Commonwealth flags on display in Parliament Square to mark Commonwealth Day

Press Release from Commonwealth Parliamentary Association HQ.

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) is celebrating Commonwealth Day 2020 across the CPA’s nine Regions and over 180 Parliaments and Legislatures. The 2020 Commonwealth Day theme focuses on ‘Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming’ which offers opportunities for the people, Parliaments, governments and institutions of the Commonwealth to connect and work together at many levels through far-reaching and deep-rooted networks of friendship and goodwill.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth and Patron of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, with members of the Royal Family, Commonwealth leaders and High Commissioners, attended celebrations in London to mark Commonwealth Day 2020 and attended one of the largest multi-faith celebration services in Westminster Abbey. The service was also attended by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Rt Hon. Patricia Scotland, QC and the Acting CPA Secretary-General, Mr Jarvis Matiya as well as 1,000 school children.

Please click here to read Her Majesty The Queen’s Commonwealth Day 2020 message.

Hon. Emilia Monjowa Lifaka, MP, Chairperson of the CPA International Executive Committee and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Cameroon released a Commonwealth Day message on behalf of the CPA and said: “Commonwealth Day holds a special significance for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. It provides an opportunity to celebrate the collective achievements of our 180 Branches with the 2.4 billion people that have felt their positive impacts first-hand. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincerest gratitude to all member Branches of the CPA for working tirelessly in their efforts to embed our shared Commonwealth values into the heart of all that we do.”

Please click here to read the CPA Chairperson’s message.

In order to commemorate Commonwealth Day 2020, the CPA Headquarters Secretariat launched a CPA Commonwealth Day Youth Engagement Pack, for the benefit of all of our CPA Branches in order to inspire Parliaments to engage their young people. The Youth Engagement Pack provides a handbook with suggestions for the different types of youth outreach and engagement programmes that Parliaments can carry out, useful supporting tools to facilitate the delivery of these programmes and a leaflet on relevant information pertaining to the Commonwealth Day 2020 theme.

Visit www.cpahq.org/cpahq/CWDay2020 to download the CPA Commonwealth Day 2020 Youth Engagement Pack.

CPA Branches and Regions across the network of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association are marking Commonwealth Day 2020 in many different ways. Reports of these activities will feature on the CPA website and social media channels and in the next issue of The Parliamentarian. Commonwealth Day has been celebrated around the Commonwealth on the second Monday in March every year since the 1970s.