My Commonwealth
A 16 year old student, Quek Yihui, from NUS High School, Singapore, won the ‘My Commonwealth’ competition for under 25 year olds and a £200 prize.

The competition, which was judged by the current Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma and former Secretaries-General Sir Don McKinnon, Chief Emeka Anyaoku and Sir Sonny Ramphal, asked young people under the age of 25 to write or draw a response to the following:

The year is 2049. It’s the Commonwealth’s 100th birthday! Imagine that you are the Commonwealth Secretary General. What would your Commonwealth look like and do?

The competition received 250 entries from 24 countries around the world. The second prize was won by Asabi Rawlins, aged 16, from Trinidad and Tobago, and the third prize by Boodhoo Vijna Hiteshna, aged 17, from Mauritius.

ALL WINNING MY COMMONWEALTH ENTRIES CAN BE VIEWED HERE

Commonwealth Chat
During the Commonwealth Conversation, the Royal Commonwealth Society asked people all around the world to host a discussion, or a ‘Commonwealth Chat’, with their friends or colleagues about the future of the association.

We awarded prizes to the best reports from these chats, and are pleased to announce that Kareem Folajaiye, from Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria, won first prize and £200 for his report of a discussion with fellow students.

Cornelia Ndifon, from the International Training and Education Centre for Health, Otjozondjupa Region, Namibia, won the second prize, and Wajahat Nassar, from the University of Engineering and Technology, Pakistan, won third prize.

ALL WINNING COMMONWEALTH CHAT REPORTS CAN BE VIEWED HERE

Congratulations to them all! To find out about more competitions that the Royal Commonwealth Society is currently running, see www.thercs.org/youth/competitions.

Michael Palin, English comedian, star of Monty Python, and one of the world’s most travelled TV presenters, talks about his experience of the Commonwealth. He highlights the importance of Science and Technology (2010′s Commonwealth Day theme) and says the Commonwealth should advocate responsible tourism.

Dr. Muhammad Abdul Bari, Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, talks about what the Commonwealth means to him and how its values of diversity and tolerance are an immense assest.

Dr. Bari, you were born in Bangladesh, have lived in the United Kingdom for decades and, through your charity and community work, have links throughout the Commonwealth. So what does the Commonwealth exactly mean to you?

Well, ever since I grew up, I heard of the Commonwealth. When I was at university, many of my colleagues got Commonwealth Scholarships, so I know about the Scholarship area because I come from an educational background. I come from Bangladesh and, Bangladesh being a Commonwealth country, I have had a lot of interest in the Commonwealth, because it’s a massive organisation with fifty-three countries, with two billion people- one third of the world’s population- so it makes sense to me.

You are a patron of the Ramphal Centre, which is an organisation that promotes the discussion of policy issues concerning the Commonwealth and its member-states. Which key issues do you personally think the Commonwealth should be focusing on in the next few years?

I think young people are our future, every society, every nation’s future, and it’s the MCB’s duty to work with young people to bring them to the heart of British society. Commonwealth countries- many of them are having economic, social, political difficulties, so if we can focus on the young people and their future education and employment, so they can contribute to the well-being of society and they are able to run all those countries in a better way- I think that would be a wonderful thing.

We’ve seen recently international concern over alleged Islamic extremists emerging from Commonwealth countries including Nigeria, Pakistan and others. Do you think that Islamic extremism poses a serious threat to the member-states of the Commonwealth?

Well, I don’t want to use the two terms together; Islam is a religion, like the Abrahamic faiths and other important world faiths, and terrorism or extremism is not a monopoly of a religion or a community, it can happen with any community, any time, for different reasons. The fact that some Muslims have done terrible atrocities doesn’t mean that is the fault of Islam. So what we have to do is create a narrative where we work with all our communities without blaming anyone, and, if there are people who need to be isolated, let them isolate these people and leave the wider society as they are.

How do you think the core values of the Commonwealth- values that you personally have long sought to promote, values like inter-faith cooperation and the celebration of diversity- how can these Commonwealth values be used, do you think, to combat religious extremism?

I think Commonwealth countries have many people with many religious backgrounds, and this diversity is the strength of the Commonwealth. What we have to do, we probably have to go beyond tolerance of each other; if we can respect each other for each other’s values, and if we can work with each other for a common good, we can create a society that gives peace and harmony to everyone. So we have to respect each other’s values, we have to work with everyone irrespective of their diversity, and create an environment where everyone feels free to work with each other, and I think religions can really beget tools for that, because all religions, in their principles and message, speak more or less of the same ethos of shared values and interests for the whole of humanity.

H.M. The Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, highlighted the Commonwealth’s Relevance in its 60th Anniversary Year during her 2009 Christmas Broadcast.  Her speech also featured video interviews with delegates at the Commonwealth Youth Forum in Trinidad and Tobago.

It is sixty years since the Commonwealth was created and today, with more than a billion of its members under the age of 25, the organisation remains a strong and practical force for good. Recently I attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Trinidad and Tobago and heard how important the Commonwealth is to young people. New communication technologies allow them to reach out to the wider world and share their experiences and viewpoints. For many, the practical assistance and networks of the Commonwealth can give skills, lend advice and encourage enterprise.

It is inspiring to learn of some of the work being done by these young people, who bring creativity and innovation to the challenges they face. It is important to keep discussing issues that concern us all – there can be no more valuable role for our family of nations.

I have been closely associated with the Commonwealth through most of its existence. The personal and living bond I have enjoyed with leaders, and with people the world over, has always been more important in promoting our unity than symbolism alone. The Commonwealth is not an organisation with a mission. It is rather an opportunity for its people to work together to achieve practical solutions to problems.

In many aspects of our lives, whether in sport, the environment, business or culture, the Commonwealth connection remains vivid and enriching. It is, in lots of ways, the face of the future. And with continuing support and dedication, I am confident that this diverse Commonwealth of nations can strengthen the common bond that transcends politics, religion, race and economic circumstances.

The post is written by Sir Peter Marshall, a former Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.

I would be hard put to say precisely most attracts me about the Commonwealth. But if forced to make a choice, I think I would opt for its chemistry – the way in which people treat one another, a sublime blend of maturity, tolerance, respect, responsibility, commitment and warmth – a recognition of our mutual affinities as well as our common values and interests.

This mixture applies across the board in the governmental and the non-governmental spheres, and, not less important, is the easy and fruitful relations between the two. It extends from top to bottom, with the Head of the Commonwealth setting a shining example.

The way in which we do business is a reflection of this chemistry. In the Agreed Memorandum of 1964, establishing the Commonwealth Secretariat, Commonwealth Prime Ministers reiterated the conviction that “consultation is the life-blood of the Commonweath Association”. They realised at once that the Secretariat could do much to facilitate this. They also expressed their concern that “there should be opportunity for fuller participation by all the member countries in the normal processes of Commonwealth consultation”.

Forty years on, the priorities are the same. It is basically a question of listening and making sure that no-one feels left out. It is a good idea when chairing a meeting to invite contributions, before closing the discussion, from those who have not previously spoken. It helps inspire confidence, and can often yield surprising value added.

Democracy has been neatly, if starkly, described as a system of counting heads instead of breaking them. But “counting” is a many-faceted process, of which voting is by no means the only expression. What you want is agreement.

It is preferable if you can agree on what is to be said or done on the basis of discussion, without actually having to count heads in the literal sense. Indeed if there seems to be no prospect of agreement one has to ask one’s self whether the matter in question is worth pursuing, or whether there is not a better way of achieving the desired result.

In the consensus approach, every one in effect has a veto. But like other deterrents, the veto suffers if it is used.

Long live the Commonwealth!

This critique of ‘the Commonwealth family’ is written by a young African member of a Commonwealth civil society organisation.

The inter-governmental Commonwealth works in many of its member states and assists them in election observation, peace building and technical assistance. There are also so called Commonwealth ‘civil society’ organisations in almost every country.

Despite these connections and good works, there are still many people that do not know anything about the Commonwealth, suggesting that there is much room and need for the organisation and its work to be highlighted.

Because of the Commonwealth’s ‘under the radar’ approach, the burden of publicity falls on the “friends of the Commonwealth” organisations.

In many countries the Commonwealth is only heard of if they host the heads of government meeting. Perhaps Commonwealth civil society bodies are not getting enough support to raise the profile of the Commonwealth? Do they need proper guidance and a watchful eye in order to be relevant?

I question many times why I am a member of my African Commonwealth organisation. I wonder who determines what activities we can and cannot take part in and if what we do is the same as what is being done by other membership organisations in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Uganda, and Malta?

I ask myself why the leadership never changes and why Commonwealth bodies do not recruit able personnel to run these organisations or oversee their progress? Universal targets could be set in line with the current focus of the Secretariat. This focus is badly needed.

Commonwealth organisations around the world need to work together along with the Secretariat to ensure that any projects the organisation designs and implements are promoted throughout the association.

Country-based organisations should also be called upon by the media to comment on Commonwealth affairs in order to raise their own profile, as well as the association’s.

In every Commonwealth state there should be an effective representative organisation. They do not need to comment on behalf of the Secretariat but provide the link between local people, NGOs, politicians and the inter-governmental Commonwealth.

This would increase knowledge of the Commonwealth’s activities and educate the public about its valuable work. Promotion, profile and a co-ordinated approach are what the Commonwealth currently needs.

Their topic will be: “Does the Commonwealth Have a Future? The Commonwealth as seen through the 2009 conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in September 2009 in Tanzania.”
Date: 2009-11-18

“With the Commonwealth heads-of-government meeting in Port of Spain three weeks away, the debate continues about whether the Commonwealth has a future. At 60 years old, there are some who take the view that it is irrelevant – or, worse, drawing its last breath.

It is absolutely right that we should debate the Commonwealth’s future. But as someone who has spent my political life working to promote democratic freedoms, human rights and poverty eradication, I know where I stand: I believe the association will not only survive but has to thrive for the next 60 years and beyond.”

To you agree with her? Is she being over optimistic? Read her full article here: 

As part of the Commonwealth Conversation, Dame Kelly Holmes, President of Commonwealth Games England, talked to the RCS about what the Commonwealth means to her.

Transcript:

What does the Commonwealth mean to you?

The Commonwealth is something that has been part of my journey as an athlete for very many years. We have some very significant things, like the Commonwealth Games, that we participate in, where seventy-one nations come together. And its always been known as the ‘friendly games’; people from different backgrounds, cultures, all uniting for the same purpose, that is to use sport as something that gives you passion, achievement and success.

We asked thousands of people around the world what they thought about the Commonwealth, and the thing that they said most was that they knew the Commonwealth Games. Why do you think that is the part of the Commonwealth that sticks most in people’s hearts?

I think sometimes the Commonwealth isn’t known that much, to the younger generation; we don’t talk about the Commonwealth in a more positive light, we don’t really talk about the history of the Commonwealth, and I think that’s a shame. But, actually, the Commonwealth Games gives that identity, and if we’re trying to inspire young people, sport is a way of engaging young people. Watching something like the Commonwealth Games, they get an understanding of what it is that people from different nations and nationalities are coming together, and if that’s the positive message that we can get across, then the Commonwealth Games is a platform to talk about everything else in the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth heads of government are meeting in a couple of week’s time, in Trinidad, for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. If you could tell them to focus on one thing, what would it be?

I think the one thing I would really say to focus on, is that if you’re truly passionate about young people, you have to invest in them.

The word “Commonwealth” instantly conjures an image of a dusty, baking-hot classroom, last period on a Friday before the end of term, and a teacher in a beard, walking shorts and thick knee-length socks, pointing out a map which is still, essentially, a map of Empire, only now it has a different name. Thirty schoolchildren look on, none of them listening, all of them dying to get out and go for a swim and then hang around outside McDonald’s in the mall. The map is vast, and New Zealand, as ever, is right at the bottom of the world.

Being a member of the Commonwealth always seemed, to be honest, a bit like being in Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven, when the really big kids were in the Famous Five. There was some thing wussy about it – not simply the lack of American grunt, but a quality of innocence and inexperience based on still being tied to Mummy Britannia’s apron strings, being part of a disparate family who neither shared wealth nor had much in common other than former-colony status.