In case you missed it:
HRH The Duchess of Cornwall joined the Commonwealth Secretariat and The NO MORE Foundation launched new guidelines to help reduce violence against women and girls in the 54 Commonwealth member countries.
Speaking at the event, HRH The Duchess of Cornwall said: “Whether we are aware of it or not, we all know someone who has endured sexual or domestic abuse. We can therefore all be part of combatting these heinous acts.”
The strategy urges more consistent and effective collaboration between governments, civil society and the private sector. Read more here.
Elsewhere, Commonwealth foreign ministers met face-to-face for the first time in almost three years, ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on Saturday.
The meeting (pictured below) allowed ministers the opportunity to hold formal discussions on the CHOGM theme, 'Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming'. The event was opened by Commonwealth Secretary-General, The Rt Hon. Patricia Scotland QC.
Image
Commonwealth leaders also met to discuss the growing threat of anti-microbial resistance (AMR).
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke at the event, which was convened by the Global Leaders Group (GLG) on Anti-Microbial Resistance, and moderated by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health of Malta, Christopher Fearne MP.
The event heard how AMR poses a serious threat to human, animal, plant and environmental health, as well as food safety and security. It "threatens to send us back to a time before antibiotics," Dr Tedros said. Read more here.
In other news, the Commonwealth Business Forum closed with a speech from the Prime Minister of Rwanda Dr Edouard Ngirente.
And the Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh and Rwanda announced the Kigali-Dhaka Compact on Mental Health (pictured below) – a Commonwealth-wide awareness campaign and policy interventions aimed at tackling mental health challenges post COVID-19.
The event, which was held last night under the theme “Rethinking Mental Health: A Commonwealth Call to Empower, Care and Transform”, was hosted by the Government of Bangladesh in partnership with the Government of Rwanda, the Commonwealth Secretariat, and the Shuchona Foundation of Bangladesh, a leading think-tank working on mental health.
Speakers included the Secretary-General, Dr Tedros and chief guest, the First Lady of Rwanda. Read more here.
Image
Commonwealth Sports and Health Ministers, sports industry professionals and stakeholders from bodies like UNESCO, the Commonwealth Advisory Body on Sport (CABOS), the Olympic movement and FIFA came together for a roundtable breakfast where they heard about how the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK, will help to produce better health and development outcomes globally.
And in other news from yesterday, youth ministers and leaders (pictured below), who are part of the Commonwealth Youth Ministerial Taskforce, met to discuss how they could collaborate on youth empowerment in the Commonwealth. They promised strong support for the Commonwealth Youth Forum declaration.
Image
WATCH TODAY'S RECORDINGS
- High-level Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases Summit
- High-Level Event on Violence Against Women and Girls
Commonwealth Business Forum
- A Challenge to the Commonwealth: Towards a Sustainable World
- Future Cities: Sustainable Urbanization
Commonwealth Secretariat
- CHOGM 2022 Playlist – a collection of video highlights and vox pops from CHOGM 2022
READ JUNE 23 PRESS RELEASES
- Commonwealth Leaders Come Together to Respond to Increase in Violence Against Women and Girls
- Foreign Ministers meet ahead of CHOGM to discuss post-COVID recovery, sustainable development
- Commonwealth leaders discuss urgent and growing threat of anti-microbial resistance
- Bangladesh and Rwanda announce the Kigali-Dhaka compact on mental health
- Birmingham 2022 to help boost development and health outcomes across the Commonwealth
- Youth ministers promise strong support for Commonwealth Youth Forum declaration and action plan
PHOTOS
UPCOMING FORUMS AND EVENTS
- Official Heads of Government Meeting Opening by President Kagame and Ministers’ family photo
- Spouses Luncheon on Cervical Cancer Elimination
- A full schedule of events is available here.
MEDIA
Visit our media hub for information about the media centre, pooling systems, and interview requests.
Pooling System - Update
A pooling system has been put in place for key sessions and the full programme is available on the Commonwealth’s website. For further information and to register your interest to be part of a particular pool, please visit the media centre at the Kigali Convention Centre (KCC) or contact us via email at [email protected].
You will need to sign a pooled footage form at the media centre information desk.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For the latest updates, please follow the Secretariat on social media using the hashtag #CHOGM2022:
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
To support us on social media please use the posts and multimedia in our toolkit.
Media contact
For further information, the Commonwealth Secretariat's point of contact for all media activities related to CHOGM 2022 is:
- CHOGM Communications team, Commonwealth Secretariat
- + 44 7894 593508 | E-mail
