The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Samoa from 21-26 October 2024, was a remarkable achievement for a small island Pacific state. Samoa hosted around 4000 delegates, heads of government, officials and civil society representatives, from 56 member nations, as well as King Charles III as Head of the Commonwealth. Outcomes included an Oceans Declaration, the adoption of Principles on Freedom of Expression, the election of a new Secretary General (Hon Shirley Botchwey Foreign Minister of Ghana) and endorsement by Commonwealth countries for Australia and the Pacific to host the UN climate summit, COP 31, in 2026. The leading role of small developing island states and civil society have given impetus to a more prominent role for the Commonwealth in international affairs in a divided world. The next CHOGM, to be held in Antigua and Barbuda - another small island developing state - in 2026, will build on the themes from Samoa.
Join us as we hear from an expert panel consisting of Australia's Senior Official at CHOGM, DFAT Assistant Secretary, Kate Wallace; Hon Professor Matthew Neuhaus, former senior Commonwealth Secretariat official and a civil society representative in Samoa; and a representative from the High Commission of Samoa in Canberra. This will be a joint meeting with the ACT Branch of the Royal Commonwealth Society.
Drinks and nibbles will be served from 5:30pm!
If you have any accessibility requirements or need to contact the ACT Branch, please email act.branch@internationalaffairs.org.au or call us on 0403 932 571.
