 Greetings everyone. It's good to be able to speak to you as you connect with one another for your global village conference. Connecting with each other is one of the main advantages we enjoy as members of the Commonwealth Family of Nations. Whether we are from India or other member countries in Asia or from Africa, the Caribbean and the Americas, Europe or the Pacific, we share friendship and care about each other and work together to make life better for everyone. The 54 member countries of the Commonwealth are spread across every continent and ocean and together we account for one-third of the world's population. Of the 2.4 billion people who live in the Commonwealth, 60% are under the age of 13. So although we are a long-established family, we are still a young family. This means that we look to the future with great hope and with big plans for making our world a better place in which we can all live together in health, peace and prosperity. That seems to me also to be the purpose and idea which motivates Panjia. And so in the same way that we draw encouragement and support from one another as individual women and girls, men and boys, we also draw strength and broader vision when we work together across communities and the boundaries of nations. Access to education for all, irrespective of the ability to pay, is an aspiration which the Commonwealth is ready to do everything it can to achieve. It is encouraging to know that you are alongside us in this through your involvement with Panjia Global Village and through other similar multilateral initiatives with which students and staff at Elpro International School are associated. I commend your commitment to becoming truly global citizens and your readiness to contribute to making our world a better place for all. Events such as the Accelerate program plus and the student-led conference and sport and arts events help to form confident, active and creative individuals ready to achieve their learning targets and to attain their full potential in all aspects of life. The Elpro mission of providing a broad and balanced international curriculum and optimal learning environment for children and building a community of mindful, impactful and empathetic students aligns closely with the shared vision and values of the wider Commonwealth and our determination to deliver a brighter future for children and young people in all our member countries. In wishing you well for the Panjia Global Village Conference, I would emphasise the importance of all schools being places of peace, hope and reconciliation. Working together in the Commonwealth and alongside governments and other multilateral organisations, let us spread that message and ensure that other children and young people in all parts of our wonderful world are able to join as fellow global villagers and classmates. Whatever we may wish our future to be, it is best served by granting all children and young people the right to live, learn and develop with dignity, in peace and security, be strong and encourage one another. Together we can achieve great things.