Citizenship and the Commonwealth The Active Commonwealth ...

Citizenship in the CommonwealthUnique in the international landscape, the Commonwealth is the onlyassociation where citizen-to-citizen links under the auspices of theassociation pre-date the creation of formal institutions by membergovernments. Networks for education, language and law will be paramountin many people’s minds. For 25 years the Commonwealth Writers’ Prizehas launched successful careers in fiction; for 50 years CommonwealthScholarships have created leaders in all walks of life; and for more than 100years Commonwealth parliamentarians have shared experience and ideason governance. Professional networks of foresters, engineers, teachers,doctors, nurses, civil servants, local governments, judges, lawyers andmany, many more, engage with thousands of people every day, meetingvoluntarily and building the social capital that puts the Commonwealth’svalues into practice. The bonds we have through conflict are rememberedby the Commonwealth War Graves Commission that manages 23,000locations in 150 countries. And, the Commonwealth Games reminds us ofthe way in which sport has provided another important link. These are thecitizens’ connections and networks that make the Commonwealth special.Jeffrey Sachs, in his book Common Wealth, says ‘No major problem canbe solved by government, or the business sector, or one communityalone. Complex social problems have multiple stakeholders … Gainingcooperation among [them] is the toughest challenge of all.’ But theCommonwealth is pre-adapted to succeed in bringing stakeholderstogether to tackle problems by using its people-to-people links. It is timeto recognise the power of this citizen engagement, and to re-evaluate thesignificance of the professions, cultural organisations, and citizens’ groupsin the Commonwealth. What our citizens need from their governmentsnow is the opportunity to be heard, and the infrastructure to make thesepartnerships work. We need to re-assess the meaning of citizenship inthe Commonwealth and hardwire the concept into the Commonwealth’sfuture.This conference did not produce all the answers. The debates on citizenshipin the Commonwealth, and Commonwealth citizenship, will continue. Butit is hoped that this report will be a launchpad for the development of newideas and action.*****6