Commonwealth Secretariat
  1. The Commonwealth Home
  2. Key Declarations
    1. Harare Commonwealth Declaration, 1991
    2. The Millbrook Commonwealth Action Programme on the Harare Declaration, 1995
    3. Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles 1971
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    1. Membership of the Commonwealth: Report of the Committee on Commonwealth Membership
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  8. Symbol and Flag
  9. Civil Society
    1. Core Information 1 to 3
    2. Core Information 4 to 7
    3. Core Information 8
    4. Core Information 9 and 10
  10. Commonwealth Family
    1. Association of Commonwealth Amnesty International Sections (ACAIS)
    2. Association of Commonwealth Archivists and Records Managers (ACARM)
    3. Association of Commonwealth Examination and Accreditation Bodies (ACEAB)
    4. Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies (ACLALS)
    5. Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU)
    6. British Empire and Commonwealth Museum
    7. Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA)
    8. Commonwealth Association of Indigenous Peoples (CAIP)
    9. Commonwealth Association for Mental Handicap and Developmental Disabilities (CAMHADD)
    10. Commonwealth Association of Museums
    11. Commonwealth Association for Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition (CAPGAN)
    12. Commonwealth Association of Planners (CAP)
    13. Commonwealth Association of Professional Centres
    14. Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM)
    15. Commonwealth Association of Public Sector Lawyers
    16. Commonwealth Association of Science, Technology and Mathematics Educators (CASTME)
    17. Commonwealth Association of Surveying and Land Economy (CASLE)
    18. Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA)
    19. Commonwealth Broadcasting Association (CBA)
    20. Commonwealth Business Council (CBC)
    21. Commonwealth Centre for Electronic Governance (CCEG)
    22. Commonwealth Consortium for Education (CCfE)
    23. Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management (CCEAM)
    24. Commonwealth Countries’ League (CCL)
    25. Commonwealth Countries’ League Education Fund
    26. Commonwealth Dental Association (CDA)
    27. Commonwealth Engineers Council (CEC)
    28. Commonwealth Education Trust
    29. Commonwealth Forestry Association (CFA)
    30. Commonwealth Foundation
    31. Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF)
    32. Commonwealth Geographical Bureau (CGB)
    33. Commonwealth Group of Family Planning Associations
    34. Commonwealth Hansard Editors Association
    35. Commonwealth Historians Society
    36. Commonwealth Human Ecology Council (CHEC)
    37. Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)
    38. The Commonwealth Jewish Council and Trust
    39. The Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA)
    40. Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute (CJEI)
    41. Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA)
    42. Commonwealth of Learning (COL)
    43. Commonwealth Legal Advisory Service (CLAS)
    44. Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA)
    45. Commonwealth Library Association (COMLA)
    46. Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF)
    47. Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges’ Association (CMJA)
    48. Commonwealth Medical Association (CMA)
    49. Commonwealth Medical Trust (Commat)
    50. Commonwealth Network of Information Technology for Development (COMNET-IT)
    51. Commonwealth Nurses Federation
    52. Commonwealth Organisation for Social Work (COSW)
    53. Representative to Commonwealth Institutions (UK)
    54. The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA)
    55. Commonwealth Partnership for Technology Management (CPTM)
    56. Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Association (CPA)
    57. Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit (CPSU)
    58. Commonwealth Press Union (CPU)
    59. Commonwealth Relations Trust
    60. Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP)
    61. The Commonwealth Society for the Deaf – Sound Seekers
    62. Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO)
    63. Commonwealth Tourism Centre (CTC)
    64. Commonwealth Universities Study Abroad Consortium (CUSAC)
    65. Commonwealth Veterinary Association (CVA)
    66. Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)
    67. Commonwealth Women’s Network (CWN)
    68. Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council (CYEC)
    69. Conference of Commonwealth Meteorologists (CCM)
    70. The Council of Commonwealth Societies (CCS)
    71. Council for Education in the Commonwealth (CEC)
    72. The English-Speaking Union of the Commonwealth (ESU)
    73. Institute of Commonwealth Studies (ICS)
    74. League for the Exchange of Commonwealth Teachers (LECT)
    75. Organisation of Commonwealth United Nations Associations (OCUNA)
    76. The Round Table: Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs (CJIA)
    77. Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth (RASC)
    78. Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League (RCEL)
    79. The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS)
    80. Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL)
    81. Sight Savers International (The Royal Commonwealth Society for the Blind) (RCSB)
    82. Soroptimist International Commonwealth Group (SICG)
    83. Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship (VLCF)
  11. FAQs
  12. Commonwealth Tour

Core Information 1 to 3

1. THE COMMONWEALTH'S COMMITMENT TO CIVIL SOCIETY

Governments cannot develop nations by themselves. And the Commonwealth cannot make an impact unless the many organisations in our societies work together to improve the quality of life of citizens. The Commonwealth Secretariat welcomes, encourages and values participation in all its programme areas by effective civil society organisations with relevant expertise and experience. This can vary from participating in ministerial meetings or election monitoring, to contributing to activities on fair trade agreements or increasing women's representation in parliament.

2. HOW Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) CAN GET INVOLVED IN THE WORK OF THE COMMONWEALTH SECRETARIAT  

Your government is the first port of call for information about the activities of the Commonwealth Secretariat in your country. There is a Commonwealth Contact Point for each country, usually in the Ministry of Planning. There is also a Commonwealth Contact Point in the relevant ministry of each of the key areas in which the Commonwealth Secretariat works. If you have difficulty identifying the contact point in your country or ministry, please contact the relevant division of the Commonwealth Secretariat for this information.

The four year Strategic Plan and two year Operational Plans of the Commonwealth Secretariat are available at the bottom of the 'What we do' section of the Secretariat's web site. In addition, information is available from individual divisions. If you wish to be involved in an area of work identified by the Plans, contact your government or write or email the relevant division for further information setting out the areas in which your organisation works and how these relate to the programme in which you wish to be involved.

3. MINISTERIAL MEETINGS  

The Commonwealth Secretariat organises ministerial level meetings of : education ministers, finance ministers, foreign ministers, health ministers, law ministers, tourism ministers, women's affairs ministers and youth ministers. Each meeting involves civil society in a different way. This can include any or all of: full consultation in the lead up to the meeting, receipt of papers, submission of CSO briefs and papers, participation as observers in plenary sessions and as full participants in working sessions and roundtables. For detailed information and dates of ministerial meetings, check the events section of the web site or contact the relevant division responsible for each meeting. Background papers and the agenda for many meetings are posted on the web site four weeks before the meeting.

The Commonwealth Foundation often organises parallel activities and consultations for CSOs in the lead up to a ministerial meeting.