The CGF said that after the Black Lives Matter movement became increasingly prominent in 2020, athletes would not face punishment at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games for expressing activism.

CGF President Dame Louise Martin promised that the governing body would use its platform for good to educate and encourage social inclusion globally, while encouraging athletes to stand up for what they believe in.

"Let us not be on the wrong side of history,” she said.

"Let us ensure we are on the side of humanity and equality, the side of people and passion, not profit or politics.

"Let us continue to forge a future for Commonwealth Sport built on empathy, inclusion, trust and unity.

"The world of sport cannot be an observer.

"A Games, a match, a season does not happen in a vacuum.

"Silence or the status quo cannot be an option.

"It is our passionate belief that athlete advocacy and activism humanises, rather than politicises, sport.

"We must use our voices and continually seek to reduce inequalities and build peaceful communities."

Countries such as Australia and New Zealand have notable indigenous populations and the Commonwealth Sports Movement has worked towards better social inclusion for these groups.

The Commonwealth Games’ history includes moments of activism and expressing diversity - most notably Australian Cathy Freeman’s Aboriginal flag. The sprinter wrapped herself in the flag of her indigenous community at the Victoria 1994 Games following wins in the 200 metres and 400m.

At the time, Australia did not recognise the Aboriginal flag, with it only recognised a year later as an official flag of the country.

This paved the way for Freeman to become one of the country’s most recognisable athletes, leading up to her famous 400m victory at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Freeman was first given a senior competition platform at the Auckland 1990 Commonwealth Games, where she won 4x100m relay gold at the age of 16. This made her the first-ever Aboriginal Commonwealth Games gold medallist.

Australia

In the lead-up to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, event organisers implemented a Reconciliation Action Plan, which was co-created and supported by an Indigenous Working Group and the local Yugambeh Elders Advisory Group.

This Reconciliation Action Plan was highlighted at the Opening Ceremony which focused heavily on indigenous cultures across Australia.

The plan required partners of the 2018 Games to deliver legacy outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in cooperation with the Queensland Government. The Government introduced culturally appropriate and inclusive measures for indigenous people and held workshops and awareness programmes for staff.

Job opportunities and training were also part of the agenda for the indigenous groups.

Since then, Commonwealth Games Australia has adopted its own Reconciliation Action Plan, and has partnered with a consultancy company with more than 20 years’ experience of working with indigenous communities.

The CSF donated funding to this project, which looks to integrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture into the governing body and connect with these communities in Australia.

New Zealand

The New Zealand Olympic Committee, the Commonwealth Games Association for New Zealand, continues to work closely with the indigenous community in the nation and has created the Māori Advisory Committee.

This Committee provides advice on Tikanga Māori, a concept that incorporates practices and values of the community into society and culture in general. It also ensures that the community has inclusion within the organisation and its activities.

In 2020, as part of Māori Language Week, NZOC created a Māori language film on Olympic success.

In 2020, the CGF announced a strategic partnership with The Prince’s Trust, which aims to leave a lasting impact for young people following the hosting of a Commonwealth Games or Commonwealth Youth Games.

This partnership is set to start at the upcoming Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, and will enable young people in the city and the surrounding West Midlands to access a range of volunteering, training and employment opportunities generated by the Games.

There will also be three youth summits before the 2022 Games, which will look to increase enthusiasm among young people and unlock their potential. Particular focus will be given to lower socio-economic young people who have been hit the hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Prince’s Trust was founded in 1976 and has supported more than 950,000 young people. Since 2015, the organisation has expanded its youth support into education, employment and self-employment in Commonwealth countries such as Australia, Barbados, Canada, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Pakistan, Rwanda, Trinidad and Tobago and the United Kingdom.

Key projects between the two organisations will be channelled through the Commonwealth Sport Foundation in future.

One of the most successful projects in recent Commonwealth Games history came at the Glasgow 2014 Opening Ceremony, which featured a global appeal to raise funds for children.

Six-time Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, legendary football manager Sir Alex Ferguson and Scottish actors Ewan McGregor and James McAvoy were all part of the appeal, with Sir Chris and McAvoy urging both those in attendance at the Opening Ceremony and those watching at home to donate to the UNICEF and Glasgow 2014 Children’s Commonwealth Fund.

In all, the appeal raised £5 million ($7 million/€5.78 million) for the fund.

Four years on, the two organisations’ bid to “Put Children First” had resulted in programmes being planned or already underway in 52 countries across the Commonwealth, reaching more than 11.7 million children globally. This includes 540,000 in Glasgow 2014 host nation Scotland.

After lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) organisation Pride House International launched at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, it soon became present at the Commonwealth Games and debuted at Glasgow 2014.

It started with consultations in 2011, and events were run at Pride Glasgow before the opening for the Commonwealth Games.

Pride House is a space for athletes, fans, workers and others to be made welcome at sporting events, whether they are part of the LGBT+ community or not. It seeks to advance their rights and combat homophobia and transphobia.

People from 23 Commonwealth nations and territories and 16 from non-Commonwealth nations visited the Glasgow 2014 Pride House. Part of Pride House’s objective is to improve the rights of LGBT+ people across the Commonwealth nations.

During the Glasgow 2014 Opening Ceremony, Scottish actor John Barrowman shared a same-sex kiss - an Opening Ceremony first in the history of the Games. Former CGF chief executive David Grevemberg called the moment a “confident” move.

Grevemberg and Sydney 2000 Olympic beach volleyball gold medallist Natalie Cook attended the launch of the Gold Coast 2018 Pride House, the second at a Commonwealth Games.

Thirteen athletes at Gold Coast 2018 were openly LGBT+, including South African middle-distance runner Caster Semenya and English diver Tom Daley.

Birmingham 2022 is set to open its Pride House in the lead-up to its hosting of the Commonwealth Games.

Commonwealth Sport Canada’s (CSC) SportWORKS has been supported by the Canadian Government for around 25 years. It uses sports development to promote individual and community social development, and builds sport structure across the Commonwealth nations and territories.

Programmes like SportWORKS are carried out by the national Commonwealth Games Associations in a bid to create social change across the Commonwealth nations.

Since its introduction, CSC has rolled out SportWORKS in more than 30 nations and territories, impacting more than two million young people in more than 125 local sports projects.

Initiatives include focusing on the empowerment of women and girls, gender equity, youth leadership development and HIV and AIDS awareness.

Programmes which have been part of the project include:

• Sports Leaders Abroad Programme - From 2012 to 2014, Canadian sport personnel travelled to other nations to share best practices in coaching, officiating, management and other areas
• CGA Capacity Support Programme - In cooperation with the CGF and Olympic Soldarity, Commonwealth Sport Canada helped to develop and strengthen the capacities of Commonwealth Games Associations and National Olympic Committees from 2009 to 2014
• Bowling out AIDS - A cricket-based development programme designed to increase cricket skills and reduce the transmission of HIV and AIDS, aimed at Caribbean youth aged nine to 19 and delivered by coaches, youth leaders and teachers
• Girls on the Move - An initiative in Lesotho that focused on increasing women’s participation in sport as well as providing education on social issues for Basotho women
• New Life Organisation - A vocational training programme for 14 to 24-year-olds in Grenada, which teaches skills outside the traditional educational system. Commonwealth Sport Canada added a physical education component

• Rights, inclusion and equality
• Truth and reconciliation initiatives
• Conflict resolution
• Recognition of marginalised groups
• Respect, protection and promotion of human rights

• Contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
• Infrastructure development
• Employability schemes
• Accessibility enhancements
• Major event strategy development

• Impact on citizen wellbeing
• Happiness and confidence in communities
• Creativity and innovation in communities
• Ambition and aspiration in communities