Around 70 alumni, current Scholars, Commissioners and external guests from a wide range of Commonwealth countries gathered at Cumberland Lodge on 11-13 November 2009 for a celebration of 50 years of Commonwealth Scholarships.

The event explored themes arising out of the Department for International Development (DFID)’s recent White Paper, 'Eliminating World Poverty: Building our Common Future', and discussed how scholarships can best advance international relations, meet development objectives, and continue to attract candidates of the highest academic standard in the future.

David Hallam, Head of the United Nations, Conflict and Humanitarian Division at DFID, provided the keynote speech on the first evening, emphasising the importance of gender equality and of working with fragile states to the UK’s contribution to international development. He went on to praise the work of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission over the past 50 years, and the role it would have in facing future global challenges.

Many of these themes were revisited in subsequent discussion groups on the second day, drawing connections between the work of the CSC and the priorities outlined in the White Paper. Sessions included ‘economic recovery and greener growth’, ‘sustaining our common future’, and ‘building peaceful states and societies’. Further sessions developed these themes within the context of today’s global economy, with Commissioners and alumni chairing discussion groups on ‘acting together through the international system’, ‘keeping our promises in a downturn’, and ‘ensuring value for money’.

Following sessions looked more specifically at the challenges facing international scholarships – notably, ‘ensuring access’, ‘finding the best candidates’ and ‘evaluating our effectiveness’.

The next session explored the ‘Commonwealth Dimension’, and discussed the important and unique role of the Commonwealth in ‘soft diplomacy’. Following this, a panel of alumni and current Scholars spoke of their experiences of receiving an award, and its impact on their lives and careers.

However, the event was primarily a celebration, and Professor Myles Wickstead, former UK Ambassador to Ethiopia, Head of the Secretariat to the Commission for Africa, and coordinator of the 1997 DFID White Paper, commended the achievements of Commonwealth Scholarships in a keynote speech at the anniversary dinner on the second evening.

The final sessions on the third day considered the future of and alternative perspectives on development. A stimulating discussion highlighted how broad the field of development can be, and the role that international scholarships can play within it.

Dr John Kirkland, Executive Secretary of the CSC, and Professor Tim Unwin, Chair of the CSC, concluded the conference by discussing the development of the CSC community, and ways we can move forward. It can be hard to condense a conference that encompassed so many themes, ideas and discussions into a few key outcomes. However, it became clear how important strong branding and working with alumni is to the next 50 years of Commonwealth Scholarships, as is building upon the important work evaluating the high impact of our awards – and that the role that Commonwealth Scholarships have had for 50 years in the Commonwealth and in development really is something to celebrate.

Photos from the event can be viewed on the CSC's Flickr site.