The Commonwealth of Nations is a political association of 56 member states that are mostly former British territories. The head of the organization is the British Crown. The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency that supports member countries in achieving common goals related to development, democracy, and peace. Originally formed from the British Empire, the Commonwealth has evolved into a voluntary association of independent countries. It provides a forum for cooperation between governments and engagement on important issues. Membership includes former British dominions as well as republics and independent monarchies from around the world.

1. Aleksandra Kulon, Wiktoria Michalska, Oliwia Kraś, Dominik Kucharski

2. WHAT IS
COMMONWEALTH?
Commonwealth of nations is
a political association of 56
member states which are
mostly a former territories of
British Empire.
The head of the organization is
the British Crown

3. The Commonwealth Secretariat
The Commonwealth
Secretariat is the main
intergovernmental
agency and central
institution of the
Commonwealth of
Nations.

4. Commonwealth
Secretary-General
Patricia Scotland is the 6th Commonwealth Secretary-General

5. Functions of the Commonwealth
The Commonwealth Secretariat is the
intergovernmental organisation that
supports member countries to achieve the
Commonwealth's aims of development,
democracy and peace.

6. Common aims
 the United Kingdom or the
Secretary General does not
have any direct or indirect
control over members.
These countries have come
together to form an
association with some
common aims.

7. British Commonwealth's history
 British Commonwealth is one of the world’s
oldest political associations of states. Its roots
go back to the British Empire, when countries
around the world were ruled by Britain.

8. The early
Commonwealth
 Over time different countries of the
British Empire gained different levels of
freedom from Britain. Semi-
independent countries were called
Dominions, and the leaders of these
countries attended conferences with
Britain from 1887.
 At the 1926 conference called The
Imperial Conference, Britain and
the Dominions agreed that they were all
equal members of a community within
the British Empire. They owed
allegiance to the British king or queen,
but the UK did not rule over them.

9. The modern
Commonwealth
 The Dominions and other territories of
the British Empire became
fully independent of the United Kingdom
– the first country to become
independent was India (in 1947).
 At the Commonwealth Prime Ministers
meeting in 1949, the London Declaration
said that republics and other countries
could be part of the Commonwealth. The
modern Commonwealth of Nations was
born. Since 1949 independent countries
from all around the world have joined the
Commonwealth. Membership today is
based on free and equal voluntary co-
operation.

10. The activity of the
British
Commonwealth
 The mandate of the Commonwealth
is to serve the needs of its member
governments and their citizens in
political, economic and social
development. The Commonwealth
also provides a forum for
deliberation, problem solving,
consensus decision making and
action on matters of importance to
its membership.

11.  In 2022, the Commonwealth of Nations consisted of 56 member states
inhabited by 2.5 billion people (nearly 1/3 of the world's population).
32 of them are "small countries", defined by the organization as
countries with a population not exceeding 1.5 million.

12. The Commonwealth of Nations includes the
Great Britain (with dependent territories) and
the following states: 1) former dominions, eg
Australia, Jamaica, Canada, New Zealand,
Papua New Guinea; 2) republics, e.g.
Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania;
3) independent monarchies, eg Lesotho,
Malaysia, Swaziland. Some countries after
independence did not join the Commonwealth
of Nations, such as Burma; many countries
left the Commonwealth of Nations, such as
Ireland, Fiji, as well as South Africa, Pakistan
(which eventually returned to the
Commonwealth of Nations).
States that belong to the British
Commonwealth

13. Thanks for your attention!