Commonwealth Foundation - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Commonwealth Foundation is an intergovernmental organisation that was established by the Commonwealth Heads of Government

Commonwealth Heads of Government

The leaders of the nations with membership in the Commonwealth of Nations are collectively known as the Commonwealth Heads of Government. They are invited to attend Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings every two years, with most countries being represented by either their Head of Government...

in 1965, the same year as its sister organisation, the Commonwealth Secretariat

Commonwealth Secretariat

The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating cooperation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings ; assisting and advising on policy...

. The Foundation is located at Marlborough House

Marlborough House

Marlborough House is a mansion in Westminster, London, in Pall Mall just east of St James's Palace. It was built for Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, the favourite and confidante of Queen Anne. The Duchess wanted her new house to be "strong, plain and convenient and good"...

in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, a former royal palace which was assigned for the use of these Commonwealth institutions by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Head of the Commonwealth

Head of the Commonwealth

The Head of the Commonwealth heads the Commonwealth of Nations, an intergovernmental organisation which currently comprises 54 sovereign states. The position is currently occupied by the individual who serves as monarch of each of the Commonwealth realms, but has no day-to-day involvement in the...

History

The Commonwealth Foundation, along with its sister organisation, the Commonwealth Secretariat was conceived at the 1964 Conference of Commonwealth Prime Minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

s. The idea of a Commonwealth Secretariat was first floated by President Nkrumah of Ghana and the concept of the Commonwealth Foundation was proposed by Alec Douglas-Home

Alec Douglas-Home

Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC , known as The Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 and as Sir Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1974, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964.He is the last...

, the British Prime Minister. The British Government offered to contribute half the proposed annual income of £250,000. Initially, the idea of locating the Foundation in London

London

was dismissed on the basis that the Commonwealth Secretariat would be based there. However, it was later agreed that it should be based in London as many of the professional associations operating throughout the Commonwealth had offices in Britain.

In line with the "Agreed memorandum on the Commonwealth Foundation" a "distinguished private citizen" was to be appointed as the Chairman and a board of Trustees formed with each member government having the "right to nominate one member of the Board". In addition a Director was to be appointed. In 1965, it was agreed that Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet

Frank Macfarlane Burnet

Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, , usually known as Macfarlane or Mac Burnet, was an Australian virologist best known for his contributions to immunology....

should be the first Chairman and John Chadwick the first Director

Director-general

The term director-general is a title given the highest executive officer within a governmental, statutory, NGO, third sector or not-for-profit institution.-European Union:...

of the Foundation. The first Board of Trustee

Trustee

Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...

s comprised both nominations of independent individuals and London based High Commissioners. The independent Trustees were Dr Leslie Farrer-Brown (Britain); Escott Reid

Escott Reid

Escott Graves Meredith Reid, CC , was a Canadian diplomat who helped shape the UN & NATO, author, international public servant and academic administrator....

(Canada); Richard Campbell

Richard Mitchelson Campbell

Richard Mitchelson Campbell CMG , often known as Dick Campbell, was a New Zealand economist, civil servant , and diplomat...

(New Zealand); Akintola Williams (Nigeria); Robert Loinsworth (Trinidad and Tobago); Dr Hugh Springer (Barbados); and Dr C Columbos (Malta). All other member countries were represented by their London based High Commissioners.

Whilst the Commonwealth Secretariat

Commonwealth Secretariat

was established to support the political endeavours of the Commonwealth, the 'Foundation was brought into being in the hope that it would give further substance to the old truism that the Commonwealth is as much an association of peoples as of governments'.

In 1966, the Commonwealth Foundation was registered as a Charitable Trust

Charitable trust

A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes, and is a more specific term than "charitable organization".-United States:...

under English Law

English law

English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries and the United States except Louisiana...

. The trust deed

Deed

A deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, or affirms or confirms something which passes, an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions sealed...

, as registered with the Charity Commission

Charity Commission

The Charity Commission for England and Wales is the non-ministerial government department that regulates registered charities in England and Wales....

described the aims of the Foundation as, 'To maintain and improve (in the interests of the public) standards of knowledge attainment and conduct in the skilled and learned professions or skilled auxiliary occupations within the Commonwealth'. Based on this, more specific aims were developed which, in 1969, Chadwick summarised as:

(1) To encourage the growth of Commonwealthwide professional associations

(2) To help to create national professional societies as part of a general process of 'deanglicization'

(3) To promote regional professional activity

(4) To encourage the personal interchange of skills and experience

(5) To aid the broadening of experience through the printed word

The Foundation began to implement these aims by focusing on three main areas of work i.e. facilitating the creation of Commonwealth-wide professional associations; disseminating printed information and supporting the professional development of individuals. Given the modest budget of the Foundation, the role of the organisation was defined as being "more catalytic than executive".

In 1979, the Foundation's mandate was extended to include work with a broader range of non-governmental organisations involved in work such as rural development, social welfare, disability, gender and arts and culture.

In 1982, a decision was taken to reconstitute the Foundation as an International Organisation – a process that was completed on 14 February 1983. Since then, the remit of the Commonwealth Foundation has continued to broaden and grow. With the aim of strengthening civil society

Civil society

Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...

and enhancing its contribution to development in the Commonwealth

Commonwealth

Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...

, the Foundation now works with non-governmental and voluntary organisations, faith-based institutions, the media and trade unions.

The Commonwealth Foundation was already unique as an intergovernmental body established solely to support civil society, but in 2004, the Foundation took the additional step of revising its governance structure to include civil society representatives. Uniquely for an intergovernmental organisation, five members of civil society now sit on the Board of Governors alongside representatives of member governments.

Governance

Today, the Board of Governors comprises all member Governments (usually represented by their London-based High Commissioners) and five civil society representatives. The Board meets annually and is supported by the Executive and Grants Committees which meet twice yearly. In addition, there are two advisory committees namely the Civil Society Advisory Committee, drawn from NGOs and professional bodies across the Commonwealth and Commonwealth Writers' Prize

Commonwealth Writers' Prize

Commonwealth Writers is an initiative by the Commonwealth Foundation to unearth, develop and promote the best new fiction from across the Commonwealth. It's flagship are two literary awards and a website...

Advisory Committee.

Throughout its history, the Foundation has been led by highly accomplished people. The first Chairman of the Foundation was Nobel laureateSir Frank Macfarlane Burnet and the first Director was John Chadwick. Today, the Chairman of the Foundation is Simone de Comarmond, former Minister and Secretary of State in the Republic of Seychelles, and the Director is Dr. Mark Collins, who joined the foundation from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Membership

Membership of the Foundation is open to all Commonwealth governments. As of December 2009, there were 47 member countries namely Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda is a twin-island nation lying between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major inhabited islands, Antigua and Barbuda, and a number of smaller islands...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, The Bahamas, Barbados

Barbados

Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...

, Belize

Belize

Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...

, Botswana

Botswana

Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...

, Brunei Darussalam, Cameroon

Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

, Dominica

Dominica

Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...

, The Gambia, Ghana

Ghana

Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...

, Grenada

Grenada

Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...

, Guyana

Guyana

Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

, Kenya

Kenya

Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

, Kiribati

Kiribati

Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...

, Lesotho

Lesotho

Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...

, Malawi

Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

, Malaysia, the Maldives

Maldives

The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...

, Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

, Mauritius

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

, Mozambique

Mozambique

Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

, Namibia

Namibia

Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

, Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia is an island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. It covers a land area of 620 km2 and has an...

, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Lesser Antilles chain, namely in the southern portion of the Windward Islands, which lie at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean....

, Samoa

Samoa

Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...

, Seychelles

Seychelles

Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....

, Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

, Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, Swaziland

Swaziland

Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...

, Tonga

Tonga

Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...

, Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...

, Uganda

Uganda

Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...

, United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, United Republic of Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

and Zambia

Zambia

Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....

. In addition, the Foundation has one Associate Member—Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

(since 2004).

The rest of the Commonwealth Nations are Bangladesh

Bangladesh

Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...

, Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

, Nauru

Nauru

Nauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...

, Rwanda

Rwanda

Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

, Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts and Nevis

The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis , located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, in both area and population....

, Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands, is a Polynesian island nation located in the Pacific Ocean, midway between Hawaii and Australia. Its nearest neighbours are Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa and Fiji. It comprises four reef islands and five true atolls...

and Vanuatu

Vanuatu

Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...

Vision and Mission

The Foundation's vision is of a Commonwealth where citizens are able to give voice to their aspirations, identify their own solutions and fulfil their role in society. It is a Commonwealth where citizens individually and collectively express themselves for the public good at local, national and international levels by facing global challenges, building strong communities and promoting citizens' rights. It is a Commonwealth where civil society organisations realise their full potential, engaging with their governments and the private sector in the shared enterprise of transformational nation-building and international cooperation.

The Foundation's mission is to strengthen civil society organisations across the Commonwealth as they promote democracy, advance sustainable development and foster inter-cultural understanding.

Professional Centres

In the 1960s, professional networks in many of the newer Commonwealth countries were weak and professional associations lacked recognition. In 1967, following a meeting in Uganda between John Chadwick, the Director of the Foundation, and professionals from various sectors, the idea of a 'Professional Centre' was conceived. A few months later, the Foundation awarded a grant that helped support the development of a Professional Centre in Kampala, Uganda. By 1981, Professional Centres were established, or being planned, in 18 Commonwealth countries. Although there was no blueprint, most centres sought to promote co-operation, professional development and provide professional advice to governments on relevant policy and legal issues.

Today, several of these professional centres, or subsequent incarnations of them, continue to prosper as independent organisations (see external links below).

Commonwealth Professional Associations

When the Foundation was formed, at least two Commonwealth professional associations already existed, namely the Commonwealth Association of Architects and the Commonwealth Medical Association.

With the Foundation's encouragement and support (which included grants for travel and administrative costs), several other professional associations developed—including bodies working in the legal, veterinary and surveying fields. Almost all of these associations continue to function today. According to Chadwick, rather than encouraging 'professional exclusivity' the secretariats of these associations were designed to "collate and disseminate professional views and experience, co-ordinate programmes for Commonwealth wide or regional meetings; stimulate studies on training, curricula, reciprocity, standards, publications and the like." Today, these organisations also have opportunities to influence the programme of work of the Commonwealth Secretariat, and to enter into dialogue with Commonwealth ministries at their various meetings.

Individual Professional Development

During the 1960s the Foundation's third area of activity was to help individual professionals. Small awards were given to individuals so that they could participate in short, specialised, training courses or study visits that would help them update their professional expertise. Within the first 10 years, 'many hundreds of younger, professionally qualified men and women' had benefited from these awards. Over time this approach evolved and funds were increasingly directed towards the cost of supporting insitu training.

Lectureship Programme

Building on its work with individual professionals, the Commonwealth Foundation Lectureship programme was launched in 1967. The programme was designed to enable eminent individuals to travel to another region of the Commonwealth to deliver a series of lectures and meet with governments, students and professionals to debate issues of common interest. The first lecture tour took place in 1968 when Dr V M Hamilton, the Director of the New Zealand Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, travelled to East and Central Africa to lecture on scientific organisation and animal husbandry. According to Chadwick this programme had many benefits—helping generate new ideas that informed policy development and the creation of contacts between individuals—some of which resulted in long term "twinning" between institutions.

Programme Focus

In 2005 a programme structure was developed that allowed for a more transparent and accountable set of initiatives and in 2008, with a launch of a new organisational strategy, the programme structure was expanded. While continuing to promote traditional Commonwealth interest in professional networks, greater emphasis is now placed on facilitating dialogue between civil society and governments through ministerial meetings and the Commonwealth People's Forum and on enabling civil society organisations in the developing world to play a greater part in national development. In addition, analytical work draws together voices and opinions from across the Commonwealth with information published in many different media.

These changes took root in 1998/99, when a mass consultation process was undertaken involving 10,000 ordinary citizens in 47 countries. Citizens were asked about their view of a good society; what roles citizens and governments should play in such a society and what could be done to enable citizens to play their role more effectively. This consultation process culminated in the publication of various documents including Citizens and Governance: Regional Perspectives and Citizens and Governance: Civil Society in the New Millennium. Building on this, the Foundation's work on governance and democracy has since included 21 action-learning projects designed and implemented by partners in different countries of the Commonwealth and the development of a Citizens and Governance Toolkit.

Broad based consultations with citizens and civil society organisations continues to be a defining feature of the Foundation's work. For example, in 2004, the Foundation consulted with non governmental organisations in 14 countries to generate a report Breaking with Business as Usual which provides civil society perspectives on progress towards the MDGs. The report was disseminated throughout the Commonwealth and has been used by civil society organisations to inform their work and lobby their governments.

Over the years, information has been produced to guide and support the development of NGOs. In 1995, Non-Governmental Organisations Guidelines for Good Policy and Practice was produced. The guidelines were widely disseminated used to assist NGO development throughout the Commonwealth. Having seen the need to update the Guidelines, the Foundation commissioned a scoping study which identified several changes in context and new needs that any new edition of the Guidelines should address (see concept note for more details).

Grant giving programmes continue, supporting the work of Commonwealth Professional Associations and other civil society organisations. Whereas grants used to support the training of individual professionals, the grants programme is now aligned with the Foundation's current strategic priorities, helping build capacity of civil society organisations and promote action on governance and democracy; sustainable development and culture and diversity.

Grants

From July 2007 to June 2008, the Commonwealth Foundation allocated a total of £923,843 in grants to a broad range of civil society and nongovernmental organisations across culture and diversity, governance and democracy, and sustainable development. £687,534 was allocated to ‘responsive’ grants programme. This contributed to activities such as training courses, workshops, seminars, conferences, cultural festivals, study visits, exchanges and documentation of case studies. Responsive grants allow civil society organisations to learn and be inspired by exposure to the work of other organisations by developing and building networks to keep abreast of legislation, comparable projects, and regional initiatives. Responsive grants are also important because, through civil society networks, they make a link between community based work and international policymaking. They steer the Foundation’s programmes and inform about innovation, initiatives and debate. In the last year, innovations in the grants programme have included:
(i) The introduction of the ‘special grants reserve’ - used in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Five grants were allocated to non-governmental organisations: three to Jamaica for livelihood restoration projects after Hurricane Dean, and one each to Ghana and Uganda to help flood victims.
(ii) The introduction of voter education guidelines. These were used to give grants to civil society-led activities raising awareness about elections. Workshops discussed issues such as the monitoring of government budgeting, media reporting on elections, and voter education.

Commonwealth People's Forum

The Commonwealth People’s Forum takes place every two years immediately before the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, , is a biennial summit meeting of the heads of government from all Commonwealth nations. Every two years the meeting is held in a different member state, and is chaired by that nation's respective Prime Minister or President, who becomes the...

(CHOGM). The Forum is organised by the host government, civil society organisations and the Foundation. It gives civil society organisations (CSOs) a chance to network and dialogue with governments. Since the first Forum in 1997, the event has increased in size and the range of activities that take place has expanded.

The first Forum was in Edinburgh, Scotland (1997). Subsequently, it has been held in Durban, South Africa (1999); Brisbane, Australia (2001); Abuja, Nigeria (2003), Malta (2005) and Kampala (2007), Port of Space, Trinidad and Tobago (2009). The 2011 Forum will take place in Perth, Western Australia.

Ministerial Meetings

Ministerial meetings, together with the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings (CHOGM), seek to build consensus on issues of concern to member states. The work of the Commonwealth Secretariat

Commonwealth Secretariat

is guided by the outcomes of all these meetings. With the support of the Commonwealth Foundation, civil society participation in CHOGM and Ministerial Meetings has been steadily increasing since the late 1990s. Civil society participation in Ministerial Meetings on finance, women's affairs, HIPC and health has been particularly significant.

Since 2002, civil society organisations have presented statements at the annual Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting. Reflecting the themes of the meetings, statements have been published on 'Financing for Development' (2002); 'The Provision of Essential Services' (2003); 'Capacity of International Institutions to Support Pro-Poor Trade Liberalisation in Low-Income and Vulnerable Countries' (2004); and 'Giving Practical Effect to the Millennium Project Review' (2005). Each year, civil society organisations met immediately ahead of the Ministers Meeting to prepare the statements. In 2006, the outcomes of an e-consultation process was used to further inform debate and shape the statement on 'An Agenda for Growth and Livelihoods'.

Meetings of Commonwealth Ministers responsible for Women’s Affairs have been held every three years since 1985. In 2004, ahead of the Seventh Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting (held in Fiji), the Commonwealth Foundation organised preparatory meetings, helped establish a Steering Committee and supported Committee members as they consulted civil society organisations in their regions. Uniquely for a Commonwealth Ministerial meeting, civil society representatives were invited to participate in the Minster’s meeting and in the committee that drafted the Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality 2005-2015.

Heavily Indebted Poor Countries

Heavily Indebted Poor Countries

Heavily Indebted Poor Countries is a group of 40 developing countries with high levels of poverty and debt overhang which are eligible for special assistance from the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.- History and structure :...

(HIPC) are judged to have the highest levels of poverty in the world and are subject to international debt relief measures that seek to reduce their external debt to sustainable levels. Commonwealth HIPC Ministers meet twice a year to discuss issues of common interest. As Hilary Benn

Hilary Benn

Hilary James Wedgwood Benn is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Leeds Central since 1999. He served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for International Development from 2003 to 2007 and as the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs...

(2003) commented, the Commonwealth HIPC Forum provides an important platform for Ministers from HIPC countries to discuss matters of mutual interest, and has stimulated wider debate within the Commonwealth, as well as within the International Financial Institutions themselves. The Commonwealth Foundation supports civil society participation at these meetings, giving civil society representatives an opportunity to share their views with Ministers and take information back to national and regional networks engaged in work on debt and HIPC issues. In 2006, the Foundation worked with Jubilee Zambia to organise a civil society consultation meeting and outcomes were communicated to Ministers at the Commonwealth HIPC Ministerial Forum in Lusaka, Zambia.

The Commonwealth Health Ministers meet annually in Geneva, prior to meetings of the World Health Assembly

World Health Assembly

The World Health Assembly is the forum through which the World Health Organization is governed by its 194 member states. It is the world's highest health policy setting body and is composed of health ministers from member states....

. Accredited civil society organisations participate in the meetings. In 2006, the Commonwealth Foundation provided funding for a meeting convened by the Dental Association on Oral Tobacco Cessation and supported the participation of Nurses Federation in a roundtable on Human Resources for Health.

Competitions and Awards

As part of its work to promote culture and diversity, the Foundation – often in association with other organisations – runs several awards and prizes.

In 1987, the Commonwealth Writers' Prize

Commonwealth Writers' Prize

was established and has run every year since then. The Prize promotes literary talent in the Commonwealth and encourages reading between cultures. In the same year, the Commonwealth Arts and Crafts Award was also launched. This biennial event aims to promote cultural understanding through art and gives winning artists an opportunity to work with and learn from artists in another Commonwealth country.

The Commonwealth Short Story Competition

Commonwealth Short Story Competition

The Commonwealth Short Story Prize is awarded annually for the best piece of unpublished short fiction . The prize is open to Commonwealth citizens aged 18 and over...

, established in 1996, is administered by the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association

Commonwealth Broadcasting Association

Founded in 1945, the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association is a representative body for public service broadcasters throughout the Commonwealth. A not-for-profit non-government organisation, the CBA is funded by subscriptions from 102 members and affiliates from 53 countries...

. Each year, regional winners are chosen for Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

and Canada

Canada

, Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

and the Pacific. One is then selected as the overall winner. The winning entries are recorded and broadcast by radio stations across the Commonwealth. Ellen Banda-Aaku of Zambia, won the 2007 competition with the short story 'Sozi's Box'.

External links

Commonwealth Professional Associations

Professional Centres

History

Governance

Membership

Vision and Mission

Professional Centres

Commonwealth Professional Associations

Individual Professional Development

Lectureship Programme

Programme Focus

Grants

Commonwealth People's Forum

Ministerial Meetings

Competitions and Awards

See also

External links