"The serious business of working together for a global future that is progressive and prosperous, safer, more inclusive, and more equitable, is enlivened by the versatility and vigour of our collective networks at all levels."
Your Excellency, Sir Anand Satyanand, Dr Chandradasa, Honourable Ministers, distinguished guests, delegates and Commonwealth friends…
I thank our hosts, the Government and people of Sri Lanka, for the generosity and warmth of their welcome. I applaud all who have worked so hard to deliver this Forum and Opening Ceremony, and the participating delegates – many of whom have travelled thousands of miles to be here.
The remarkable range and matchless diversity of the Commonwealth is currently showcased here in Galle and here in Sri Lanka. The serious business of working together for a global future that is progressive and prosperous, safer, more inclusive, and more equitable, is enlivened by the versatility and vigour of our collective networks at all levels.
The Commonwealth is exceptional among international organisations for the way in which it both works and feels like a family. It is an enormous family, and one that continues to grow, its roots reaching deeper and its branches spreading wider.
The ability of our Commonwealth network to connect and collaborate at so many levels is the fruit of that organic growth, and the richness of our civil society organisations, professional communities, and other interest groups.
The Commonwealth People’s Forum, and your presence, together with the parallel forums for youth and business, gives tangible and compelling expression to that richness of connection, communication and cooperation. Indeed, the President and I have come today from the vitality of the Commonwealth Youth Forum in Hambantota.
Ladies and gentlemen, insights, awareness and new initiatives of enduring value flow from this physical coming-together, and from the sharing of diverse viewpoints from across the broad scope of the extended Commonwealth family that is represented here.
This representativeness and breadth of vision adds immensely to the value and depth of Commonwealth impact when we work together and address today’s concerns.
The People’s Commonwealth embodied in this hall is given due and rightful prominence in our new Charter, which opens with the words: ‘We, the People of the Commonwealth’.
The text of the Charter was developed through consultation with the public, with civil society, and with elected representatives from across the Commonwealth. It is now the defining document setting out the values and principles that guide the collaboration and mutual support of our people and nations.
As an expression of our global family in action, the People’s Forum brings the Charter’s words to life.
Your theme, ‘Equitable Growth and Inclusive Development: Beyond 2015’, reminds us that there is a crucial contribution to be made now and over the next few years. And when the People’s Forum next convenes we shall already have reached the target date for the Millennium Development Goals.
Clearly defined Commonwealth priorities – inspired and informed by our shared values – need to be carried forward into regional and international discussions so that there can be a distinctive Commonwealth contribution both to the shaping and to the implementation of the post-2015 global development framework.
Our compacting world, with its vast array of new methods for communicating and interacting in real time, offers transformative opportunities for the ways in which we work together to deliver change and progress.
In our Commonwealth context this means using information and communication technologies to work in strategic partnerships, with new models of connecting and collaborating to be responsive to our communities and citizens in all our member states.
Central to such innovation is an enhanced role for Commonwealth organisations working in partnership to uphold Commonwealth values and to advance development priorities and respect for diversity.
Our own online platform, ‘Commonwealth Connects’, is a practical vehicle that boosts the capacity of the Commonwealth family to work together, and opens up new horizons for productive collaboration. I am delighted it is being used by so many of you present here.
Whether on advocacy and consensus-building, research and analysis, capacity-building, practical assistance or a multitude of other ways, we are adopting new and more dynamic methods for mobilising the potential of the Commonwealth. This includes enabling partnerships so that needs in one member state or organisation can be matched with resources and expertise available elsewhere.
The sense of a special bond and affinity to which I have referred depends on the personal commitment of many thousands of individuals and teams, working innovatively and enthusiastically.
The wealth of goodwill, and the host of workers and volunteers worldwide, is represented by those gathered for the Commonwealth People’s Forum 2013 and by those present in this hall. The pulse of the Commonwealth beats strongly here.
I am confident sharing at this occasion will invigorate new contact, and the discussions and dialogue of coming days will inspire fresh cooperation, in the cause of realising a future our Commonwealth citizens want for themselves.
I wish you all the very best in that pursuit.
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