Preparations for the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda have reached a key milestone, with more than 250 aspiring volunteers successfully completing the first round of official training for the high-profile international summit. The full-day interactive training workshop was hosted on Saturday at the nation’s Multipurpose Cultural Centre, marking a critical step in the Organising Committee’s goal of recruiting a total of 500 volunteers to support the four-day event scheduled to run from November 1 to November 4 this year.
Anika Kentish, the official Volunteer Coordinator for the 2026 CHOGM, highlighted that participants embraced the training curriculum with widespread enthusiasm. The programme was carefully designed to build core competencies required for supporting a global diplomatic gathering, covering foundational topics ranging from an overview of the Commonwealth association and the specific mandate of CHOGM to core professional skills such as customer service excellence, cross-cultural communication, collaborative teamwork, professional standards, and ethical conduct for working with international delegates.
Kentish also noted that public interest and demand for volunteer positions has already outpaced that of recent major international events hosted by Antigua and Barbuda, including the 2024 Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS4) and the 2023 Organisation of American States (OAS) General Assembly. This higher demand reflects the broad public excitement across the country to welcome heads of state, senior diplomats, and delegations from all 56 Commonwealth member states.
Looking ahead, additional training phases are planned following the conclusion of Antigua and Barbuda’s annual Carnival celebrations. These upcoming sessions will include specialized leadership development tracks for team leads and venue managers, as well as role-specific skills training for volunteers assigned to specialized positions across the summit. Organisers reaffirmed that volunteers will be a cornerstone of the summit’s successful delivery, serving as frontline representatives of Antigua and Barbuda’s hospitality while supporting all logistical and operational aspects of the historic gathering.