Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister of State for the Commonwealth and
His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex, the Commonwealth Youth
Ambassador, met with 30 young people from across the Commonwealth
in London today.
At the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in April
2018, the UK announced more than £500 million in funding to help
deliver the summit’s commitments during its period as
Chair-in-Office. This included a range of projects with a
specific youth focus, recognising that 60% of the population of
the Commonwealth is under 30.
Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister of State for the Commonwealth, said:
We will only succeed in delivering the vision for the
Commonwealth agreed in April 2018 if we listen to the views of
young people; they must be at the heart of our collective
effort.
On education, we are delivering projects worth over £200
million in nine Commonwealth countries to enable 12 years of
quality education for girls and boys. We are helping to create
150 new Queen Elizabeth’s Commonwealth scholarships for
talented students by 2025.
On trade and political inclusion, we are making concrete steps
too. We recently supported the 2nd Annual Youth Business Forum
in Uganda, bringing together over 300 youth entrepreneurs to
influence the national youth legislative agenda, and in March
we are planning an Africa regional conference on youth
inclusion.
And on our environment’s future, our co-leadership of the
Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance with Vanuatu, and our
Commonwealth Marine Economies programme, are helping to protect
our oceans and the communities that rely on them.
I’m delighted that His Royal Highness was able to be here as
Commonwealth Youth Ambassador, and to speak about his inspiring
work to champion the youth of the Commonwealth.
At the event, the Minister and Duke of Sussex heard from Dr Elvis
Eze, co-founder of the Commonwealth Youth Health Network and
Youth Ambassador for Malaria No More. He also met with Tijani
Christian, Chair of the Commonwealth Youth Council. Dr Elvis and
Mr Christian shared their experience of advocating for the views
and perspectives of young people across a range of issues.
