CHOGM plans gather pace as media accreditation begins
26 July 2007
As well as the Heads of Government meeting, the CHOGM week will incorporate Youth, Business and People's forums
Commonwealth Heads of Government will meet in Kampala, Uganda, from 23 to 25 November 2007, and the media accreditation process has begun.
Details of how to apply for media accreditation can be obtained from the official CHOGM website at https://www.chogm2007.ug/accreditation/welcome.php
Enquiries should be directed to chogm@commonwealth.int
The theme for this year’s CHOGM is Transforming Commonwealth Societies to achieve Political, Economic and Human Development.
The meeting will focus on bringing economic and social benefits to Commonwealth member countries, and above all to the poorest.
The overriding objective of CHOGM is to develop ways of improving the lives of Commonwealth citizens by: reinforcing the Commonwealth’s fundamental political values such as democracy and good governance; economic liberalisation and global stability through initiatives such as debt relief and an assessment of progress to achieve the Millennium Development Goals; development issues like capacity and institution building in member countries; and linking the Commonwealth, its global partners and regional organisations to establish strategic partnerships for development. Climate change may also be discussed.
As well as the Heads of Government meeting, the CHOGM week will incorporate the Commonwealth Youth Forum, the Commonwealth Business Forum, and the People's Forum, bringing together civil society from Commonwealth countries.
As a result of mandates given to the Commonwealth Secretariat at the last CHOGM in Malta in November 2005, several reports and recommendations will be presented in Kampala.
The Commission for Respect and Understanding, chaired by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, will report on its findings about the causes of conflict, the breakdown of understanding within and between communities, and its implications for policy-makers.
The Committee on Commonwealth Membership, chaired by former Jamaican Prime Minister P J Patterson, will present its review of the criteria under which applications for Commonwealth membership would be considered in future.
A third team, the Steering Committee on ‘Commonwealth Connects’, which is tasked with helping bridge the digital divide among member countries, will also submit its report.
Foreign ministers will meet in Kampala two days prior to CHOGM, from 21 to 22 November 2007. They will be discussing, among other things, democracy and governance issues, conflict prevention and resolution, terrorism, international trade and economic co-operation, financing for development, environmental issues and natural disasters.
CHOGM 2007 will also see the election of a new Secretary-General. Don McKinnon will finish his term of office on 31 March 2008.
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