Latest content: Youth

Youth make up 60 per cent of the 2.4 billion citizens of the Commonwealth. But the potential of young people to drive social and economic progress is undermined by a lack of adequately trained youth workers to meet the growing demands of the youth sector.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland is travelling to Johannesburg, South Africa for a dialogue on youth employment. She will join policy makers from across the globe to explore solutions to worryingly high levels of youth unemployment in the Sub-Saharan region.

130 young people from across the Commonwealth gathered at Marlborough House last week to plant the seeds of a new era. Their challenge: to envisage how the Commonwealth could change for the better by 2040, and what young people from across the Commonwealth could contribute to help it happen.

The garden at Commonwealth headquarters was transformed into an innovation hub on 5 July as youth from across the globe shared their ideas for a better, brighter future with Prince Harry.

A future generation of leaders has been learning how to give more than one billion young people across the Commonwealth a greater say in how their countries are run.

Youth perspectives are key to finding solutions to most of the big challenges facing countries of the Commonwealth – and the Commonwealth collaboration and innovation can accelerate global progress towards a fairer, safer and more inclusive world.

Commonwealth Secretariat’s Head of Social Policy Layne Robinson reiterated the agreements on youth mainstreaming outlined in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Communiqué during the opening of the Youth Mainstreaming Strategy Consultation in Nairobi this June.

Young people must be at the heart of government plans for the future, the Commonwealth Secretariat has said at a UN meeting.

Karuna Rana is from Mauritius, an island state in the Indian Ocean. It is one of the Commonwealth’s small and vulnerable members. Ms Rana and other young people from those countries understand better than anyone else on earth, the threat of global warming.

Prime Minister Allen Chastanet and Secretary-General Patricia Scotland joined forces to inspire and support young people at the Caribbean Youth Conference in Saint Lucia this week.

Environmental concerns and climate change were uppermost on the minds of young delegates from 47 Commonwealth countries in London yesterday. It was the largest ever meeting of the General Assembly of the Commonwealth Youth Council.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle spent an hour meeting young people from across the Commonwealth on the final day of the Youth Forum in London today.

A range of outstanding young people aged 15-29 have been honoured with Commonwealth Youth Awards at the Youth Forum of the Commonwealth Summit.  The awards recognise young people whose innovative projects have had a significant impact on their communities.

“Together we can achieve so much more” Singapore’s Kishva Ambigapathy, Chair of the Commonwealth Youth Council, told attendees on the opening morning of a CHOGM forum.

When Prince Harry officially opened the Commonwealth Youth Forum this morning, it marked the start of his new role. Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth, has appointed him a Commonwealth Youth Ambassador. The newly-appointed Ambassador addressed a packed room of delegates and told attendees that he was excited to be part of the event.

Hundreds of women and men joined forces at the opening of the Women’s Forum this morning to demand action on women’s rights ahead of the Commonwealth’s leaders’ summit.  

The next generation of the Commonwealth will be centre stage during a major summit next week.

Trinidad and Tobago has hosted the second Faith in the Commonwealth Youth Training of Trainers workshop, uniting passionate young leaders across the Caribbean in the pursuit of building more cohesive communities.

The Commonwealth Roadshows are underway and have been taking place around the UK. These events, which have so far been held in London and Glasgow, run throughout 2018 and are an opportunity for young people to come together to engage in meaningful debate about the challenges and opportunities facing their Commonwealth.

During March and April, the Commonwealth kicks off a series of roadshows to support more young people into work. These are being produced in partnership with Elevation Networks, a youth employment charity which focuses on social action and community engagement initiatives.

A Commonwealth Correspondent has enacted real change in his home country of Uganda using, what he calls, “the power of the pen”.

A blog by Michelle Callander, Faith in the Commonwealth project manager

Youth leaders putting themselves forward to join the Commonwealth Youth Council leadership team have outlined the ways they want to see the Commonwealth become fairer, more sustainable, more secure and more prosperous in their manifestos.

An event which brings together the wide range of organisations that make up the Commonwealth takes place in London next month.

Campaigners, entrepreneurs, and innovative industry experts are just a few of the 20 talented young people who have been shortlisted for the 2018 Commonwealth Youth Awards.