The Commonwealth Partnership Platform Portal (CP3) – a new dimension to reaching out to young people

The CP3 is intended to provide an effective and informative communication and interactive tool through which Commonwealth members can access, from a single window, the wealth of knowledge in the Commonwealth family. The CP3   can also be used as a tool whereby Commonwealth members can practice freedom of expression, democratic values, good governance and sustainable development, gain greater knowledge and understanding of cultural diversity, increase outreach to youth, women and other population groups and better communicate and cooperate among member countries.

1 October 2009, the Commonwealth Youth Programme Regional Centre for Africa (CYP RCA) held the CP3 consultative meeting for Zambia. The aim of the consultative meeting was to obtain functional requirements and ensure that stakeholder needs are incorporated into the design of the portal.

High Commissioners accredited to Zambia and representatives were in attendance. These included South Africa, India, Malawi, Kenya, Namibia and Ghana. Ministry officials from the Zambian Ministry of Youth, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Community, Development and Social Services were also in attendance.  

The delegates lauded the direction of the Commonwealth Secretariat adding that it is important for such a project of that nature to be implemented, particularly in today’s informational communication technology age because Internet has been the solution to bring people together.

The Commonwealth Secretariat hopes that the Portal will provide the following benefits:

• Access to jobs via a Virtual Market place, not only in the Commonwealth Secretariat, but across the Commonwealth;
• Ability to connect with youths across the Commonwealth via Social Networking facilities;
• Gain access to programmes offered by Commonwealth Secretariat e.g. scholarships, capacity building workshops;
• Tap into a wealth of knowledge, skills and other assets in a digital repository;
• Opportunity to participate in the good work being conducted by the Commonwealth;
• Providing an international fora for youths to express their opinions and influence policies; and
• Sharing success stories on youth programmes, activities, and initiatives across the Commonwealth.

The CP3 is no doubt a brilliant idea, especially in this information age, when technology is shaping our lives and connecting us with opportunities like never before. This portal will certainly create another opening for youth from all over the commonwealth to connect with themselves and explore possibilities of collaboration and empowerment as contributing members of the commonwealth community.