Being elected was an incredible moment for Thrinayani and I, but now it’s time to start our work. We travelled to Cardiff Bay for a residential, where we explored what it meant to be the UK Young Ambassadors to the Commonwealth, and what we intended to do for our term.
It was exciting to see the potential that young people have within the context of the Commonwealth, especially in very uncertain times, but in order to work within the Commonwealth, we had to understand what it actually is.
The Commonwealth is a network of 52 countries across the world, which is made up of 2.4 billion people, who meet biennially to discuss topical issues like climate change. The next Commonwealth Summit is in London this coming April, which we started preparing for in the residential. There’s so much to the network, but this shows just how big the partnership is.
I totally underestimated how influential the Commonwealth really is, and how much amazing work happens in the organisations under it, so it was great to get an insight by Leon, the UKYA I succeeded.
Afterwards, we started creating our projects, such as workshops designed to further understanding of the Commonwealth among youth. However, our priority right now is running a mass consultation of what young people in the UK want, so that we represent you as best as we can. After all, you elected us for that very reason.
Watch out for more updates from the Commonwealth!