The Commonwealth Lecture aims to stimulate understanding, discussion and debate on the Commonwealth and its role in world affairs. Additional objectives include building awareness of, and support for, the Commonwealth itself, its institutions and its cultures.

The Lecture has become a forceful annual affirmation of the Commonwealth’s fundamental goals and values. These include a commitment to democracy, human rights and pro-poor development; and a determination to address intolerance and injustice through building bridges between peoples.

The Lecture helps many people discover the modern Commonwealth – a community of people and nations, equal partners within a wider globalised world.

The Lecture is intended to reflect on the Commonwealth’s collective strength and potential as it moves forward to combat the burden of contemporary world problems. By doing so, the Lecture also reflects the Commonwealth’s diversity of ideas and innovations, activities and resources, including the strong commitment to the association by both governments and civil society.

Commonwealth Lecture 2008

Past Commonwealth Lectures and Speakers