Annual Review 2007-2008 - The Royal Commonwealth Society

The voice of youth
Young people have opinions on many things: music, TV, football, the war in Iraq. But how often
are their views actually sought? Or do too many assume they know what young people think?
The RCS programme of Youth
Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meetings (Youth CHOGMs) reaches out to
young people in the UK and beyond, from
a multitude of socio-economic, cultural
and religious backgrounds and
encourages them to talk about the issues
that matter to them most. Simulating the
Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meetings (CHOGM), Youth CHOGMs aim
to build young peoples’ awareness of the
Commonwealth, to engage them in
politics and the practices of participatory
democracy, to teach them essential skills,
and to build their confidence as the
leaders of tomorrow.
Over the last twelve months, three
key issues have emerged through the
exchange of ideas at Youth CHOGMs:
living in diverse societies; migration
issues; and equity in global
development.
Religious diversity, and what it means
to young people within the context of
their own particular community, formed
part of the discussion at the Blackburn
Youth CHOGM, held at Blackburn
Cathedral in 2007, where the tensions of
living in a multi-faith, multi-cultural society
were brought to the fore. The negotiation
of these tensions led to some thoughtful
outcomes: the signing of a peace deal on
Kashmir by delegates representing India
and Pakistan; a suggestion that the media
must examine the way it portrays certain
ethnic and religious minorities; and
investment in education on human rights.
At the RCS UK National Youth
CHOGM, held in October 2007,
President (and General) Dominic Rose of
Pakistan suggested that a military
government created a respectful
environment where many faiths could coexist
harmoniously. Pakistan’s formal
suspension from the Commonwealth was
then only weeks away, though the
General did not know it. Premier Eoin
Walshe of New Zealand supported intra-
African trade as the route out of poverty
in Africa, and slammed supporters of
increased international aid. Prime
Minister Rosie Reynolds of Swaziland
queried whether education alone was
enough to beat poverty – 69% of her
citizens live below the poverty line
despite high
literacy levels in the country.
And Southern African leaders
unanimously called for the
Commonwealth to re-engage with
Zimbabwe before it dragged the entire
region into decline.
What emerged from the contributions
of the sixty delegates, who represented
some eight schools around the UK, is that
the current language of international
politics is perhaps unsuited to the needs
of the developing world. There was seen
to be little equity in the world because
international relations and the people who
drive them, were often unable to
appreciate the complexities of the reality
on the ground. While RCS expectations
had been that climate change would
emerge as the point of conflict in the
Youth CHOGM, in the event, unfair trade
policy and the impact of migration on
donor and recipient countries, proved far
more controversial.
The training day for the National Youth
Barbara Soetan,
a Commonwealth Youth
Programme Intern, speaking at
the opening ceremony of the
National Youth CHOGM in
October 2007
Ade Adepitan meets
Youth CHOGM delegates
at London City Hall
CHOGM took place in
the imposing Locarno Suite of the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office and
the debates themselves at the
Commonwealth Secretariat. Delegates set
the agenda for their debates, with topics
such as ASBOs, identity cards and sexual
health all being considered. They worked
with FCO regional desk officers to learn
more about how the countries they
represented fit into regional groupings
and learned that, in acting together on
common problems, they would be more
likely to achieve common regional
objectives. Workshops run by the RCS on
debating techniques, handling the media,
communiqué-writing and ethics in public
life, complemented the regional briefings.
A media team comprised of students from
greater London subsequently produced a
short tabloid paper of the proceedings.
During 2007, RCS branches in Uganda
and Perth also ran successful Youth
CHOGMs. The results and outcomes of
these events and those held in the UK
were fed to a wide variety of channels, in
particular to educators and youth forum
delegates at the 2007 Kampala CHOGM.
www.rcsint.org
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