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Commonwealth Foundation appoints new Director

3 March 2005

Commonwealth Foundation
The UK-based Commonwealth Foundation is an intergovernmental organisation resourced by and reporting to Commonwealth governments.
The Commonwealth Foundation has a new Director, Dr Mark Collins. He joins the Foundation from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). His role at UNEP was most recently in the Division of Environmental Conventions, following an earlier role as Director of the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, UK. Dr Collins takes up his job in March 2005 and succeeds Colin Ball, who retired in November 2004.

Commenting on the selection, Professor Guido de Marco, Chairperson of the Commonwealth Foundation, said: "We look forward to working with Dr Collins, whose experience will, I am sure, greatly add to our work and impact."

Dr Collins has worked with inter governmental organisations, governments, international non-governmental organisations, as well as in the private and voluntary sectors. In addition to working in the UK, his career has included postings to Nigeria, Malaysia, Kenya, and five years with the World Conservation Union (IUCN). He has published more than 100 papers, and written and edited several books, mainly on environment and scientific matters. Dr Collins has served in many international committees, advisory groups and voluntary bodies, and in 2000 received the Royal Geographical Society Busk Medal in recognition of his work.

Reacting to his appointment, he said: "It is a great honour for me to join an organisation that has done so much to strengthen dialogue and understanding between Commonwealth governments and civil society. The Commonwealth's agenda for development and democracy includes tackling poverty and hunger, sharing the benefits of globalisation equitably and taking action to live within our planet's natural capacity. It can be done by mobilising and empowering the professionals, technologists, researchers, activists and volunteers that make up our civil society."

Dr Collins stated that civil society's vision of development and democracy involves partnerships between Commonwealth governments and civil society to solve today's problems without compromising the future.

"The next step for the Foundation is to build interlinkages for capacity-building, communication networks for exchange of strategic knowledge, and partnerships for action. I look forward to working alongside Commonwealth governments, civil society organisations and the Commonwealth Secretariat in addressing these aims."

The UK-based Commonwealth Foundation is an intergovernmental organisation resourced by and reporting to Commonwealth governments. Founded in 1965, its mandate is to strengthen civil society and enhance its contribution to development and democracy in the Commonwealth. The Foundation's work is guided by Commonwealth values and programme priorities including those related to democracy and good governance; respect for human rights and gender equality; poverty reduction; and sustainable, people centred-development.

For further information on the Commonwealth Foundation, please visit http://www.commonwealthfoundation.com/.

 

CNIS - the Commonwealth News and Information Service Issue 224 2 March 2005

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