From Policy to Practice: Panel 1: Ministerial Panel

This was the Invictus Games Foundation’s fourteenth iteration of The Conversation; an event which is designed to promote the sharing of best practice on a range of relevant subjects within the Invictus Community through a combination of either online webinars and/or in person symposia. The intent is to encourage the exchange of views through informal discussions based on panels of relevant experts and Invictus Games alumni including families, rather than formal presentations.

This IGF Conversation is entitled From Policy to Practice, an important and timely topic as nations across the Invictus Community continue to evolve the ways in which they support wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans on their recovery journey. Through these discussions, we explored how veteran policy is shaped at a national level and, crucially, how those policies are translated into meaningful outcomes through rehabilitation, recovery, transition and community-based support programmes.

Panel 1: Ministerial Panel

The opening panel examined the evolving relationship between policy and practice through the perspectives of government leaders responsible for veteran support across the Invictus Community of Nations.

Hon Jill McKnight, Minister of Veterans Affairs Canada and Associate Minister of National Defence, discussed Canada’s approach to veteran wellbeing, focusing on employment, transition and community-based support. Minister Calvin Bailey MBE MP, UK Minister for Veterans and People, outlined the United Kingdom’s evolving veteran support strategy, including efforts to create a more coordinated and data-driven system of care. The panel was also joined by Minister Natalia Kalmykova, Minister of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine, who provided insight into Ukraine’s veteran recovery landscape, including the integration of sport within rehabilitation programmes and broader policy reform efforts.

New Nation Announcement

The Conversation also marked a significant milestone in the growth of the Invictus Movement with the formal recognition of Uganda as the 26th nation to join the Invictus Community of Nations.

The announcement brought together Hon Kiryowa Kiwanuka, Uganda’s Minister for Defence and Veterans Affairs, alongside Rob Owen OBE, CEO of the Invictus Games Foundation, and Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, Founding Patron of the Invictus Games Foundation. Together, they formally welcomed Uganda into the community, reinforcing the importance of international collaboration across the movement.

Minister Kiwanuka reflected on the significance of Uganda joining the Invictus Community and the opportunity to further develop sport for recovery programmes within Uganda, where such provision remains in the early stages of development, helping to create new pathways of recovery and support for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans.