Francis Azubuike, a proud Nigerian, is a passionate student leader who believes that young people at the helm of leadership must hold themselves to the highest standards in demanding integrity from themselves. His passion for democracy, ethical leadership, and qualitative representation led him to champion election observation mission in the Commonwealth Students’ Association; specifically in consonance with the Commonwealth values on Transparency and the Importance of Young People. He is particularly interested in the holistic development of children and young teenagers as he believes they hold the greatest ability to effect the much-needed change within society. He has demonstrated this passion through his articles which are focused on children and youth development. He has a firm belief in an all-inclusive, equal, and transformative education irrespective of class, cultural background, social status or any other form of bias.
In 2022, Francis was elected to serve as the Africa Regional Representative on the Commonwealth Students’ Association Executive Committee; overseeing student representations within the 21 Commonwealth Africa Member Countries. In his role, he represents the interests of African students at high-level Commonwealth meetings, supports the work of national students’ organisations and student unions, and promotes the mandate of the CSA within its membership; whilst providing an enabling environment where each can build their respective and collective capacities and fully maximize their potential as student-led organisations within the Commonwealth. He has well over 10 years of experience in student representation with a keen interest in the fields of secondary and higher education.
He served as a Judge and member of the Adjudication Panel for the Commonwealth Youth Awards for Excellence in Development Works (CYA) 2023, organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat; and with the Royal Commonwealth Society, as a two-term Judge for the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition (QCEC); assessing over 265 entries from across 56 Commonwealth countries including Hong Kong, Ireland, and Zimbabwe.
Francis holds a bachelor's degree in architecture from the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Nigeria, graduating with a second class upper division honours and in the top 6%. During his undergraduate studies, he received the International Union of Architects’ (UIA) Student Fellowship, and served as the 35th President of the Ambrose Alli University-Architecture Students Association [AAU-ASA], and previously as the 34th Secretary-General of the Association before his emergence. As a young practitioner, he has bagged 3 additional Continuous Professional Development (CPD) certifications from the Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA).
He sits on several boards including serving as the Head of Directorate of Diaspora and Foreign Affairs at the National Youth Council of Nigeria, Imo State Chapter. He's an associate member of Amnesty International —a global movement of more than 10 million people in over 150 countries and territories who campaign to end abuses of human rights. —and an international Member of the World Youth Alliance – a youth-led organization standing for the dignity of every human person from conception to natural death, around the world. His hobby centers around traveling, watching documentaries, and listening to ancient folklore.
It is this diverse experience in student and youth representation that Francis brings to bear in his role as an elected steering committee member of the Global Student Forum.
