The three-day meeting - attended by young sports leaders from England, Isle of Man, Mozambique, Northern Ireland, Tanzania, Uganda and Wales - took place at the Mokolodi Conference Centre in Gaborone.

It marked the fourth intake for the regional eqUIP programme, which started in 2014, but the first to bring together interns from two different Commonwealth regions - Europe and Africa.

The programme aims to build capacity in CGAs through a paid internship programme, developed in partnership with local universities as part of the CGF's global development programme.

It is said to create mutually-beneficial opportunities for the intern and the host CGA - developing the skills of young leaders in a national sporting organisation, who deliver special projects which directly benefit the host CGA.

The CGA and the local universities work together to identify the CGA’s development objectives and projects that the intern can complete to help them achieve their goals.

The programme looks to strengthen the capacity of the CGA in a number of areas, such as Games preparations, stakeholder relations, branding, social media, management and governance.

"It’s so exciting to see the impact these young adults are having in their CGAs and watching them learn and develop from each other’s experiences," CGF regional development manager Ellen Barwise, who oversees the programme and is based alongside the team at CGA Botswana, said.

"Their projects are directly supporting their organisations back home, whilst also showcasing their growth and skills development.

"The different countries and regions are collaborating, working and learning together, and sharing ideas.

"It’s a fantastic indicator of the strength of the Commonwealth family and what the CGF’s development programme is all about."

CGF chief executive David Grevemberg added: "The Commonwealth Games Federation aspires to be a leader in international sport development, and so we are delighted to announce the latest phase of our eqUIP programme.

"We wish all of the interns every success with their projects which will add enormous value to their host CGA and the wider Commonwealth Sports Movement."

African eqUIP intern Deborah Namusoke, supporting Commonwealth Games Uganda, graduated from Kyambogo University with a BSc in sports and leisure management in December 2017.

Her role as a CGA intern focuses on preparing Uganda’s team for Gold Coast 2018, which is scheduled to take place from April 4 to 15.

"It’s been a great time for me at CGA Uganda," Namusoke said.

"I have learnt a lot from working in a dynamic sporting organisation - developing my efficiency, accountability, confidence and prioritisation skills and responding to many given tasks."

European eqUIP intern Delia Bute, supporting Commonwealth Games England, is an international hospitality and tourism management graduate who joined the eqUIP programme six months ago as part of England’s team’s Games-time HQ line-up.

Her role as an event operations executive is said to have enabled her to utilise and develop skills across multiple projects such as accreditation and visas, kitting out and procurement.

"Throughout my Commonwealth Games England experience I learned to value and focus more on the journey rather than the end goal as many opportunities for personal growth could present themselves along the way," Bute said.

Last month, in a New Year’s message, Grevemberg and CGF President Louise Martin stated they were eagerly looking forward to Gold Coast 2018 and asserted the Australian city would "welcome athletes and fans alike with open arms".

Men and women will compete for an equal number of medals for the first time in Commonwealth Games history, while the CGF highlighted its efforts in promoting gender parity among technical officials.

This includes the implementation of the organisation's women's coach internship programme, which is aimed at growing the number of female coaches.