I welcome you all to Australia, to Western Australia, and to the magnificent city of Fremantle.
I acknowledge the young people in the working group who organised this forum.
Your efforts are very much appreciated.
Appreciated and timely.
Because young people are our source of hope and inspiration for the challenges of tomorrow.
The future of our world as well as the future of the Commonwealth will be shaped by you.
Looking around this room today, there is great cause for optimism about that future.
I see that optimism in your faces.
I think of the life journeys that have brought you here from over 40 countries.
You've come from so many backgrounds and circumstances, many involving adversity.
And I know how passionate for change each of you have become in your own lives.
There are delegates here involved in peace building, climate change networks, social enterprises, peer education, health work.
Each of you has a remarkable story to tell.
Like John Loughton from Scotland, who grew up in a community where crime and youth exclusion was high.
He had first hand experience of being bullied, drug abuse taking hold of the family, and growing up in a home where no-one had ever worked.
But instead of giving in, John used his difficult beginnings to create positive change.
He became an anti-poverty campaigner at the age of 10 - yes 10.
And he's here today because he believes in a Commonwealth where your life chances are defined by your ambitions and abilities, not by your background.
Al-Karim Khimji tells another extraordinary story.
He grew up in Canada and received vital skills and motivation from the Duke of Edinburgh's Award.
From there he took a very non-traditional path to work in micro-finance and development funding in Afghanistan and Egypt.
Al-Karim's high-achieving life has shown what young people can achieve when they have the chance to participate and engage.
I am also deeply inspired by a courageous young Indigenous woman from the great State of Western Australia, Madeline Anderson.
Growing up, Madeline saw first hand many of the issues affecting her community.
And she was inspired to develop a program that empowered young people to encourage their family members in breaking the cycle of poverty and disadvantage.
Today Madeline mentors young mothers completing their secondary education.
She also helps women who are affected by domestic violence and inspires them to develop into leaders in their communities.
Friends, these are stories of achievement.
Stories of hope.
And they reflect the boundless energy that exists in every corner of the Commonwealth.
They also reflect the fact that half of the Commonwealth's population is under 25 years of age.
Never have so many young people been alive at one time in the history of the world.
And never have they been more interlinked.
Our world is already being remade by the combination of young people and social media.
Young people are demanding their freedoms.
They are refusing to accept old excuses and old limitations.
And they are determined to make a difference in their own lives and their own communities.
Because our world needs a difference to be made.
We are not succeeding as we should in meeting the great challenges of our time:
Global warming.
Food security.
Financial stability.
Poverty alleviation.
Women's rights.
Progress is too slow on all these things.
And young people have every right to feel a sense of urgency.
So be active.
Let your voice be heard.
And be informed by the values we hold dear as a Commonwealth.
Those defining values of fairness, democracy, equality and opportunity for all.
We call these Commonwealth values.
But in truth, they are human values.
Values that draw from us dreams of a better future; that draw us together in idealism.
At age 50, I am more idealistic than at any point in my life.
Yes, more realistic about the means to get there and the constraints along the way.
But no less idealistic about the brighter future that is within our grasp.
So be idealists.
Speak with passion and commitment.
Because you represent the future, and the success of that future depends on you.
Thank you all for making the journey to Perth.