Gib at biennial Commonwealth Conference

Gibraltar will be represented this week at the biennial Commonwealth Conference by the Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Joseph Garcia and two youth delegates in Samoa.

Political, business, women and youth leaders from all over the Commonwealth are gathering in Samoa around the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

They will be led by King Charles III, the Head of the Commonwealth, accompanied by The Queen.

The conference will include representation from the organisation’s 56 member countries and the territories associated with them.

The theme resolution is “One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth”.

The meeting is preceded by various events in which Gibraltar will be represented.

Dr Garcia has been invited to speak as a panellist to a plenary session of the Commonwealth Business Forum and to participate also in a round table discussion.

The Forum is described as one which provides an opportunity for high-level dialogue between businesses and Government leaders from the Commonwealth and beyond, to develop stronger partnerships and connections, exchange knowledge and contribute to impactful discussions on promoting sustainable growth.

Additionally, Cristina Cosquieri and Karim Acolina will join young people from across the Commonwealth at the Commonwealth Youth Forum, they were selected after an essay competition.

The Commonwealth Youth Forum, according to the organisers, provides an opportunity for the young people of the Commonwealth to build cross-cultural connections and networks, deliberate on youth-led initiatives addressing emerging issues impacting on young people, consider perspectives to influence decision makers, and ensure young people have a voice and agency in its future.

There are 2.7 billion people in the Commonwealth, 60% of whom are under the age of 30.

Prior to their departure, Ms Cosquieri and Mr Acolina discussed their participation with past delegates Adriana Lopez and Jared Peralta, who will attend the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council.

They later also met separately with the Deputy Chief Minister.

The Commonwealth Women’s Forum and the Commonwealth People’s Forum will also take place at the same time, along with over thirty different side event seminars on a wide range of current topics from Human Rights to Climate Change, to

Future Proofing Small States and Empowering Youth through AI and Digitalisation.

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the four Commonwealth Forums, and the other parallel events will take place in Apia, Samoa, from October 21 to 26.

Gibraltar is a part of the extended family of the Commonwealth through the membership of the United Kingdom and was also represented in the last two editions which took place in London in 2018 and then in Kigali, Rwanda in 2022.

This year, a number of Commonwealth organisations are meeting or have met in the southern hemisphere, including the Heads of Government in Samoa, the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in Australia and the Commonwealth Youth Parliament in New Zealand.