Why Young People are important to the Commonwealth

By Jingjing

(Image from https://www.thercs.org/youth-and-education/past-projects/33fifty-the-commonwealth-youth-leadership-programme/)

According to statistics, the total population of the Commonwealth’s 53 member states is over 2 billion people, among which more than 60% of the population are under 30 years old. Aspiring young people are an important asset for the future development of countries. Moreover, young people continue to play an active role in promoting development, peace, democracy and an understanding of the Commonwealth’s culture and its core values. For the commonwealth as well as for the entire world, future success depends on the continued contribution and the empowerment of young people.

Young people can also help the Royal Commonwealth Society with its aim to tackle global issues. Youth development can help solve problems such as high youth unemployment and lack of participation. First of all, the large potential labour force has formed a huge demographic dividend for Commonwealth member states. This has created favorable demographic conditions for economic development and has also led to a situation of high savings, high investment and high growth for whole countries. Secondly, if the Commonwealth member states guarantee educational resources, employment environment and entrepreneurial opportunities for young people, they can drive national economies to benefit productivity and create more employment opportunities overall. This lays the foundation for brighter, healthier and stronger societies in the future and all across the Commonwealth.

For the Royal Commonwealth Society of Wales, young people are also very important. We invest in young people by aiming to spark their interest in the Commonwealth, holding the South Wales Youth Summit since 2016 amongst our other activities. We aim to bring young people together to enable them to learn more about democracy and the Commonwealth, alongside building necessary skills, and instilling Commonwealth values in their work. Our hope is that young people can then take their experience onward to contribute to their communities and develop into great leaders in the future.

Keep an eye on our blog for further details about our South Wales Youth Summit last year. Whilst you wait for that, head over to our Twitter @walesrcs and Instagram @rcswales to discover more about us.