The achievements of the Commonwealth of Nations

THE COMMONWEALTH OF NATIONS

Introduction

The Commonwealth was traditionally made up of Britain and her former colonies but today there are members of the commonwealth, like Rwanda and Mozambique, who were not former colonies of Britain. In its current form, the Commonwealth can be described as an association of independent countries who have freely come together to cooperate among each other for the benefit of their citizens. 

ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE COMMONWEALTH

Commonwealth Scholarships

The Commonwealth has helped in the educational development of students from member states. For example, every year, scholarships are awarded to students from member countries to go and study in renowned universities in some developed member nations like Britain itself, Canada and Australia. More recently, scholarships are awarded by the Indian government for students from other member states to pursue further studies in diverse fields of endevour.

Cooperation

One of the achievements of the Commonwealth of Nations is the way it has promoted cooperation among the various professionals within the Commonwealth. The lawyers have cooperated at the level of the Commonwealth Bar Association and the academia have cooperated at the level of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. Other professionals have continued to cooperate within various Commonwealth associations.

Provision of employment

The Commonwealth Secretariat and other specialized agencies of it, like the Commonwealth Telecommunication Organization, etc. have over the years been a source of employment to the citizens of the Commonwealth, as long as they are properly qualified to do the job. 

Military training

The Commonwealth has provided military training to officers from the various member states in the finest officers training institutes in Britain and Canada. Ghanaian officers, for example, have been trained in Sandhurst, in England.  

Promotes the growth of democracy

Whenever member states are conducting their periodic elections, the Commonwealth usually sends observers to those countries to observe the conduct of the polls. For such elections to be credible before the comity of nations, the observer teams must have confirmed that the election was largely free and fair.

Promotion of sports

The Commonwealth has achieved a lot in the fields of sports and games. The Commonwealth, for example, has instituted a major sporting event called the Commonwealth Games where athletes and sportsmen and women in other sporting disciplines have performed creditably. Many sportsmen and women have used the commonwealth Games as a springboard to the world stage of games and athletics.

SAMPLE QUESTION(S)

1. Highlight six achievements of the Commonwealth.

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