Cumbria will be flying the flag for Commonwealth Day today in a celebration of a family nations.

Across the country and Commonwealth more than 1,000 flags will be raised in the fourth year of the initiative Fly a Flag for the Commonwealth, which aims to unite people and provides a sense of promise and hope for the future.

Civil dignitaries, school children and the wider community will come together - like other UK communities and 52 other countries - at Cumbria House, in Bothergate, at 9.45am this morning for a short ceremony.

Bruno Peek, founder of Fly a Flag for the Commonwealth, said: "We are only in our fourth year, and the participation of so many people of all ages and from all walks of life shows the enormous potential of this project and of the Commonwealth.

"It is a positive and uplifting way for people to link with and assist fellow citizens of the Commonwealth in a family that spans across oceans and continents. There is a real sense of promise, and hope for the future in this current troubled world of ours."

The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, The Right Honourable Patricia Scotland QC, added that the initiative helps people come together to celebrate "the remarkable diversity and inclusiveness of the Commonwealth, and the many ways in which the lives and livelihoods of its 2.4 billion citizens are enriched through Commonwealth connection and cooperation."

He continued: "Raising the Commonwealth flag reminds us afresh that cooperation as a family of nations enables us to respond collectively to global challenges, and to deliver a fairer, more prosperous, secure and sustainable future for all citizens – particularly our young people."