On Commonwealth Day 2026, I had the honour of representing the Commonwealth Association of Architects at the Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration at Westminster Abbey, and of attending the reception hosted by His Majesty King Charles III, Queen Camilla, and the Commonwealth Secretary-General. I was joined by a delegation of CAA colleagues: Mina Hasman, CAA Vice President for Europe and the CAA’s Focal Point at the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction; Peter Oborn, CAA Immediate Past President; Christopher Martin, CAA Trustee and urban designer; and Sumita Singha OBE, CAA Trustee, architect, and Professor of Architecture. Together, we represented our member bodies and the wider Commonwealth architectural community.
The Service at Westminster Abbey
The Commonwealth Day Service, organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society, is an annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations. This year’s service brought the 2026 theme — ‘Unlocking Opportunities Together for a Prosperous Commonwealth’ — to life through music, dance, and readings by artists from across the Commonwealth. The theme speaks to how 56 member countries are working collectively to deliver shared prosperity: from creating decent jobs and expanding access to quality education, to addressing the climate pressures that fall disproportionately on the most vulnerable communities.
His Majesty King Charles III, Head of the Commonwealth, addressed those present on the challenges of the moment — conflict, climate change, and rapid urbanisation — while calling on the Commonwealth to remain a force for cooperation and restorative sustainability. Commonwealth Secretary-General Hon Shirley Botchwey reinforced that message, framing this as a moment of deliberate choice: cooperation over division, dialogue over discord, and partnership over isolation.
“Working together, we can ensure that the Commonwealth continues to stand as a force for good – grounded in community, committed to the kind of restorative sustainability that has a return on investment, enriched by culture, steadfast in its care for our planet, and united in friendship and in the service of its people.”
— His Majesty King Charles III, Head of the Commonwealth, Commonwealth Day Message 2026
The Reception
Following the Service, the CAA delegation attended the reception hosted by Their Majesties and the Secretary-General, alongside Commonwealth foreign ministers, high commissioners, youth leaders, and civil society representatives. It was a substantive gathering — one that reflected the breadth of the Commonwealth’s reach and the range of institutions working within it. For the built environment profession to be present in that company was both appropriate and important: the decisions architects and urban planners make today will shape the physical fabric of the Commonwealth’s cities for decades to come.
The reception also provided an opportunity for connection at a national level. As a Kenyan, I was pleased to meet Dr. Musalia Mudavadi, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and Ambassador Maurice Makoloo, Kenya’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom — both present in their capacity as representatives of Kenya within the Commonwealth. It was a reminder that the theme of ‘unlocking opportunities together’ operates at every scale, from the international to the bilateral.
Unlocking Opportunities: What the Theme Means for Our Profession
The 2026 Commonwealth Day theme is not an abstract aspiration for the CAA — it maps directly onto the challenges our profession must address. Commonwealth countries are forecast to account for nearly 50% of the growth in the world’s urban population in the next 30 years. The infrastructure decisions being made now will lock in patterns of energy use, carbon emissions, and quality of life for generations. The CAA’s own surveys have identified critical gaps in professional capacity in the many of the Commonwealth countries that are urbanising most rapidly, many of which are also among the most exposed to climate change impacts.
Unlocking opportunity in this context means equipping architects and built environment professionals with the tools, competencies, and policy frameworks to design in a sustainable manner — not just quickly. Through our Knowledge Sharing Partnerships, our refreshed CPD platform, and our collaboration with UN-Habitat and the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction, that is precisely what the CAA is working to do.
CAA 60th Anniversary Year
This year also marks the CAA’s 60th Anniversary. Commonwealth Day provided a fitting moment to reflect on what six decades of cross-Commonwealth collaboration in architecture has built — and on the scale of the work still ahead. In September 2026, the CAA will hold its 60th Anniversary General Assembly and Gala in Aotearoa New Zealand, in partnership with Te Kāhui Whaihanga — the New Zealand Institute of Architects, as part of the NZIA InSitu 2026 Architecture Conference. That gathering will be an opportunity to take stock and look forward together.
“Commonwealth countries will account for nearly 50% of global urban growth over the next 30 years. The infrastructure decisions made today will lock in patterns of living, energy use, and carbon emissions for decades. We have a narrow but vital window to get this right.”
— Steven Oundo, President, Commonwealth Association of Architects, Commonwealth Day Statement 2026
On behalf of the CAA delegation, I thank the Royal Commonwealth Society for organising a Service that gave genuine expression to this year’s theme, and Their Majesties and the Secretary-General for the opportunity to engage with the broader Commonwealth community at the reception that followed.