Media relations

	A visitor to the 2004 Commonwealth Countriesí League (CCL) Fair in London. The Fair raises money that enables the CCL to sponsor girls of proven ability in developing countries to complete their education

Issues that were high on the Commonwealth’s agenda and caught the world’s attention in 2003-2005 included the promotion of democracy and the fight against terrorism, the Indian Ocean tsunami and other natural disasters, and, particularly in the run-up to the G8 meeting in July 2005, the urgent need for free and fair trade, poverty alleviation and debt cancellation for developing countries.

The Secretary-General gave many interviews on these and other topics, and spoke out particularly on the need for the developed world to end agricultural subsidies that prevent developing countries from trading in the markets of the United States, Europe and Japan. From July 2003 to June 2005, the Secretariat issued 163 press releases, including reports and statements from ministerial meetings and Commonwealth election observer groups, messages from the Secretary-General, and information on Commonwealth events and development programmes.

Some 800 Nigerian and international media were in attendance to cover the 2003 CHOGM in Abuja and broadcast Commonwealth-related stories.

Web communications

The Secretariat has centralised and streamlined its web communications, consolidating various sites relating to different aspects of the Commonwealth’s work under the main Secretariat website (www.thecommonwealth.org). By June 2005, the site was receiving an average of 95,000 visits per month, almost double the February 2004 figure of about 50,000.

New content and features have been added, including a dedicated search engine. A new Young Commonwealth site area was launched in February 2005, and others added or redesigned, including site areas for the Commonwealth Yearbook, the Secretary-General’s Report, Publications, and the Regional Centres of the CYP.

A collection of Commonwealth audio and video material was made available on the site, and a streaming facility enabled. A new online image library will shortly be launched for public use. Online subscription-based registration was enabled for various Commonwealth products and services including newsletters and press releases.

The Commonwealth News and Information Service – CNIS – continued to issue weekly e-mail news bulletins on Commonwealth activities and events.

Supporting strong, independent media

Training for journalists and other media personnel was supported by the Commonwealth Media Development Fund (CMDF). This extra-budgetary resource is funded by the Governments of India and the United Kingdom. It is administered by the Secretariat, which works with partner NGOs and training institutions to deliver media training and other support in developing countries. In 2003-2005, some 720 media professionals from 46 Commonwealth countries received training under CMDF.

Advancing the MDGs is a central element of the CMDF’s strategy. In June 2004 media practitioners from Botswana, Namibia, Seychelles and Uganda, as well as various parts of India, participated in a CMDF workshop in New Delhi on the media and their contribution to raising awareness of the MDGs.

A training project entitled ‘Malaria and the Media: Advocating Health Policy and Practice in Sub-Saharan Africa’ was implemented in Botswana, The Gambia and Kenya by the Commonwealth Press Union and the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, in collaboration with the Gates Partnership.

Internships for young Commonwealth journalists include six-month placements at the Secretariat’s headquarters in London, and longer internships at the CYP Regional Centres as part of the Secretariat’s Youth Outreach Programme.

Audio and video productions

The Secretariat supports its programme work on development and democracy with audio and video productions that are made available to Commonwealth broadcasters. In 2003-2005 several new productions were completed, including a video entitled ‘Making Waves/Caka Ua’ about an innovative retail skills development programme for indigenous people in the Pacific islands, run by the Commonwealth, UNDP and other partners. The Queen’s Commonwealth Day message, which is distributed in audio format to broadcasters in all Commonwealth countries, was for the first time distributed in video format in 2005.

‘Fight for life’, a series of seven advocacy films on maternal and newborn health, was produced in collaboration with the WHO and aired on BBC World in April-June 2005. The films will be distributed to all Commonwealth countries and, where possible, translated into local languages. A Spanish translation is in preparation.

Publications

Commonwealth knowledge and expertise is disseminated through the Secretariat’s publishing programme, which produced some 150 titles over the past two years. These covered policy issues, case studies and best practices in the Commonwealth’s work areas, including globalisation and multilateral trade issues, export and enterprise development, education, gender mainstreaming, public service management and reform, human rights and corporate governance. Flagship reference manuals such as the Commonwealth Yearbook and the Commonwealth Ministers Reference Book were brought out in partnership with commercial publishers.

The Secretariat’s output of publicity materials included a range of brochures, magazines, leaflets and posters providing general information about the Commonwealth, the Secretariat and the work of the association.

The Commonwealth Lecture

	Nigeriaís President Olusegun Obasanjo delivers the 2005 Commonwealth Lecture in London

Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria delivered the 2005 Commonwealth Lecture, on the theme ‘The Commonwealth in the 21st Century: Prospects and Challenges’. The prestigious annual lecture is co-organised by the Commonwealth Foundation, the Secretariat and other agencies. In 2004 it was delivered by former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, on the theme ‘Making Progress through Multilateralism’.

Commonwealth Day

Commonwealth Day is observed on the second Monday in March each year. In 2005 the theme was ‘Education – Creating Opportunity, Realising Potential’, and in 2004 it was ‘Building a Commonwealth of Freedom’.

Parliaments, government ministries and diplomatic missions celebrate the Day with speeches, exhibitions and other activities. Special events organised by the CYP’s Regional Centres strengthen the focus on youth. CSOs also play a key role, particularly the Royal Commonwealth Society and its many branches in member countries. The Secretariat produces a special poster based on the theme, some 250,000 copies of which are distributed to governments and schools around the Commonwealth. In 2005, the Secretariat targeted newspapers in every member country in a campaign to maximise coverage of the Commonwealth and its work on Commonwealth Day.

Information Centre

A new Commonwealth Information Centre was opened on 7 February 2005 by HRH The Prince of Wales in Quadrant House, one of the Secretariat’s two offices in London. The Centre provides information to journalists, students, researchers and the general public. It offers access to the main Commonwealth website and the catalogue of priced Secretariat books.

Library and archives

In 2004-2005, the Secretariat released 234 of its files into the public domain, including materials relating to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Ottawa, Canada, in 1973; minutes of Meetings of the Rhodesia Sanctions Committee and other files concerning the Rhodesia crisis, including aid to Zambia; files relating to the Report of the Work Study Group on the Commonwealth Secretariat; documents concerning the Commonwealth membership of The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Grenada and Pakistan; and the political situation in Cyprus.

The Secretariat initiated a new records management programme, which will greatly improve the maintenance of the Secretariat’s records.