Commonwealth Civil Society Project
Research
by: Dr
Manisha Diedrich
Last updated:
June 16, 2004
The Commonwealth is increasingly being defined as an association of peoples as well as an association of states. The purpose of the project was to examine the nature of the relationship between the "official" governmental Commonwealth and 'unofficial' people's Commonwealth by drawing on previous work done in this area, undertaking comparative analysis with other international fora, and taking into account statements made by Heads of Government at the last Commonwealth summits in Coolum, March 2002 and Abuja, December 2003.
The project has studied the interaction between Commonwealth civil society and the governmental and inter-governmental Commonwealth and made recommendations as to how engagement between these agencies could be refined and improved. How did current mechanisms for interaction work in practice and how did they compare with the workings of other international bodies? What structures could have been imported into the Commonwealth framework to facilitate partnerships between its official and unofficial components?
Intrinsic to this study was an examination of the status of pan-Commonwealth NGOs, their viability, effectiveness and importance in spreading understanding of the Commonwealth and promoting the Commonwealth's fundamental values and principles. To what extent did these organisations stimulate participation in the Commonwealth of 53 states and a wider understanding of the Commonwealth's aims and values? How could these organisations be strengthened, and their co-ordination with other organs of the Commonwealth be enhanced?
Linked to this were surveys and activities calling for the Commonwealth to re-engage with young people in order to secure its future. Two-thirds of Commonwealth citizens are under 29 years old. However, there are few practical solutions on how Commonwealth NGOs can augment their capacity to involve young people. How far could Commonwealth organisations involve young people at all stages of their decision-making? To achieve ‘mainstreaming’ of youth issues, could an organisation change its governance structure, activities and programmes, to be more inclusive and attract young people?
The Commonwealth Civil Society Project began in April 2002 with an initial four-month inception phase funding (which was later extended) from the Commonwealth Co-ordination Department of the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The project ended in June 2004. The project officers were Amanda Shah (April 2002-August 2003) and Dr Manisha Diedrich (September 2003-June 2004).
During the project's first
phase, work concentrated on the civil society recommendations from the
report of the High Level Review Group to Heads of State at the Coolum
Commonwealth summit. The project focused on three elements of importance
to these recommendations:
The next phase of the project concentrated on how the People's Commonwealth helps to promote and uphold the Harare Principles; how the Commonwealth and other international fora engage with civil society; and the relationships between the People's Commonwealth and young people.
In June 2003 the project, in association with the Africa Office of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, organised a Commonwealth Advocacy Workshop in Accra, Ghana for civil society organisations in Commonwealth West Africa i.e. Cameroon, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. The workshop explored successful advocacy strategies in different settings and increased participants' knowledge of the Commonwealth, particularly in the run-up to the Abuja Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in December 2003.
The project officer participated in the Civil Society Meeting in the run-up to CHOGM in Abuja, Nigeria in December 2003, and in the World Social Forum in Mumbai, India, in January 2004.
The project, in association with the Royal Commonwealth Society, Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council and Commonwealth Youth Programme organised workshops on youth enagement in London University's Senate House in September 2003 and the Commonwealth Club in May 2004.
During the project, input was received from an international working committee comprising Mrs Maja Daruwala, Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative; Mr James Aggrey-Orleans, lately Ghana High Commissioner to London; Mr Stuart Mole, Director-General of the Royal Commonwealth Society and Mr. Colin Ball, Director of the Commonwealth Foundation.
Papers, reports and publications from this project are available by clicking on the 'Project Outputs' button at the top of this page.