The largest-ever public consultation on the future of the Commonwealth concludes with a call for bold reform and greater investment if the 54-member association is to avoid being marginalised in an increasingly crowded marketplace. ‘An Uncommon Association, A Wealth of Potential’, the final report of the Commonwealth Conversation, is published today to coincide with annual Commonwealth Day celebrations around the world. Click here to download a summary of the final recommendations or the full report.

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After eight months of consultation, today, on Commonwealth Day, we draw the Commonwealth Conversation to a close with the publication of our final report, ‘An Uncommon Association, A Wealth of Potential’, which sets out ten key recommendations. We hope that you will find these to be a fair representation of all that you have told us over the last few months. We are enormously grateful for all of your contributions – this has been such a fun project because your posts have been so interesting, not to mention provocative!

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As the Commonwealth Conversation comes to a close we are delighted to announce the winners of the My Commonwealth and Commonwealth Chat competitions.

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On Thursday 26th November, the Royal Commonwealth Society facilitated a BBC World Debate in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. On the theme, ‘The Commonwealth at 60 – Does it Have a Future?

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Over 25,000 students have benefitted from the chance to study in other Commonwealth countries around the world through Commonwealth scholarships. Are you one of them? What has it meant for you?

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President Nasheed of the Maldives thinks the Commonwealth should be procatively encouraging democracy and redefining international relations in respect to climate change.

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Seven opinion polls around the Commonwealth kick off the Conversation. Before we started a big conversation about the future of the Commonwealth, we at the RCS thought we’d first find out what people know and think about it. And wanting to be thorough, we commissioned nationally representative surveys in seven countries: Australia, Canada, Great Britain, [...]

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In interviews with the Royal Commonwealth Society two former Commonwealth leaders say that we need to re-engage with Zimbabwe.

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Savage, a co-founder of the New Zealand Republican Movement has written the following contribution to the Commonwealth Conversation:

There is a belief perpetuated in Britain and other Commonwealth countries that the British Empire was of benefit to the world. The greed and racism are forgotten. The invasions, wars, political oppression and genocide are downplayed. The poverty and inequality it created are conveniently ignored.

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In an interview with Commonwealth Radio, the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Stephenson King, described how Commonwealth membership is important to small states.

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On Friday October 16, the Commonwealth Conversation visited One Tree Hill College, Auckland, where 40 students produced a video to be presented to Prime Minister John Key on the future of the Commonwealth.

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Muttiah ‘Murali’ Muralitharan is the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket history and Sri Lanka’s greatest player of all time. He is also a dedicated humanitarian and philanthropist, serving as a trustee of the Foundation of Goodness, which seeks to help Sri Lanka’s rural poor. In this exclusive interview for the Commonwealth Conversation, he talks about the power of sport to unite people and what the Commonwealth do to help Sri Lanka build a better future.

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After an intense few weeks, we are delighted to publish the emerging findings of the Commonwealth Conversation. In it we say that the Commonwealth must be bold to halt its declining profile, and to do this must focus on three Ps: Principles, Priorities and People. You can download the report, Common What? here, and see the full press release below.

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This short film features young people from Commonwealth countries urging their leaders to take action on climate change

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In a closing statement from the Port of Spain Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) yesterday, Commonwealth leaders recognised the work carried out by the Royal Commonwealth Society in the Commonwealth Conversation and called for the creation of an Eminent Persons’ Group to look at options for reform.

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Although the Commonwealth Conversation came to an official end in March 2010, the work of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) set up to explore options for Commonwealth reform is just beginning in earnest…

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The Commonwealth is host of nations who claim good government, justice, and human rights as essential in the context of international relationships. As technology provides the means of easy international mobility like never before, who we are as global citizens, or at least, citizens of the commonwealth, needs to be considered with personal awareness along side of national claims and the place where we are in the world among all peoples.

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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.

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As Commonwealth Election Observers prepare their final report on the Presidential Election held in Sri Lanka on 26th January 2010 there is a growing interest in what they will say, and what it will mean for the Commonwealth.

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Lord David Howell, Deputy Conservative Leader in the House of Lords, stresses how everyone seems to be noticing the Commonwealth except in the UK. His article gives some ‘Royal Foreign Policy Advice’.

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At the end of their meeting in Trinidad and Tobago in November 2009, Commonwealth leaders called for the establishment of an ‘Eminent Person’s Group’ to undertake an examination of options for reform. But who should be in it?

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