Putting the common back into wealth

MENTION 'Commonwealth' and chances are, the most immediate links Singaporeans would make will be to the Games every four years, or recognise it simply as one of the MRT stations in the local transport system. Not so many, perhaps, would think of the Commonwealth of nations, and probably fewer still today know what the organisation does or stands for. When this is pointed out to Baroness Patricia Scotland, the sixth Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, her unfazed demeanour suggests that this is something she has heard all too often. In fact, her lecture here in Singapore, in November, is titled 'The Value of the Commonwealth' - a reminder, perhaps, of its relevance in a fast changing world.

Often seen as a relic from colonial times, the Commonwealth currently comprises 52 voluntary members, many of whom are former territories of the British Empire. The member states may not have legal obligations to each other, but the fact that they represent almost one-third of the world's population - there being a total 2.5 billion citizens in the grouping - lends the Commonwealth gravitas. On the Commonwealth website, it states: "Our work promotes democracy, rule of law, human rights, good governance and social and economic development. We are a voice for small states and a champion for youth empowerment."

From their smallest country of Nauru with about 10,000 people to India with 1.3 billion, from land-locked states to island nations, from some of the richest to some of the poorest - the Commonwealth has got every iteration in between, declares Baroness Scotland.