The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2026 is a key forum for collaboration among Commonwealth leaders that takes place every two years in a Commonwealth country. In 2026 it will be held in Antigua and Barbuda.

The COSW Council members representing social workers from across the Commonwealth have worked together to identify priority issues for presentation to the Commonwealth leaders at CHOGM 26. These are represented in our CHOGM 26 Statement which can be downloaded and read from the link below:

COSW 2026 CHOGM Statement

The Statement has 5 asks of the Commonwealth:

  1. Recognise the centrality of Social Resilience in achieving the objectives of the latest Commonwealth Strategic Plan.
  2. Establish a meaningful, structured, strategic partnership with Accredited Organisations based on regular, early consultation and genuine engagement, transparency, inclusivity, shared responsibility and mutual exchange.
  3. Endorse the Commonwealth Charter for Young Carers
  4. Leverage Commonwealth Values to Provide Inclusive Leadership to Combat Extremism at Local and Global Levels
  5. Develop Innovative Co-Governance Models that uphold First Generations’ Rights

COSW has also collaborated with the Independent Forum of Commonwealth Organisations (IFCO) in the preparation of a joint statement on behalf of Accredited Organisations which can be found here.