CHOGM 2022: Daily Highlights – 21 June 2022

Today, marked the opening of the Commonwealth Business and People’s Forums. 

The Commonwealth Business Forum - the first and largest in-person gathering for governments and businesses across the Commonwealth since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic – brought together over 1,500 delegates from Commonwealth member states.

At the opening ceremony, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC, was joined by H.E. President Paul Kagame, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Hon. Philip Edward Davis, Lord Marland, Chair of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC), and other dignitaries. Delegates deliberated on key global issues and the role of the Commonwealth in leading “A Global Reset” as the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Commonwealth People’s Forum is being held under the theme, Delivering a Common Future: Our Health, Our Planet, Our Future. Day 1 of the Forum focused on: Building Resilient and Equitable National Health Systems; Climate Justice and Leadership for Change in the Commonwealth; and Health and Climate: Meeting the Immediate Challenge of Financing.

Meanwhile, following days of deliberations, the Commonwealth Youth Forum came to an end today with the presentation of a six-point action plan (The Youth Declaration) on youth development, which will form the topic of discussion when young leaders meet with heads of government during an intergenerational dialogue on Saturday. The Declaration was revealed at a ceremony marking the installation of the new Commonwealth Youth Council executives who will act as a recognised voice for the 1.2 billion under-30s living in the Commonwealth

The Commonwealth Women’s Forum also concluded today. During nine sessions spread over two days, we heard from a distinguished lineup of speakers who addressed the role of women and girls in all areas of our societies - from ending violence against women and girls to peace building and leadership to climate action and intergenerational solidarity. The outcomes of the Forum will be formalised and provided to Foreign Affairs Ministers ahead of the meeting of the Heads of Government at the end of this week.

WATCH TODAY’S RECORDINGS 

Commonwealth Business Forum  

• Opening Ceremony: Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming  

• Opening Plenary | A Global Reset: Leveraging the Commonwealth for a Global Recovery 

• Commonwealth Trade: Challenging Protectionisms and Reducing the Barriers to Business 

• The Business of Sustainable Fashion 

Commonwealth Women’s Forum 

• Gender and Climate Change: Interactions and Opportunities for Progress 

• Human Capital Development: Building Girls Leaders of Tomorrow 

• Conquering Cervical Cancer in the Commonwealth: Realities, Challenges and Opportunities 

• Outcomes of Commonwealth Women’s Forum and Closing Remarks 

Commonwealth Youth Forum 

• Closing Ceremony  

Commonwealth People’s Forum  

• Opening Ceremony 

Commonwealth Secretariat 

• CHOGM 2022 Playlist – a collection of video highlights and vox pops from CHOGM 2022  

READ TODAY’S PRESS RELEASES 

• Island nations urge Commonwealth leaders to bolster ocean climate action 

• Commonwealth Digital Trade Hackathon launches at final day of Youth Forum 

• A call to action to eliminate cervical cancer in the Commonwealth

• The 2022 Commonwealth Business Forum begins on a high note in Kigali

• Increased taxes for industrial polluters and more support for youth-led start-ups among recommendations for governments from youth

• Only by coming together as a Commonwealth family, can we achieve gender equality: the final day of the Commonwealth Women’s Forum

PHOTOS 

• Commonwealth Secretariat CHOGM 2022 Album 

MEDIA 

Visit our media hub for information about the media centre, pooling systems, and interview requests.  

UPCOMING FORUMS AND EVENTS 

• Kigali Summit on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). 

• Rwanda - Commonwealth Fashion Week - Collective Rwanda. All delegates are invited to attend, and an RSVP is not required. Contact Natasha Haguma, Collective Rwanda, at [email protected].  

• A full schedule of events is available here.  

SOCIAL MEDIA  

For the latest updates, please follow the Secretariat on social media using the hashtag #CHOGM2022:  

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

To support us on social media please use the posts and multimedia in our toolkit.

Media contact

For further information, the Commonwealth Secretariat's point of contact for all media activities related to CHOGM 2022 is:

• CHOGM Communications team, Commonwealth Secretariat
• + 44 7894 593508  |  E-mail