Thank you for reading and participating in the People’s Forum blog. It has been enormously valuable to receive your contributions. Being a time limited project, this blog is closing for new content but will remain open as an archive.

For those who didn’t have an opportunity to make it to the event itself, here’s a short video depicting what it looked like on the ground.

Click here if you can’t see the video below.

By Anke Weisheit (Guest blogger)

Countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America use traditional medicine ™ to help meet some of their primary health care needs. In Africa, up to 80% of the population uses traditional medicine for primary health care. In industrialized countries, adaptations of traditional medicine are termed “Complimentary“ or “Alternative” (CAM). (WHO Fact sheet 2007).

A report of the Meeting of Commonwealth Health Related NGO’s Barbados 12th - 15th November, 1998 ideated that in the industrialised countries of the Commonwealth complementary medicine predominates and is largely utilised by the more affluent members of society. In the non-industrialised countries, traditional medicine is the predominant form of healthcare and is more widely used by different sections of society, particularly the poor and rural communities.

For example In Germany, 90% of the population has used a natural remedy at some point in their life. Between 1995 and 2000, In Germany, 90% of the populations have used a natural remedy at some point in their life. Between 1995 and 2000 and The global market for herbal medicines currently stands at over US $ 60 billion annually and is growing steadily and 25% of all modern medicines are made from plants first used traditionally.

I was privileged to attend the workshop: Prioritise Health – Realise Potential at the 2007 Commonwealth People’s Forum. I realised that traditional and complimentary medicine issues where not addressed in this 2-day meeting. As alternative therapies play a vital role in serving the people worldwide, it is also important it is integrated in the debate in this forum.

There is a need to:

• Integrate proven alternative and traditional healing practices in to the health systems
• Develop national policies on the evaluation and regulation of TM/CAM practices;
• Provide adequate resources to conduct research for evidence and safety, efficacy and improvement of the quality of the TAM/CAM products and practices;
• Ensure accessibility, availability and affordability of TMCAM
• Promote proven alternative and traditional healing practices by providers and consumers;
• Provide a clear basis on collaboration with indigenous knowledge holders users on mutual benefit sharing

Anke Weisheit, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda

By Naomi Kabarungi

The People’s Space at Commonwealth People’s Forum has been a hive of activity since Monday.

I followed the moments with a camera:

The bloggers get set to go out

Uganda’s VP Prof Bukenya is fascinated by the people’s blog

Workshops holding discussion groups

Exciting performances at the Speakers Space stage

By Joel Besekezi

Does the above saying look familiar? Well this was the case for some of the guests that came to the people’s space at Hotel Africana. Prince Charles was touring the space and apparently for security reasons, those who came after the Prince’s entry were not allowed in.

This however did not go down well with some of the guests especially the ladies, who thought it did not make much sense. “Is the big man going to address chairs, why not let us in” said one lady.

Another lady wondered why people could not be let in even after thorough security checks. An Indian lady complained having come all the way from her country but couldn’t access the People’s space.

Trust people when they are fighting for their rights. After so much noise, the security guards had no alternative but to let the people in. With so much excitement, people rushed to see the Prince who was already winding up his tour.

Prince Charles is one of the many dignitaries that have visited the People’s space which was put in place for free access by the general public. As it comes to a close, people feel it’s been a worthwhile venture and they have high hopes that their issues will be considered.

By Naomi Kabarungi

There was a hullabaloo at the People’s Space early this afternoon when the gay community and the rest of the people confronted each other, when anti-gay activist Dr. Martin Sempa released a press statement protesting the recommendations of the Commonwealth People’s Forum to legalise homosexuality in all the Commonwealth countries, as released in the Communiqué.

The gays wore heavy black pants, black t-shirts designed with the CHOGM 2007 logo and the dark shades; their dress code accessorised by belts and necklaces in the rainbow.

“What we want is a rainbow world,” said one gay, only identified as Jacky.

It turns out that the anti-gay coalition goes under the name The Rainbow Coalition.

I caught up with Dr. Martin Sempa to clarify the double use of the symbol.

Click to download a low bandwidth audio file here, or press play below:

Most interesting though was the verbal attack that erupted between the gays and the rest of the people in the Space. As the gays were bombarded by media and other paparazzi, some people took the opportunity to shout insults of ‘you are worse than cockroaches’ and ‘if your mother was gay, would you be here today’.

One elderly woman however tried to appeal to the gays to “re-consider their choices because you end up getting sick instead.”

“We gave birth to you as beautiful girls and boys; we want you to give birth to others as well,” she said in the local language.

Dr. Martin Sempa, who is also a pastor, invited them to come to his church and “meet Jesus and people who were once gay but have now reformed and are married.”

The gays retaliated by quoting the Bible, shouting that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

“None of you here is holy,” shouted Victor Juliet Mukasa, chairperson of the Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG). Victor (right in picture) is a young woman who is popular in Uganda for having taken the government to court for persecuting homosexuals and lesbians through the provisions of the Penal Code.

The gays were however escorted out of the people’s space by security who asked them to find another forum for their ‘demonstration’.

By Emmanuel Gyezaho, Charles Odongtho and Naomi Kabarungi

Prince Charles has today launched a fund to help youths engage in income generating activities. He named the fund the Uganda Youth Business Fund.

Prince Charles launched the fund during his visit to the People’s Space at Hotel Africana in Kampala. He expressed delight at making his first trip to Uganda in 60 years.

The prince singled out emphasis on Climate change and empowerment of youth which he said the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will address seriously. He added that in ten years, more than a billion children worldwide will be reaching employable age without employment.

He said the challenge of the modern day is to find employment for the youth’s and protect the environment on their behalf.

Charles explained that the Ugandan trust is replicated from the trust he launched thirty years ago in the United Kingdom to help get employment for young and underprivileged children. He said he was launching the Ugandan chapter after the success of the one in the UK seven years ago.

He said the Prince’s Trust in the United Kingdom has now expanded into 70,000 business enterprises in the UK and over twenty countries of the commonwealth.

He said, “We hold this planet in trust for the future of our children” adding that, “we can choose to abuse it or we can protect it so that our children can inherit a safe planet.”

The prince particularly noted that climate change is the greatest issue that the Commonwealth People’s Forum has given space to discuss.

Moving through the Space, Prince Charles was bombarded by lots of people seeking to shake his hand. Security, both royal and local, hardly managed to keep the masses at a hundred metres distance. British Council’s Anne Babinaga showed His Royal Highness round the People’s Space. He took time to stop over at most of the huts and even spared a few minutes to play the Lolui rocks at the Rock art, Rock Music tent.

By Charles Odongtho

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda says they want the 53 member states of the Commonwealth to help them arrest and bring to justice 14 fugitives who are hiding in various countries, several of them Commonwealth members.

The Spokesperson for the tribunal, Roland Amoussouga named neighbouring Kenya as one of the countries where the genocide suspects are hiding. He also named Uganda, a long-time close ally of the Kigali government.

He named one notorious fugitive as Felicien Kabuga whom he said has been sighted a number of times in parts of Kenya, so far without any success in his arrest. Amoussouga said the tribunal had discovered through investigations that several other fugitives are hiding in Commonwealth countries, with no mechanism in place currently to get them arrested and repatriated.

Amoussouga refused to name more countries saying this could jeopardize the ongoing investigations. But he did list some of the most wanted suspects as Bizimana Augustine, Ndahimana Gregoire, Uwinkindi Jean Bosco, Mpiranya Protais, Kayishema Fulgence, and Ndimbati Aloys.

He said the regional crises in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and other neighboring countries have all been caused partly by the genocide in Rwanda.

Referring to the genocide as the worst human tragedy they have gone through, Amoussouga appealed to the Commonwealth members to speak with one voice against any kind of impunity.

Click to download a low bandwidth file, or press play below:

Amoussouga said that the out-going Secretary General of the commonwealth, Don Mckinnon visited Rwanda three months ago and agreed with the authorities there that the organization would help them with the process of getting suspects through the justice process.

Seventy-two suspects have so far been arrested since the tribunal got established in 1994 six of whom are already serving their sentences in Mali after successfully undergoing trials.

Rwanda has applied to join the Commonwealth and is expected to be confirmed a member at the end of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting this weekend.

By The Editor

Charles Odongtho, one of the blogger team, managed to take some time out with Terry Waite for a short interview.

Click here if you can’t see the video below:

By The Editor

Martin Davidson, current CEO, British Council dropped by the Media Space yesterday to see what’s been going on. One of the blog team, Naomi Karabungi managed to corner him and ask a few questions about British Council’s involvement in Africa and the event.

Click here if you can’t see the video below.

Click to download a transcript in Word or PDF.