Event Details

Title: The future of the Commonwealth

Debate between the candidates for Commonwealth Secretary-General

Venue: Chatham House, London, UK

Date: Wednesday 11 September 2024

Time: 13:30 to 15:00 (UTC+1, UK time zone)

Online - watch this event via the livestream

Please click here to watch this event online (either live or post-event).

Overview

At the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa in October 2024, the seventh Commonwealth Secretary-General will be elected. Ahead of this momentous vote, the three declared candidates for Commonwealth Secretary-General will convene at Chatham House in London to present and debate their vision for the future of the Commonwealth.

The event will be livestreamed with opportunities for virtual participation and will be moderated by broadcast journalist, Zeinab Badawi.

The debate is being co-hosted by Chatham House and two key Commonwealth entities, the Commonwealth Foundation, which is the inter-governmental arm of the Commonwealth mandated to advance the interests of its 2.7 billion citizens and civil society, and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, which works to promote parliamentary democracy and good governance throughout the Commonwealth.

Africa makes up more than a third of the Commonwealth’s 56 member states and the three declared candidates are from that Region; Mamadou Tangara of The Gambia, Shirley Botchway from Ghana and Joshua Setipa of Lesotho. The new Commonwealth Secretary-General will succeed Rt Hon. Patricia Scotland, KC, who has held the post since 2016.

The next Commonwealth Secretary-General will be pivotal in shaping the Organisation’s future relevance. They must ensure its central institutions remain at the forefront of international cooperation, stay true to the Commonwealth’s values and address issues that genuinely matter to Commonwealth citizens.

Please click here to watch this event online (either live or post-event).

Commonwealth Leaders will appoint the next Commonwealth Secretary-General at CHOGM 2024. The candidates for the role are from Lesotho, Ghana and The Gambia as the next appointee will come from the Africa Region.

In this CPA blog series, we hear from the three candidates about their aspirations for the future of the Commonwealth, what they think is the role for Commonwealth Parliamentarians and the Commonwealth’s greatest challenges today.