Latest content: Youth

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.

As governments across the Commonwealth grapple with the growing impact of mental health challenges on young people, the Commonwealth Secretary-General sat down with a group of youth advocates and practitioners for a candid dialogue during World Suicide Prevention Week.

Four years ago, Ugandan engineer Shifra Ainomugisha, now 28, turned the rotten tomatoes of her childhood into a climate-smart business. This year she received the Commonwealth’s top youth honour.

In a virtual dialogue on 2026 International Youth Day, young leaders from five Commonwealth regions said resilient institutions should move beyond simply listening to young people and give them genuine influence over the decisions that shape their lives.

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.

More than 40 young leaders from across the Commonwealth gathered in London for a special edition of the Commonwealth Leadership Series last week to explore what leadership should look like in a rapidly changing world.

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 has been announced as the 2026 Commonwealth Young Person of the Year at the 2026 Commonwealth Youth Awards ceremony in London on 25 June.

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.

Twenty-three young people have been selected to serve on an international taskforce that will lead the planning and delivery of the 2026 Commonwealth Youth Forum (CYF) at the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda.

Sixty per cent of the Commonwealth’s 2.7 billion people are younger than 30 years old. Meaningful access to development and policy processes is a critical way to ensure that young people’s unique perspectives and ideas are heard and included in decision-making, and negotiation skills is a core building block.

Four-time Olympic gold medallist joins Commonwealth Ministers of Health, WHO, Nike, ASICS and United for Global Mental Health in Geneva to make the evidence-based case for sport and physical activity as a key focus of youth mental health policy.

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.

Twenty outstanding young people from the five regions across the Commonwealth have been shortlisted as finalists for the 2026 Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work.

As the curtain closed on the 5th Global Youth Work Conference (GYWC2025) in Kuala Lumpur, the sense of possibility remained in the air—resonating through the lively conversations of delegates as they packed away their notes and said their goodbyes.

The 10th Commonwealth Youth Ministerial Task Force Meeting brought together senior officials from youth ministries on 16 November, ahead of the 5th Global Youth Work Conference 2025