Events

The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition Awards Ceremony 2017 took place on 21.11.2017 at Buckingham Palace, where the RCS NB Hub team was invited along with new sponsor of the Competition, CLANED. The awards were presented by HRH The Duchess of Cornwall to the four lucky winners from across the Commonwealth. Amidst an audience of winners, parents, judges and celebrities we were delighted to see the positive impact of the Competition in promoting this year's Commonwealth theme of Peace-Building through the written words of talented young people.

On 16th November 2017, the RCS Nordic-Baltic Hub organised its second high-profile Ambassadors' Dinner in Helsinki. The Dinner was hosted by Eversheds Sutherland Finland. Our Guest of Honour was Achaleke Christian Leke, the Commonwealth Young Person of the Year from Cameroon - one of four outstanding young people aged under 30 recognised in the 2016 Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Work.

The first of what we hope will be many Commonwealth Golf Day took place on Thursday 25th May 2017 and by all reports was a great event for everyone. This private, 43-player event was organised by the British & Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce in Finland in cooperation with The Royal Commonwealth Society Nordic-Baltic Hub at Tapiola Golf, a new 18 holes inland links course located only 15 minutes from Helsinki City centre. 

The Royal Commonwealth Society Nordic-Baltic Hub was officially launched in Finland during the dinner at the newly renovated Hanaholmen Hotel and Conference Center. Dinner was kindly hosted by Gunvor Kronman, CEO of Hanaholmen. We were delighted to have a company of HRH PRINCESS ERICA OHENE-BEKOE Ghana, Ambassadors of South Africa, India, and Sweden to Finland, deputy heads of missions of Latvia and Lithuania, Elina Lepomäki MP, the Parliament of Finland, the RCS Director Michael Lake CBE and Vesa Turkki, Partner of Eversheds Sutherland, supporting the RCS Nordic-Baltic Hub. 

The Banquet, first held in 1874, aims to celebrate the unity, diversity and linkages of the modern Commonwealth and is an integral part of Commonwealth Week celebrations each year. Organised by The Royal Commonwealth Society, the Banquet was held at the historic Guildhall in collaboration with the City of London Corporation. Attendees at the prestigious dinner included High Commissioners from the 53 Commonwealth nations, senior figures from the Commonwealth family, and key individuals from the worlds of politics, civil society, business and sport. 

Commonwealth Day 2017 marks 40 years since Commonwealth Day became a global celebration on the same day every year: the second Monday in March. The Royal Commonwealth Society Nordic-Baltic Hub had been presented at the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey, attended by Her Majesty The Queen, the Head of the Commonwealth, TRH The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry, The Duke of York and The Earl of Wessex. The Service was based around the 2017 Commonwealth theme, ‘A Peace-building Commonwealth’, and is the largest multi-faith celebration in the UK. 

Director of The Royal Commonwealth Society Nordic-Baltic Hub, Mr. Vladislav Dobrokhotov, attended a Brexit Breakfast with Lord Digby Jones. The breakfast was organised by The Royal Commonwealth Society in cooperation with PLMR (Political Lobbying and Media Relations), one of Britain’s fastest-growing communications companies. The discussion topic of the breakfast, attended by many Commonwealth High Commissioners, was "Should the UK Government prioritise trade relations with the Commonwealth?"