AYV News March 15, 2023
His Excellency President Dr. Julius Maada Bio has said that in this Commonwealth year of youth, governments must commit to galvanising concrete actions across the Commonwealth to invest in improving the lives and futures of young people.
President Bio, who made this statement while raising the peace flag of the Commonwealth at State House, in Freetown, said his government also celebrate Commonwealth Day this year by raising the peace flag in order to demonstrate its collective solidarity and commitment to peace as a central tenet of the Commonwealth Charter that Sierra Leone signed 10 years ago.
“This year’s theme, “Forging a sustainable and peaceful common future” calls on us, Commonwealth nations, to deepen cooperation not only on solving our shared challenges but also in supporting individual nations to build and promote just, peaceful, and progressive societies,” he said.
President Bio said Sierra Leone joins over 2.4 billion citizens of their beautifully diverse Commonwealth to reflect on their shared history and celebrate their shared values and principles that have kept them connected and strengthened through the challenges of their time.
“Even as our individual nations still grapple with the crippling socio-economic effects of COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, climate change, and other global structural imbalances, we continue to work together towards meeting the sustainable development goals and the collective vision of the Commonwealth,” he stated.
He concluded by commending all, especially his colleague Commonwealth Heads of State and Governments, for safeguarding the Commonwealth vision which offers hope and inspires them to find ways of protecting their planet and their people, together.
Commonwealth Day is celebrated on 13 March each year with observances, speeches, exhibitions and cultural events across the 56 Commonwealth member countries.
With ‘Forging a Sustainable and Peaceful Common Future’ as its theme, Commonwealth Day aims to unite 2.5 billion Commonwealth citizens in celebration of their shared values and principles, and in pursuit of a common future, centred on sustainability and peace.
This was the first Commonwealth Day presided over by His Majesty King Charles III as King and Head of the Commonwealth. The day also marked the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Commonwealth Charter, which outlines the values and principles that unify the 56 Commonwealth countries, representing one-third of humanity.
In her Commonwealth Day Message, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, paid tribute to Her late Majesty The Queen for her seven decades of service and welcomed His Majesty The King for his first Commonwealth Day as the new Head of the Commonwealth.
Speaking on the role of the Commonwealth in her message, she said:
“We stand together now to face the challenges of the moment and seize the opportunities of tomorrow. Where there is violence and conflict, we work for peace. Where there is insecurity, we protect the culture, process and institutions of democracy. Where there is poverty, we tackle it. Where there is injustice, we challenge it.
“Where our brothers and sisters have their lives threatened and disrupted by the impacts of climate change, we stand with them, working tirelessly for climate action and a more sustainable world. I believe profoundly that our family of 56 nations and 2.5 billion people is stronger, more vibrant, more connected and more purposeful than ever.”
