Why is commonwealth important

Nonetheless, Commonwealth Day is still celebrated by many countries with much fervor. Several countries in the Commonwealth — though notably not Britain — celebrate Commonwealth Day as a public holiday.

Parties and other festivities are held, good food is cooked, and flags are raised. The Commonwealth Games, which can be compared to the Olympics, are athletic competitions between the Commonwealth that occur every four years.

After an Empire Day Thanksgiving service held at Wembley Stadium attracted 90, people, the day began to really take off in popularity. Though it had been celebrated informally since , Empire Day - the precursor to Commonwealth Day - was not officially recognized as a holiday until In recent years, there has been a shift away from celebrating a single day towards celebrating a full week, with Commonwealth Day at its focus and first day. The day marks Commonwealth Day in more than 50 countries around the world.

Once known as Empire Day, it is envisioned as a celebration of the cultural exchange and shared values of former Empire states. Her role is an important symbolic one. Commonwealth Day is famously celebrated by a sermon at Westminster Abbey attended by the Queen of England.

Commonwealth Day is of massive historical importance to a significant segment of the global population. Check out its history as Empire Day, and understand just why so many countries are proud to be included in such an alliance. Many celebrate by eating good food, partying, and raising flags to show their pride. The Commonwealth of nations includes 53 countries, though only 16 still recognize the British Queen as their monarch.

However, other states of the Commonwealth, like Gibraltar, recognize it as such. There is a current push towards the moral reckoning of the holiday. While this is a great piece of history, Commonwealth Day is even more historically important because it honors the historical peace within the Commonwealth, and all the common good they have achieved in partnership. Though not all the states of the Commonwealth have made Commonwealth Day a public holiday or are even still loyal to the queen, many are proud to have been included in such an alliance, and proudly display their history on this day.

Every year, billions of people celebrate Commonwealth Day with festivities and good food. On top of that, many entertainment personalities and celebrities lend a hand to speak in honor of Commonwealth Day, or even at the Commonwealth Day service. We keep track of fun holidays and special moments on the cultural calendar — giving you exciting activities, deals, local events, brand promotions, and other exciting ways to celebrate. In fact, the Commonwealth Sport Movement is an extension of the Games.

Through the power of sports, there is continuous engagement with communities in between the Games years, embracing and celebrating diversity while promoting sport for development. A recent study exploring positive sports diplomacy found the Commonwealth Games effectively foster co-operation and friendship among member nations and territories, successfully achieving its objective.

The Commonwealth Games have a long history that dates back as far as , five years before the birth of the modern Olympic Games.

An English minister, Rev. However, it would take three decades before this notion was realized. In , Melville Marks Bobby Robinson, a Canadian sports editor and official in athletics, championed the first Games which took place in Hamilton, Ontario, with athletes from 11 countries participating. Known as the British Empire Games at the time, this event also introduced various hosting concepts including the first Athletes Village, awards podium, volunteerism and media press box. Each time Canada has hosted the Commonwealth Games has been a game-changer to the Commonwealth movement.

The Empire Games in Vancouver featured one of the first live televised sporting events in Canada — the iconic Miracle Mile. Bannister won the showdown in what is still considered one of the greatest races of all time. And in , the Commonwealth Games in Victoria, B. Despite the central role Canada has played in the Commonwealth Games, there appears to be a lack of knowledge, awareness and value of these Games. Perhaps the declining media exposure over the years may be partly to blame.

In the past, CBC provided full coverage. This year, the only way Canadians will be able to see the events live will be if they sign up for DAZN, a subscription-based live streaming platform — CBC will only show highlights. The symbiotic relationships of sport and media offers sport a promotional platform. The Commonwealth as currently constituted is not a particularly effective organisation. Membership carries few economic benefits unless one believes the rather flimsy research from the Secretariat pointing to a Commonwealth trade advantage.

It had been suggested that Brexit would deepen economic ties with Commonwealth members in Africa. But a recent trade summit between the UK and African countries produced very little. This, plus the pandemic, has taken the shine off some earlier predictions of a boom in UK-African trade. Meanwhile, the secretariat itself and its development arm have seen their budgets slashed in recent years.

Donors have withdrawn or withheld funding in some very public displays of no-confidence in the leadership of the current secretary-general, Patricia Scotland. Finally, its record in enforcing adherence to shared Commonwealth values, particularly in the field of human rights and democracy, is far from impressive. In , the organisation adopted a charter full of laudable aspirations about justice, democracy and human rights.

As such, membership signals to the broader international community that countries share those aspirations. Yet the Commonwealth took no action when in January , long-serving Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni clung to power after a deeply-flawed electoral process.

Paul Kagame of Rwanda seems to be hoping for a similar boost to his reputation when he hosts the heads of government meeting in June. This is despite repeated signs that he is intolerant of opposition. The organisation consists of a variety of networks developed over decades. These include a range of organisations such as the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Association of Commonwealth Universities.

Get your free PDF by completing the following form. They have often challenged the policies of their own governments. Online technology offers fresh opportunities to reinvigorate these networks by connecting grassroots activists around the world, and in the process reconnecting the Commonwealth to its radical past.

If it is to continue to be relevant to Africa in the 21st century, that radicalism certainly needs to be rediscovered. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.