My name is Heritage Sanmi-Lawal, and in 2023, my NGO Her Dream Initiative launched the ‘Her Voice Project’, a project aimed at educating...

On 18 July, Royal Commonwealth Society country partner FlipFlopi gathered the vibrant coastal community of Matondoni Village for a day of hands-on environmental action. The initiative was organised in close collaboration with the Matondoni School Environmental Club and the Matondoni Women’s Group.

The Royal Commonwealth Society of Nova Scotia Branch proudly supported the Clean Water School Program , an initiative by the Clean...

Welcome to July 2025's edition of Commonwealth Voices, the Royal Commonwealth Society's newsletter.

Earlier this month, the Lake Victoria Clean Up project joined forces with the Uganda Junior Rangers to host a vibrant community plastic clean-up event along the shores of Lake Victoria. With the support of the Uganda Commonwealth Games Association, the day brought together local school children, athletes, and conservationists, all working together toward a cleaner, safer lake environment. The team removed an amazing 14,522 pieces of harmful plastic litter.

On March 6th, 2025, I had the incredible honour of being a finalist in the Social Action category at the Study UK Alumni Awards 2025 in...

The wait is over as the official mascot of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games has been revealed marking a year to go until the most eagerly anticipated sporting event of 2026.

On 2nd July, Jabi Lake in Abuja served as the site of a major environmental clean-up initiative, bringing together volunteers, sports...

Over the years, I have been fortunate to share my journey as a Commonwealth Youth Gender & Equality Network (CYGEN) member - an...

The 2025 Nigerian edition of the Commonwealth High Commissioners’ Banquet was colourfully and successfully hosted by the Royal...

Aberdeen Beach in Freetown was the site of the primary clean-up, lasting three hours. An impressive 441 volunteers from the Commonwealth Games Association of Sierra Leone, the National Tourist Board, National Sports Associations, Salone Beach Volleyball, Freetown City Council, and the Africell Impact Foundation removed a staggering 40,000 pieces of plastic, preventing them from entering Commonwealth waters.

11 April 2025 – Tamil Nadu, India's southernmost state, has become the site of the largest single submission ever recorded for The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC). An astounding 9,252 students simultaneously penned their essays across 28 different locations on the same day, at the exact same time. The essays were then digitised and submitted via the competition's official online portal, around two-thirds were junior entries, and the remaining third were senior. 

The Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN) rounded out the campaign in the Caribbean in St Vincent and the Grenadines on 14 June. The...

A coordinated, territory-wide beach clean-up brought together every island across the Turks and Caicos, early in the morning on the...

We are delighted to announce that The Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC) 2025 closed on 23rd May with a record-breaking 53,434...

The Cayman Islands took a unique approach to the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Plastic Campaign. During their week of action, they focused on community pledges to reduce pollution and, significantly, on turtle conservation, an issue incredibly close to the territory's heart. 

On 23 May 2025, the Commonwealth Games Association of Jamaica joined forces with the Jamaica Surfing Association to deliver a vibrant and purposeful beach clean-up as part of the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Plastics Campaign and the King’s Baton Relay.

The dedicated team in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), led by environmental NGO Green VI, braved wind and rain to deliver one of the most ambitious plastic clean-up efforts of the campaign so far: organising clean-ups across four of the territory’s islands.

Anguilla held a successful clean-up on 13 May 2025 as part of the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Plastics Campaign. An impressive 1,200 people took part in a clean-up at Sandy Ground, which represents around 7% of the island’s population. Together, they removed 8,000 plastic items from Commonwealth waters, helping to prevent harm to marine ecosystems.

On 5th May 2025 (Labour Day in Montserrat) the island took decisive action against plastic pollution as the first activity of the King’s Baton Relay’s journey through the territory. Despite challenging weather conditions, the community-led clean-up, organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society’s country partner; the Montserrat National Trust, successfully removed 2,075 pieces of plastic waste, preventing them from entering Commonwealth waters.