Armed bandits are wreaking havoc on Nigeria’s north-western region, hurting communities and driving fear into citizens. As 25-year-old Nigerian correspondent Adedoyin Ajayi points out, the situation is becoming even more complex as the criminals have begun to target the very people who are charged with ensuring the safety of others. But, what does this mean …
As we begin a new year in the hold of a persisting pandemic, there are critical issues that the Commonwealth’s Youth Programme is fighting to keep in the hearts and minds of decision-makers and influencers. One of them is the peace and security of our youth. Twenty-twenty was a tough year for young people, in …
A blog by Mridul Upadhyay How can leaders of organisations guarantee inclusive and safe spaces for those who work for them and those with whom they collaborate? This question is often overlooked or considered unimportant. The challenge, of course, is that a focus on meeting profit and non-profit targets often takes priority over such considerations. …
When the Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassadors Network realised that young people who speak Kiswahili could not access a historic international policy document to guide grassroots peace and security efforts, they decided to do something about it. Promise Forsuh, a 23-year-old Commonwealth Correspondent from Cameroon tells us why they took action and how they are making …
As a lead speaker at the Commonwealth Youth Forum of November 2013, Salma Yusuf, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Sri Lanka, had a unique opportunity to reflect on youth’s role in reconciliation and policy-making. It was indeed an honour to address emerging leaders of Commonwealth nations hailing from four of the world’s inhabited continents. What was …
“We are not heartless human beings; we are simply [more than often] sedated human beings,” writes Denise Juvane, 21, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Mozambique now living in England. But has the oversaturation of images of poverty in Africa halted us from action? There is a saying that goes along the lines of: “we never know the …
Pakistan was founded as a country of peace and brotherhood, writes Naseema Perveen, 22, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Islamabad in Pakistan. But the growing threat of fundamentalist activists is turning those principles upside down. Pakistan was established in the name of Islam, a state where freedom of choice and freedom of faith was to be …
"Threat to minorities threatens Pakistan's ideology" Read More »
India has passed a historic bill enabling the investigation of corruption, writes Mridul Upadhyay, 22, a Commonwealth Correspondent from New Delhi in India, and in doing so underlined the power of Gandhi’s non-violent protests. What Mahatma Gandhi did in his devotion to non-violence seems impossible now. We give priority to money, power and success over …
Three wars have failed to resolve the fate of the Kashmir Valley, writes Naseema Perveen, 22, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Islamabad in Pakistan, who says residents of the disputed territory need a solution that will let them live in peace. Historically Kashmir was ruled by Muslims from the 14th century until 1819, when Ranjit Singh, …
“The valley is bleeding – uncertainty in Kashmir” Read More »
In post-war Sri Lanka, a robust policy on diaspora engagement remains critical to domestic stability and international relations, writes Salma Yusuf, a Commonwealth Correspondent from Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s three-decade-long conflict was externalized due to a combination of factors ranging from the presence of an active expatriate community abroad, the involvement of foreign facilitators in …
“A policy on engagement for Sri Lanka's diaspora ” Read More »