The first Commonwealth Conference will take place from Wednesday 10-12 November 2010 at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, UK.
On the theme "Citizenship and the Commonwealth", the first Commonwealth Conference, will explore what it means to be a citizen of the Commonwealth in the 21st century. The issue of citizenship received only passing mention in the Communiqué of the 2009 CHOGM. Yet the creation of effective forms of citizenship, which offer the maximum potential for the inhabitants of Commonwealth countries to play an active and informed role in shaping their lives and their countries, is an important precondition for the achievement of the Commonwealth's stated goals in areas as diverse as democratisation, sustainable development, human rights, combating corruption and tackling climate change.
Active citizenship is essential for both the 'horizontal' and 'vertical' integration of societies: 'horizontal' in terms of forging bonds of understanding and cooperation between different ethnic, religious and political identities, and 'vertical' in terms of providing people with the sense that they have a stake in all levels of policy-making, civil society and the economy. The major problems confronting the Commonwealth can be tackled more effectively if ordinary citizens feel confident that they can make a difference and governments have support for their actions from the electorate.