By Elizabeth Kameo

The Commonwealth People’s Forum 2007 drew attention to the significance of water, energy and sustainable livelihoods. This topic was specifically discussed in a two day workshop at the forum titled Trade Models for Sustainable Livelihoods. But what is the significance of this to people in Commonwealth States. I talked to Dr. Moses Musaazi, from the Department of Technology Makerere University about the significance of energy, water and sustainable livelihoods.

Click to download a transcript in Word or PDF.

By Naomi Kabarungi

Until today, I always left such complex issues as Climate Change to ‘activists’. To me, they would be the guys that have a PHD in environment or global warming or whatever else climate is about.

The Converging World, represented by Shalin Jethi, delegate at the Commonwealth People’s Forum, conducted an interactive workshop ‘Your Climate-My Future’ at the Green Space in the People’s Space this afternoon. It was amazing to see people of all trades and professions gathered in what they called ‘clusters’ discussing what they each can do to tackle climate issues.

While such topics as climate have been left to what we call experts, it is a challenge for the experts to break it down for the rest of us, so that we can easier understand it. This is what The Converging World, with the help of the New Economics Foundation has done by making a fun-game called Climate Talks to tackle climate questions.

Click here for a low bandwidth audio file of Shalin talking about the workshop or press play below:

Alice Namuli, a young advocate based in Kampala said what gives her the energy to tackle climate change:

“The desire to live a better life; and the need to preserve a safe environment on planet earth for the future generation. I plan on doing this by influencing people’s attitudes towards climate change.”

Click here for a low bandwidth file of Alice, or press play below:

Gertrude Ssekabira, a head teacher in a Kampala school also believes that the desire for a better life is the driving force.

“Why for instance should I pay for water when I can harvest it for free when it rains, while at the same time solving the problem of soil erosion?”

Click here for a low bandwidth file of Gertrude, or press play below:

Shalin challenged them thus: “If someone told you that in 10years time global warming will have gotten too bad you won’t be able to do anything about it, wouldn’t you start to act right away?”

Everybody nodded in the affirmative. They laid out plans of what they intend to do, and what they feel others should do to tackle the issues surrounding climate change.

So what can I/ we/ they do? Post your comments on climate change.

By Charles Odongtho

Out going Secretary-General of the Commonwealthh, Don McKinnon wants leaders of the 53 member states to set out priority plans to tackle the challenges of Climate Change and Balance of Trade between countries. Mckinnon considers these two issues are currently the biggest challenges to be resolved.

On Tuesday evening on the BBC World Service programme“Have Your Say”, which was relayed live from Uganda’s capital Kampala, several Ugandans criticized the Commonwealth calling it an irrelevance and a mere party club. They said it has little impact on modern Africa because the delegates just come, meet and exchange business cards, eat and drink well and then go home.

But the Secretary-General disagrees. He pointed out that during his last visit to war-affected Northern Uganda, he visited development projects set up by the Commonwealth to rehabilitate youths who had been abducted by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels.

Don Mckinnon does not hide his disappointment with Uganda’s main opposition leaders who have boycotted the Commonwealth meeting. The opposition in Uganda say they have become cynical of an organization that cannot address their concerns on human rights and governance.

Mckinnon, who will be replaced by a new Secretary-General at the end of this week’s summit, said the meeting is crucial for the entire host country and not just for the ruling government. He said he met the country’s opposition four months ago and they had assured him they would participate.

He said that countries with good and established democratic institutions and good governance structures can benefit more from Commonwealth membership. He said it is important for all member countries, Uganda included, to build institutions that can help to build global confidence in their people.

See Don Mckinnon’s blog on the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting here.

I interviewed Don earlier. Below are both an excerpt and the full interview I carried out with him. In the excerpt, Don talks about having congruence between policy and projects ‘on the ground.’

Excerpt audio

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

Full interview

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

By Mark Malloch Brown

As the UK’s Minister with responsibility for the Commonwealth, I will be attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) along with the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and three other members of the UK Government.

CHOGM presents a unique opportunity to bring together Leaders and Ministers from throughout the Commonwealth to discuss issues which are not just of importance to the Commonwealth, but which are of global significance. The Government of Uganda, who are hosting the event, have chosen the theme “Transformation of Commonwealth Societies to achieve Political, Economic and Human Development”. Under that wider theme, we will be discussing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Climate Change, Trade, and Education. These are all key issues, which we believe need to be tackled head on if the poorest countries of the Commonwealth are to develop. And we firmly believe that the Commonwealth itself has an important role to play in these issues. As a unique grouping of countries from across the globe, with a fundamental set of principles in common, we, the Commonwealth, cut across traditional regional and economic groupings and can move the debate forward and take action on such issues of critical importance.

Civil society has an important role to play too. The Commonwealth People’s Forum, is an excellent opportunity to raise the visibility of civil society. Focussing on the theme of “Realising People’s Potential”, Ugandan and pan-Commonwealth organisations will discuss key issues such as democracy and development. Their views will then be presented to Heads of Government at CHOGM.

My best wishes for a successful Forum. I look forward to hearing the outcomes.

By Emmanuel Gyezaho

I had the pleasure of attending a workshop on communication for climate change at the Commonwealth Peoples Forum. I must admit, I am no expert on climate issues - in fact until this week, my general view was that environment issues aren’t such a big deal.

I am pretty sure there are thousands of people out there, equally inhibited, either because the media [which obviously sets the agenda], has not really focused on the problems of climate change or because, even when it has, the information has been packaged so badly that it raises little interest.

That is why the British Council in conjunction with Futerra organized a workshop to devise new communication tactics for climate change at the Commonwealth Peoples Forum in Kampala.

Citing the example of Lisa Simpson of the famous Simpsons Cartoon,
Erica Jobson lead facilitator at the workshop, showed delegates that information on climate change can be effectively packaged through animation, art and music, in more appealing ways than through drab graphical statistics and charts.

Erica’s PowerPoint presentation can be downloaded here.

She spoke to Emmanuel Gyezaho about the need to effectively communicate climate change.

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

However, one of the participants, Kwesi Anderson, an environmentalist from Ghana, believes the real challenge lies in the execution of points of action on the part of policy makers, the political class and individual people.

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

By Emmanuel Gyezaho

Commonwealth nations, especially those in the underdeveloped bracket are vulnerable to what has been described as “external shocks” due to changes in global climate, says Commonwealth Foundation Director Dr Mark Collins.

It is because of such threats, he says, that there is an urgent need to design and package suitable information for people to understand and deal with the problems associated with climate change.

The British Council is currently spearheading such an effort, at the ongoing Commonwealth Peoples Forum in Kampala, and organised a workshop whose sole aim is to design communication tactics for climate change.

Although he expressed optimism about a somewhat bleak future for third world nations that are currently facing the brunt of climate change for reasons not of their own making, Dr Collins said first world government’s must stand up and walk the talk.

Citing the devastation that befell Grenada in 2004 after Hurricane Ivan hit the Caribbean Island, Dr Collins told Emmanuel Gyezaho that commonwealth nations stand to suffer dramatic impacts due to climate change.

Here’s a short audio interview I did with Dr Collins.

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

By Emmanuel Gyezaho

Journalists covering the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Peoples Forum (CPF) in Kampala yesterday faced-off with Ugandan security officials over media accreditation to the summit.

Trouble begun after officials of President Yoweri Museveni’s elite protection unit, the Presidential Guard Brigade (PGB), barred reporters who didn’t carry a “special” accreditation tag, from covering the opening gala.

It was in many ways a bizarre spectacle as it turned out that reporters were never informed that they needed additional accreditation, on top of the official media accreditation issued by the Commonwealth Secretariat. Worse still, the security officials took the decision to issue a second accreditation without informing the Secretariat.

It was a frustrating experience for many reporters, both local and international, especially those who have travelled thousands of miles to cover one of the biggest events on the Commonwealth calendar this year.
I spoke to Mr Julius Mucunguzi, a communications officer in charge of media and broadcasting at the Commonwealth Secretariat, and while he expressed utter shock at the organizational hitch, he was very optimistic it wouldn’t affect the smooth running of the event.

But we cannot forget that this was the opening of the largest civil society event this year, a grouping of people better known for their love-hate relationship with politicians and the government.
And we also know that civil society has often been accused of hiding behind the media in promoting interests not favourable to the state. So were there any ulterior motives in issuing a second accreditation? Why was the Commonwealth Secretariat kept in the dark?

These are questions that need answers. It would be a sad commentary for Uganda as host, if such organizational hitches continue at the ensuing Commonwealth events.

I interviewed Julius Mucunguzi about the hitch.

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

By Shalin Jethi (Guest blogger)

‘Your Climate – My Future’ Is this is a joke? Well - it is if you don’t mind being fried, drowned and starved – perhaps within a short space of each other. No, I am just scaring you because God will make it all right and save his/her creation….will s/he really want to do that after what we have done to such a beautiful Earth? Hmmm if I was God I would probably say: ‘this is one too many’ and let it go. You are probably ready to have it out with me now, aren’t you?

‘Your Climate – My Future’ is the title of an interactive discussion we will be running on behalf of The Converging World at the CHOGM People’s Forum to raise awareness about climate change and energy security. For the first time the Commonwealth has given this issue a top billing for CHOGM. I wish they had given it the top spot 5 years ago but never mind – better late than never – and rightly so as it is one of the most imminently threatening issues for every human being on the planet. Don’t take my word for it - look out of your window and see the smog and ask yourself one simple question: ‘how much pollution can my lungs take before they rebel?’ If the answer is infinite then you are indeed a masterpiece of creation. If any less than that then think about the planet in the same way.

But no one is an expert on this subject so come and tell us what you think and also have fun interacting at our workshop on

Wednesday 21 November 12.30 – 2.30 p.m at the Green Space at the People’s Space

All welcome.

By Emmanuel Gyezaho

Here is a sense of what happened at the opening ceremony. A few pictures and some audio.

SERVING THE NATION: A Ugandan policewoman struggles to hoist the flag of the Commonwealth Secretariat in the moments that preceded the opening of the Commonwealth People Forum at Hotel Africana yesterday. The country is basking in activity as it opens its doors to representatives of a third of the world’s population. Ugandan President, Mr Yoweri Museveni, has urged Ugandans to contribute to the success of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting taking place this week in Kampala by being hospitable.

The crowd listens to opening statements

President Museveni addresses the audience

ACHOLI DANCERS: CPF delegates were treated to a pulsating performance by the Acholi Cultural Foundation, a group of talented folk song and traditional dancers from northern Uganda. The group staged a renowned dance presentation, one that greets the installation of a new cultural chief or one only performed when an important person visits the Acholi people.

Download a low bandwidth audio clip of the Acholi dancers here, or press play below:

By Charles Odongtho

Ugandan President and host of this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), Yoweri Museveni has called on delegates to the People’s Forum to emphasize environment protection when their forum starts on Monday.

Museveni caused laughter in the large hall accommodating over 1,500 delegates when he called himself an environmentalist. The Ugandan leader is more known for his recent attempts to give away one third of the only natural forest in Uganda, Mabira, for sugar cane growing.

While environmentalists feared that the loss of hundreds of endangered species, increased erosion, the damage of livelihoods of local people, negative impacts on water balance and regional climate would result from cutting down the forest, Museveni and supporters hoped sugar cane production in the forest land would create more than 3,500 jobs.

The President suggested that a shift from subsistence agriculture to service provision in towns can be a way of getting the large rural population into the urban areas to work in hotels, banks and factories.

“In 15 years Uganda’s population will be 54 million and in 25 years we shall be around 130 million people. How can we get all these people out of the rural areas where they put so much pressure on land?”

The president said one of the biggest challenges Uganda faces is contending with the nomadic lifestyle of the Karamojong cattle keepers in North Eastern Uganda. He said through over grazing they deplete the environment.

But yet more interesting in president Museveni’s speech was the way he ended his talk on environment protection.

He said, “Environmental damage in Africa is out of necessity. In developed countries it is out of greed. The developed world has greed for profits”.

• Does Museveni’s conclusion mean a kind of justification for developing countries to deplete the environment for development purposes?
• Could it be understood to mean that Museveni wants the developed world to protect the environment more than the underdeveloped?