Celebrations to mark Commonwealth Day
8 March 2001
Commonwealth Day will be celebrated throughout the association's member countries on Monday 12 March with speeches, receptions, prayers and colourful events, many of them based on this year's theme, 'A New Generation'. The Commonwealth's 54 member countries are home to one-third of the world's young people, as Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon pointed out in his Commonwealth Day Statement.A special message by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth, also based on the theme, will be read out at a Multi-Faith Observance at Westminster Abbey in London on the day. This will also be broadcast on many radio stations throughout the Commonwealth.
The Observance, which will be attended by the Queen, the Commonwealth Secretary-General and some 2,000 others -including more than 1,000 young people from schools all over the United Kingdom -will be broadcast live on the BBC World Service on Monday 12 March from 15.15 to 16.00 GMT. Performers will include the BT Melodians Steel Orchestra, the Boys of Westminster Abbey Choir, the London Adventist Chorale, the Mighty Zulu Nation musical theatre group, and Samoan/ New Zealander bass-baritone Jonathan Lemalu.
After the Observance, the Queen, accompanied by Mr McKinnon, will meet briefly with people outside the Abbey. In the evening, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, HRH Prince Philip and HRH Prince Charles will attend a reception hosted by the Secretary-General at Marlborough House, the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
In Scotland, the Royal Over-Seas League (ROSL) is organising a week-long festival starting on 12 March. George Reid, Deputy Presiding Officer in the Scottish Parliament, will speak at a Commonwealth Day lunch. In the evening the ROSL Prizewinner's Concert will feature music and musicians of the Commonwealth. Other events during the week include a Commonwealth time for reflection and a private view on 14 March, and a Commonwealth lecture delivered by Lord (David) Steel of Aikwood on 16 March.
In Northern Ireland, the Royal Commonwealth Society is organising a Commonwealth exhibition at the Northern Ireland Assembly from 9-16 March. At the end of the exhibition Lord Alderdice, Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, will host a lunch and presentation by the Royal Commonwealth Society.
The English Speaking Union of the Commonwealth is organising a global internet debate involving university students from the UK, who will gather at the UK Government's Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, and those of the University of the Witswatersrand in South Africa. The debate, to be broadcast live on the internet, will be on the theme "This House believes that the Commonwealth matters". The debate can be followed on the web site www.livetx.com/commonwealthday/debate.htm.
For the first time, more than 50 web sites will be linked by an internet 'banner' to three Commonwealth sites: · www.youngcommonwealth.org, the Commonwealth Secretariat web site for young people containing quizzes, material aimed at young people and ideas on celebrating Commonwealth Day;
· www.commonwealthday.com, a special web site of the Royal Commonwealth Society; and
· www.thecommonwealth.org, the Secretariat's main site with information about the Commonwealth and its work.
Commonwealth Day will be celebrated in various ways by many of the association's 54 member countries. For example:
· In Australia, there will be an Observance in St George's Cathedral, Perth, on Sunday 11 March, and a Youth Rally in the Government House Ballroom on Monday 12 March. · The Government of Brunei Darussalam, in collaboration with the Asia Regional Centre of the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP), is hosting a week-long celebration of Commonwealth Day. Young people from six member countries in the region will join the host country in ceremonies, cultural events, tree planting, homestay, etc. · In Guyana, a multi-faith service will be held on 12 March in Georgetown at St George's Cathedral, the world's largest wooden building. There will also be a cultural extravaganza including dance, song and steelband music which will take to the field during the lunch break at the Test cricket match being played between the West Indies and South Africa on Commonwealth Day. In the evening President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana will attend a reception organised by the CYP in collaboration with the Guyanese Government, other Commonwealth governments and regional organisations in Georgetown. · In India, the City Montessori School in Lucknow, which, with more than 23,000 students in a single city, has been identified as the world's largest school, is hosting a Commonwealth youth conference and essay competition.
· In Jamaica, an essay competition for secondary and high school students has been launched on the theme "Safeguarding the Commonwealth Tradition in the New Millennium". From 5-16 March, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade will host an exhibition on the history, role and function of the Commonwealth. And on 12 March, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will open a symposium at the University of the West Indies on the theme of: The Role of the Commonwealth in the Global Agenda.
· In Mozambique, the British Council is organising a joint performance on the evening of 11 March by the Mozambican national dance company and a British flamenco guitarist, Jason Carter. The performance will be open to the public and the Vice-Minister of Culture will read the Queen's Message. Commonwealth High Commissioners and members of the Commonwealth youth exchange network have been invited to a reception prior to the performance.
· In Sierra Leone, the British Council will launch a 'Commonwealth Centre' in its library in Freetown on 12 March. This will include books and materials from various Commonwealth countries including Australia, Canada, India and New Zealand, and also from Commonwealth institutions. In addition there will be a short-story "listen-in" for 50 senior secondary school children particularly interested in literature, using the Commonwealth Foundation/Commonwealth Broadcasting Association Short Stories Competition CD.
· In Tuvalu, Commonwealth Day will be celebrated with a day of activities focused on the Council of Youth. Various awards will be presented, funded in part by the CYP's South Pacific Centre.
Commonwealth Day will also be celebrated in many non-Commonwealth countries. Events are planned in the UK diplomatic missions in Angola, Dominican Republic, Finland, Panama, Sudan and Uzbekistan. In Sweden, the Royal Commonwealth Society will arrange an interdenominational observance at the Anglican Church in Stockholm, attended by the Commonwealth diplomatic corps, followed by a reception at the British Embassy Residence. In Hong Kong, the Royal Over-Seas League is holding a charity fundraising event for the Save the Children Fund.
01/21 8 March 2001
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