Commonwealth Youth Council Chairperson, Joshua K. Opey is calling on Commonwealth governments to invest in skills, open markets, and leverage the bloc’s cultural diversity to create jobs for young people.
He believes the Commonwealth’s cultural and creative industries are already generating enormous value which need investment, infrastructure, and institutional backing to match the ambition of the youth.
Mr Opey made the call when he led the Commonwealth Youth Council, hoisting its Flag high at the West Minster Abbey and eventually meeting the Head of the Commonwealth, King Charles III.
As part of the ceremonial event, Mr Open carried the Commonwealth flag at the official Commonwealth Day Service on 9 March 2026, a moment that deliberately signals that the future of the Commonwealth belongs to its youth.
The service, held annually at Westminster Abbey in London, is the Commonwealth’s most prominent annual ceremonial gathering, bringing together heads of government, diplomats, and representatives from all fifty-six (56) member states.
This year’s celebration was themed “Unlocking Opportunities Together for a Prosperous Commonwealth.”
Later in the evening, King Charles III hosted a reception at the St James’s Palace, where Mr Opey engaged him and other dignitaries on the need for greater investment in youth empowerment across the bloc.
The Youth Chair elaborated on building pathways for young people to access skills and compete in a rapidly evolving job market, and also on leveraging the Commonwealth’s extraordinary cultural and creative diversity as an economic engine for youth employment.
Speaking after the reception, Mr Opey indicated that the engagement with King Charles, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, and other stakeholders reinforced his belief that there is both political will and a moral imperative to do more for young people across the Commonwealth.
According to him, the diversity of the member states is not just something to celebrate at ceremonies, but must be activated.
“A young filmmaker in Lagos and a young designer in Bridgetown should be able to find each other, trade with each other, and build with each other. That is what a truly prosperous Commonwealth looks like,” he noted.
In his Commonwealth Day message, Mr Opey touched on how young people across the Commonwealth, who are investing in themselves daily and determined to be competitive in a fast-moving world, are constrained with fewer opportunities.
He called on the Commonwealth governments and institutions to match the youth’s ambition with concrete commitments, emphasizing on investment in skills and training, access to markets, funding for the creative industries, and the inclusion of young people in the rooms where decisions are made.
“We will advocate, collaborate, and work alongside our leaders and institution. Because a Commonwealth that unlocks opportunity for everyone except its youth has not unlocked anything at all,” Mr. Opey said.
Mr Opey’s flag-bearing role at Westminster Abbey and his meeting with King Charles come at a time of growing global conversation about the economic marginalisation of young people, particularly in the Global South.
With more than 60% of the Commonwealth’s population under the age of 30, advocates say youth inclusion is not a peripheral concern but the central question of the Commonwealth’s relevance in the 21st century.
The Commonwealth Youth Council, the officially recognised voice of young people across the 56-member Commonwealth, reaffirmed its commitment to pushing for the actualization of the expectations from the meeting.
About the Author
