Commonwealth Day 2023

On Monday 13th March, Aotearoa New Zealand observed the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations. This year was the “year of youth”, where the Commonwealth paid special tribute to its citizens that are under the age of 30. As such, the theme was “forging a sustainable and peaceful common future.”

To mark this occasion, Commonwealth Youth NZ ran a roundtable of secondary and tertiary students, hosted in a select committee room in Parliament.

The discussions surrounded the idea of leadership, where students explored their role as future global citizens, and embraced the responsibility.

It was also a time for students to discuss the issues that matter most to them, which included climate change, poverty and inequality, educational outcomes, and community wellbeing. We give special thanks to Brad Olsen and Swaooly Li for lending their time to the roundtable.

This was followed by the national Commonwealth Day ceremony held out of the Banquet Hall in the Beehive. Attendants included Her Excellency the Governor General, the Speaker of the House, the Minister of Defence, several members of the Diplomatic Corp, and representatives from civil society. CYNZ Board Chair Maddy Burgess-Smith was the MC for the ceremony.

Executive Director Kaya Selby delivered a reflection on the year that has been. You can read Kaya’s full speech here.

You can read about our Commonwealth Day 2022 experience here.