Message from Matthew Albert, Pan-Commonwealth Youth Caucus Chairperson:

26 April 2009 marks the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of London and the establishment of the modern Commonwealth.

Young people under 30 make up over half of the Commonwealth's population of two billion. In recognition of the enormous contribution they have to make in their countries, the Commonwealth theme for 2009 is ‘thecommonwealth@60 - serving a new generation’.

Youth Caucus is a pan-Commonwealth partnership which leads a network of young adults aged 15 to 29 across all 54 member states. Here, Matthew Albert, Pan-Commonwealth Youth Caucus Chairperson, talks about the important role young people play in the future of the Commonwealth:

It is a great pleasure to join in the celebrations of the modern Commonwealth’s 60th birthday!

The celebrations of the 60th year of the modern Commonwealth are centred on the theme ‘serving a new generation’. This is an apt reminder that young people are at the centre of the Commonwealth now, and will remain so in the future. In this section of the website are reflections on the role of the Commonwealth and of daily routines of young people from the sixteen Commonwealth realms. We are just a few of over one billion people, or 60% of the Commonwealth population, aged under 30 years. We are also just some of those who will inherit and build on Commonwealth ties that have served generations before us.

As the profiles and daily routines of those representing Commonwealth realms in the linked pages demonstrate, young people are not so much leaders of tomorrow, as they are leading today. Through business, development, policy and religious communities, the contributors show what a diverse and active young Commonwealth citizenry offers the future of the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth’s milestone comes in unusual times. Commonwealth member states, with the rest of the world, are going through the hardest food and financial crises of the last 60 years while facing an environmental future more precarious than at any time in human history. These conditions often impact young people disproportionately. At the same time, young people are often the ones left out from discussions about solutions.

As we look to the future of the Commonwealth, it is the hope of the Pan-Commonwealth Youth Caucus and myself that this will change. As the Commonwealth Secretary-General has remarked, in generations past, one would look to the older generations for guidance as to how a problem should be fixed. In the advent of increased technology and in a time when fresh and creative ideas may provide the best solutions, older generations are now looking to young people for the answers. Never has it been truer that nothing should be done for young people, without the input of young people.

Such unprecedented challenges in the history of the modern Commonwealth are matched by unrivalled opportunities. There are new chances for co-operation and learning provided by technology, an area young people traditionally adapt to best. And there are what may be called, the old solutions, of seeking co-operation, burden-sharing and co-ordination by nurturing links between nations and through people. It is in this capacity that the Commonwealth retains a vital role in world affairs and in our common future.

I hope you enjoy reading about the lives of young people around the Commonwealth and I look forward to sharing the next 60 years in the Commonwealth family with you.

Read The Queen's 2009 Commonwealth Day message
Read more about the 60th Anniversary of the Commonwealth
Read about theCommonwealth@60 Anniversary Song
View a map of the modern Commonwealth