Our Challenges

There have been rapid and dramatic changes in societies and in their constituent communities in recent years, which have profound and difficult consequences for many Commonwealth countries. The international community has responded with renewed commitments to addressing the principles and to meet targets for effective development set out in the Millennium Development Goals. Private foundations such as Open Society Institute and Soros Foundations Network (SOROS) are playing a key role and the commitment to the goals of Education for All has intensified, particularly through donor partnerships like the Fast Track Initiative in Education.

With all of these efforts there is a need for harmonisation and greater efficiency in how projects are delivered. The focus on development in Africa, which is lagging, also needs to be given high priority. Gender remains a challenging area, particularly in the area of the development and implementation of effective strategies to address women’s access and opportunities in health, education and economics. Youth empowerment and development is now a clear niche for the Commonwealth not only in terms of its social inclusion policy but also in terms of young people’s role as positive change agents and nation building.

We meet these challenges through four key areas of our work:

• Education,

• Gender,

• Health, and

• Youth.