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I cannot pretend to know or fully understand how it feels to be a young person in 2021.
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Opinion: Empowering young people for our new normal
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The Commonwealth Secretariat will unveil its flagship report on global youth development on 10 August 2021. This is the third edition of the Global Youth Development Index, which measures the state of health and wellbeing, education, employment, equality and inclusion, political participation, and security for more than 1.8 billion young people around the world.
Today, Commonwealth Secretary-General Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC announced the ‘Christof Heyns Memorial Commonwealth Prize’ during the 13th Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition.
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The Commonwealth announces new prize at Nelson Mandela World Human Rights Moot Court Competition
In the early months of 2020, governments across the globe stood at their podiums to tell their populations that a new and dangerous communicable disease was forcing them to shut their borders and lockdown their communities.
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Blog: Rebuilding early childhood education systems post pandemic
Youth workers used the words “challenging”, “resilient” and “hopeful” to describe the future of their work after COVID-19 at a Virtual Commonwealth Café.
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Youth workers imagine ‘hopeful’ future after COVID-19 at Commonwealth café
The Commonwealth's work to prevent and counter violent extremism in Africa has been bolstered by a pioneering online initiative.
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Ghana workshop raises benchmark for preventing and countering violent extremism
10 June 2021 to 10 June 2021
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The Commonwealth Secretariat is hosting a webinar in partnership with Microsoft about the skills that young people need to be competitive as employees, entrepreneurs and digital citizens. Over 60 percent of the Commonwealth's 2.4 billion citizens are aged 29 or under. This webinar will offer an opportunity for young people from across the Commonwealth to talk about their digital skills needs and challenges with industry experts.
Youth ministers met on 9 April to agree priorities for young people at the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Rwanda.
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Commonwealth ministers back strong youth agenda for Heads of Government meeting
Forty young leaders have been announced as candidates who will stand in the election to join the Commonwealth Youth Council as executive members.
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40 candidates announced for Commonwealth Youth Council 2021 election
28 May 2021 to 28 May 2021
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Together with the University of Cambridge, the Commonwealth Secretariat is hosting a virtual Policy Boot Camp for young people, to support government investment in youth development across Small State countries.
Registrations are now open for the second round of an online course, designed to harness sport for sustainable development.
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Free course on sport for sustainable development opens for the second round
Findings of a new snapshot research on the impact of the pandemic on education services in South Africa offer important lessons for governments and practitioners across the Commonwealth, says one of the study’s authors.
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South Africa report on COVID-19’s impact on education offers key lessons
The fifth Commonwealth debate on sport ended in a draw as the teams argued that technology, however useful, is not the solution in itself to rebuilding the sport sector after the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Investment in technology, however useful, is not the solution to sport recovery, say debaters
As part of a series of virtual events to celebrate International Women’s Day and Commonwealth Day last week, The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, was joined in conversation by Kate Gilmore, Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy of Harvard University.
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In Conversation: Secretary-General Patricia Scotland QC and Kate Gilmore share their journeys as women leaders
Five young people have been named regional winners for the Commonwealth Youth Awards for their exceptional work on promoting clean energy, good health, food security and quality education. The awards recognise the contributions of young people whose projects are transforming lives in their communities and helping achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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Young leaders from Bangladesh, Grenada, Samoa, Sierra Leone and UK win 2021 Commonwealth Youth Awards
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The winners of the annual Commonwealth Youth Awards will be announced on 10 March. The ceremony will take place during Commonwealth Week and will be held virtually for the first time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Twenty finalists from 18 countries are up for five regional awards. Of the five regional winners, one outstanding young person will become the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year 2021.
Twenty finalists from 18 countries are up for five regional awards. Of the five regional winners, one outstanding young person will become the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year 2021.
Nominations are open for young leaders to apply to stand for positions on the Commonwealth Youth Council, the body which represents the Commonwealth’s 1.4 billion young people.
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Nominations open for young people to join Commonwealth Youth Council
The 3rd Meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group on Model Indicators on Sport and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was held as a virtual forum on 2-3 December 2020. The meeting was delivered by the Commonwealth Secretariat, working with UNESCO and UNDESA as meeting hosts.
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3rd Open-Ended Working Group Meeting: Model Indicators on Sport and SDGs
To mark Human Rights Day, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland writes about the need for legislation and policies to ensure that wherever possible girls remain in school. Girls generally experience more barriers to education than their male counterparts, and this has been exacerbated yet further by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Opinion: Commonwealth Secretary-General says Covid-19 threatens girls’ access to education
From Fiango Kumba in the South West region of Cameroon to Mumius Kakamega county in Western Kenya, two different but interwoven stories emerge of young people committed to ensuring peace in their communities and beyond.
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Blog: How young people are leading the march towards peace and security
The Commonwealth advocates sport as a vehicle for development and peacebuilding. Given its popularity and unequivocal prominence in the rich tapestry of the Commonwealth’s heritage, sport has huge potential to drive social change – and accelerate gender equality – across member states.
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Blog: How sport can fight gender-based violence
2 December 2020 to 2 December 2020
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Youth activists as young as nine will join a momentous session on protecting the planet at a time when global climate talks are put on ice.
Today, many women and girls are trapped in cycles of abuse, struggling to find an escape route. This is a tragedy, not just for them personally, but for the whole of society.
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Blog: We need ‘one-stop’ crisis centres to rescue women trapped in cycles of abuse
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women is observed on 25 November every year. It launches 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence until Human Rights Day on 10 December.
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Commonwealth Secretary-General: Take a stand for no more violence against women and girls
Young people around the world are waking up to a growing list of new and harsh realities. Trapped in the shadow of a relentless pandemic, many are being robbed of the usual opportunities of youth and denied even the chance to socialise with friends and family.
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OPINION: Young people must play a role in political leadership and decision-making