MDGs in focus at special pre-CHOGM seminar

A special pre-Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) seminar on how to better report stories on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be held in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, next month.

The seminar -- “Covering the MDGs: the Challenge of Poverty and Development” -- will take place between 19-23 November 2007 and bring together 17 journalists from a cross-section of the Commonwealth, including Barbados, India, Jamaica, Namibia, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Swaziland and Trinidad and Tobago.

It is a joint programme between the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Governance and Institutional Development Division and the Communications and Public Affairs Division(CPAD) in collaboration with the Eastern Africa Journalism Programme.

Veteran Caribbean commentator Rickey Singh and leading Zambian media figure Shapi Shacinda will be among the journalists at the seminar.

At the halfway-point towards the deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, the seminar will re-examine the issues and challenges media houses grapple with and visit key case studies in Commonwealth countries that remain firmly on track to meet all the goals.

The seminar will also examine issues of how elections should be covered as a critical cog in building a democratic culture in the Commonwealth. Global trade will also be discussed, as well as the Secretariat’s flagship “Hubs and Spokes” project.

Journalists are expected to interact with two high-profile panels, one comprising senior government officials and the other business leaders, as well as discuss among themselves critical issues related to elections and good governance in their own countries.

“It’s a good opportunity to reflect on where the media has evolved from in terms of covering MDGs and the possibilities that lie ahead,” said Manoah Esipisu, Deputy Director of CPAD.

The seminar will be held at the Imperial Royale Hotel, which will also house the Media Centre during CHOGM.

Pre-CHOGM media seminar participants’ list

Secretariat Links:

• CHOGM 2007