, Climate Change Section at the Commonwealth Secretariat 

The 12th Commonwealth Sports Ministers Meeting (CSMM) will take place in Glasgow, Scotland, on 22 July 2026, in the margins of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Opening remarks by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Hon Shirley Botchwey, at the 2026 Commonwealth Youth Awards ceremony at Marlborough House on 25 June 2026.

Shifra Ainomugisha from Uganda is the 2026 Commonwealth Young Person of the Year for her climate-smart, AI-driven projects reducing food loss and hunger.

Twenty young people are in the running for the 2026 Commonwealth Youth Awards in recognition of their efforts to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in their communities.

When a doctor told 19-year-old Sidney in 2004 that he had cancer, he says time seemed to freeze. Sitting in a hospital room in Nairobi, Kenya, Sidney was blindsided by despair and struggled to process the diagnosis.

As the world gears up for global sporting events, the Commonwealth Secretariat convened an annual debate today to examine how sport can bring communities together and promote greater equality across countries.

A new report by the Commonwealth Secretariat warns that rising public debt and tighter budgets are forcing governments to prioritise loan repayments over investment in young people, limiting opportunities for the Commonwealth’s 1.5 billion young people.

The following statement was issued today by the Commonwealth Secretariat on the postponement of the 2026 Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work Ceremony in London.

In the heart of Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, where the sprawling Durumi Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp is home to thousands of people forced from their communities by conflict and chaos, a powerful new light known as the Lighthouse for Peace has dawned.

At the centre of this initiative is Stanley Anigbogu, a 26-year-old Nigerian energy innovator, who saw the IDP camp’s tangled walkways and makeshift shelters not just as hardship, but as an opportunity to foster hope and practical resilience through energy access.