Commonwealth Secretary-General’s remarks at the 8th Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting Opening Ceremony

Prime Minister, Ministers, Excellencies, Youth Participants, Distinguished Guests..

The Commonwealth is one of the most richly diverse and youthful organisations in the world. We represent all corners of this planet, and over half of our two billion citizens are under 30 years of age.

I cannot imagine a more appropriate venue for a meeting of this association than in one of our most richly diverse - indeed one of the world’s most diverse - and youthful member countries. It is particularly appropriate, with our priority concerns of democracy, development, and respect for diversity that we should convene here in Papua New Guinea, which is achieving remarkable progress and transformation.

On behalf of the Commonwealth family therefore - those gathered here and the many millions of citizens, particularly the youth, who will benefit from progress we make at this meeting - may I express our enormous gratitude to the Prime Minister and the government and to the people of Papua New Guinea for generously hosting this important Commonwealth event, and for such a warm welcome and hospitality.

Thank you, also, to all of you who have travelled to be here, some having come long distances. The Commonwealth has no fixed centre and no periphery. This week, the heart of the Commonwealth will beat loudest and strongest in this city and this country because of this gathering and your presence.

As we mark the 40th anniversary of the visionary Commonwealth Youth Programme, we also recall the aspiration and pioneering work carried forward since 1973, particularly through the regional youth centres for Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific. The CYP is the oldest youth programme of any international organisation, and we can take justifiable satisfaction from the Commonwealth’s long record of attaching high importance to youth affairs, to the professionalisation of youth work, and to the inclusion of young people in national and community life.

We are here to carry forward that work, to deepen its impact: to renew our efforts for the rising generations of youth in a world with its headlong pace of change, bringing new challenges and complexities, but also new vistas and opportunities.

It is a world in which our global networks continue to shrink and become ever more closely interconnected. We keep abreast of our rapidly transforming environment by adopting new means for expressing the power of the Commonwealth to convene - its unique diverse potential to create links, knowledge-sharing and partnerships. Commonwealth Connects is our new cloud-based online platform.

It provides secure workspaces for professional collaboration and for communities of interest that build on connections made at gatherings such as this. It uses the capabilities offered by advances in Information Communications Technology in order to sustain the momentum of co-operation and to overcome episodic or fragmented engagement.

The strength of the Commonwealth lies in its networks as also in this diversity being brought together for common cause within our networks. The Commonwealth Youth Council to be inaugurated this week is a new network and a significant development that will strengthen and knit us more tightly together in serving both our young people and the larger society. As an independent youth-led body, it will provide a fresh and authentic way for the voice of young people to be heard within the Commonwealth. It will support sustained and collective participation in Commonwealth affairs.

It is a truism that the Commonwealth of the future belongs to our young people. Our task is to plan and to realise how we can work with them, and for them, in order to help build and shape the future they want and need. This is what is meant by youth empowerment - creating the means and the ability whereby young people can participate effectively and make the difference they want.

If we are to work and build together we need tools, and here there is some good news. I have already mentioned the potential of the Commonwealth Connects web-based platform. We also now have the Commonwealth Youth Development Index. This is a useful and defining new instrument that responds to the endorsement our Heads of Government gave to create a ‘comprehensive and replenished resource bank on youth affairs, consisting of data, best practices and thinking in this field, as a reference tool for the development of ambitious and coherent national policies by member states’.

The Index is the first attempt to aggregate global youth-specific data, and sets a baseline from which to measure progress on youth development in member states. It also serves as a framework within which youth empowerment can be assessed and advanced, and as a compass for the creation of innovative and effective initiatives for young people.

An inspiring new affirmation is the Charter of the Commonwealth, signed last month on Commonwealth Day by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth and Queen of Papua New Guinea. The Charter reflects the commitment of our Heads of Government to lift the profile and deepen the impact of the Commonwealth. It is of the people and for the people. In framing it, consultation took place throughout the Commonwealth, among the public, civil society and elected representatives. The opening words of the Charter are: ‘We the people of the Commonwealth’.

The values and principles in this Charter are distilled wisdom and understanding born of the thought, labours, and struggles of this and previous generations. Men and women, young and old, people in every walk of life from all member states continue to help us grow in understanding.

Let me read to you Article 13 of the Charter which is headed: ‘Importance of Young People in the Commonwealth’. It declares:

We recognise the positive and active role and contributions of young people in promoting development, peace, democracy and in protecting and promoting other Commonwealth values, such as tolerance and understanding, including respect for other cultures. The future success of the Commonwealth rests with the continued commitment and contributions of young people in promoting and sustaining the Commonwealth and its values and principles, and we commit to investing in and promoting their development, particularly through the creation of opportunities for youth employment and entrepreneurship.

This makes clear the central place accorded in our Commonwealth approach to the contribution that young people can - and indeed must - make as nation builders. The young are at the heart of advancing our priorities of democracy, development and respect for diversity, through democratic leadership, social transformation and full integration in the country’s economic life.

To conclude, let us borrow for the duration of this conference, Papua New Guinea’s national motto, ‘Unity in Diversity’ - which is so well-suited for the Commonwealth. Let us combine it with our Commonwealth theme for 2013, ‘Opportunity through Enterprise’. Unity, diversity, opportunity and enterprise make a powerful blend. By mobilising our collective intent and common purpose, this meeting can provide an impetus, releasing new energy and ideas so that the Commonwealth continues to be a potent force for the empowerment and future of our youth.

I had the pleasure yesterday to address the Youth Leaders Forum. They are the sunrise leaders of the Commonwealth. We need to show them solidarity, support and to strengthen their hands in which our future lies.

Prime Minister O’Neill and Minister Toni, we all very much look forward with confidence to the meeting ahead and the progress to be realised under your leadership. And meanwhile, in the language which unites this country, the Commonwealth extends to you a, “bikpela tenkyu tru”.