We are delighted to announce that Annie Lennox will speak at the annual Observance ceremony marking Commonwealth Day on 14th March 2011. Each year, the Commonwealth Day Observance takes a particular theme. In 2011, the theme is ‘Women as Agents of Change’. Annie Lennox is the perfect choice of speaker given that not only is she an accomplished and ground-breaking female musician, she is also renowned as a passionate advocate of women’s rights. In addition to her appointment as a Special Envoy for The Scottish Parliament for HIV and AIDS for women and children, Annie Lennox is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS. She was named among Barclays’ ‘Women of the Year 2010′, Harpers’ ‘Women of the Year 2010’ and was titled GQ’s ‘Charity Woman of the Year 2010’. In January 2011, she was granted an OBE by Queen Elizabeth II.The annual Commonwealth Day Observance takes place in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey. Attended by Commonwealth Heads of Government, Commonwealth High Commissioners, specially invited guests and 1,000 schoolchildren, the Observance is a colourful and vibrant mix of performances, testimonies and readings representing all corners of the Commonwealth. The Observance is organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society on behalf of the Council of Commonwealth Societies.
More details about the Observance, Commonwealth Day and the Commonwealth theme can be found at www.commonwealthday.org