Games joy starts early
Annual day in March recognises prime event
WHILE the Gold Coast continues to prepare for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, many will take the opportunity to celebrate Commonwealth Day next week.
The 21st running of the Commonwealth Games, in three years, will throw a major spotlight on the city, with events broadcast across the globe.
Commonwealth Day takes place annually on the second Monday in March.
This year’s theme, A Young Commonwealth, seeks to recognise the capacity, contribution and potential of young people around the world in the awareness of global issues and the importance of international co-operation.
Since 1977, Commonwealth Day has been celebrated throughout the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of more than 50 independent sovereign states that provide support to each other and work together toward international goals.
The Commonwealth is described as a “family” of nations, originally linked together in the British Empire and now building on their common heritage in language, culture and education. This enables them to work together in an atmosphere of greater trust and understanding than generally prevails among nations.
Bringing together some two billion people of many faiths, races, languages, traditions and levels of economic development, the Commonwealth represents almost a third of the world’s population.
Half are aged 25 or younger and a quarter of those are under five years of age.
Each year on Commonwealth Day, the Queen attends an interdenominational church service held in Westminster Abbey, followed by a reception hosted by the Commonwealth Secretary-General.
The second Monday in March was picked as Commonwealth Day because it is a day when all schools throughout the Commonwealth are in session and does not coincide with a major holiday or festival. The idea came from Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.
He wanted one day each year on which all Commonwealth WHAT is more precious than the bond between a girl and her porcelain doll? tells the story of young Kelsey, who travels to Pakistan with her parents to help flood victims. However the move leaves Kelsey feeling sad and lonely. In order to help her countries could mark their membership and promote knowledge of the Commonwealth, particularly among the young people of their countries.
This year, Commonwealth Day falls on Monday, March 9.
This year’s theme, A Young Commonwealth, recognises the global potential, capacity and contribution of young people in issues awareness and international co-operation.
To mark the occasion, just over three years from the adjust, her nanna creates an elaborate story about a porcelain doll that goes on an adventure in search of someone to love her.
Australian author Rosanne Hawke has done a beautiful job in showcasing the benefits that a doll and a little bit of imagination can have on a child’s emotions. opening ceremony of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, the Governor of Queensland, Paul de Jersey AC, will host a reception at Government House in Brisbane for 18 young Queensland sporting representatives.
• The Commonwealth spans six continents.
• Mozambique is the highest one-name Scrabble score of any Commonwealth nation, with 34 points.
• A total of 71 national teams are expected to participate in the Gold Coast 2018
One thing I really loved about this novel is that it promoted the importance of friend and family bonds.
is aimed at young readers who have ever loved something precious.
Tasman Anderson, TXT4U reporter Commonwealth Games.
• The smallest Commonwealth Games participant, Niue, a dependency of New Zealand, has a population of 1400.
• The first British Empire Games in Hamilton, Ontario, were held in 1930.
• Canada is the largest Commonwealth nation by area, at 9,984,670 sq km.
• The total land area of the Commonwealth is about 31,500,000 sq km.
• India is the most populated, with more than 1.2 billion people. The combined population of the Commonwealth is about 2.3 billion. There are 53 members including: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Cameroon, Canada, Cyprus, Dominica, Fiji Islands, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Vanuatu, Zambia.