Commonwealth Summer Schools
Research by: Victoria Cunningham
Page last updated: April 26, 2005
Update April 2005
Work on this project is being continued as the CPSU Summer Conference, to be held 6th- 8th July 2005. For more details, see the Conference web page at: http://www.cpsu.org.uk/projects/summerconf/home.htm
Aim
To inform young people about today’s Commonwealth and allow people to participate in some way in Commonwealth activities. For the CPSU it would be an offshoot of our now concluded Civil Society project, and the particular youth friendly emphasis given to it by Manisha Diedrich.
Nature of the Event
The 3-day programme will consist of speaker events, a debate, seminars and workshops. Representatives from many Commonwealth Organisations and leading academics will be speaking about current topical issues.
There will also be two main social events including an African Music evening and the showing of a Commonwealth Film Festival Film.
Target Audience
The programme is aimed at those between the ages of 18-30 who are not already involved in Commonwealth organisations. We hope to have between 30 and 40 participants.
Location
The event will be held at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies (ICS) in Russell Square.
Date
The programme will take place over a three-day period in early July 2005. Marketing will commence in March 2005 and your application can be registered soon after. Please see below to learn how to express a preliminary interest.
Preliminary Topics
Please see
the Summer Conference page for more
up-to-date details
(More speakers have been contacted and we are awaiting replies)
As there are many current issues, participants will be given a choice on the third day between a range of topics.
The following are potential topics:
• A Commonwealth audit/ the structure of the Commonwealth: what the Commonwealth is, can and cannot do.
• What are the prime aims of the Commonwealth? Are there Commonwealth values, and do they differ from other international aspirations?
• Could more Commonwealth Institutions be created? Do the Commonwealth organisations we have function well together? Is better coordination required between organisations?
Potential Speakers: Mr.Jones (Honorary Secretary General of the Commonwealth Organisation for Social Work.) will speak about his experiences of setting up a Commonwealth Organisation.
• Journalism in Commonwealth countries. Are Commonwealth Organisations transparent? What is the identity of the Commonwealth?
Potential Panel Members: Peter Lyon (Ex-editor of the Round Table); Derek Ingram (Commonwealth Journalists' Association)
• Is the Commonwealth an outdated concept with too many links to a colonial past?
• Can the Commonwealth be used to prevent globalisation from isolating minorities and hindering development? Is the Commonwealth a useful tool in the changing global economic climate?
Potential Speaker: Commonwealth Business Council representative
• Is there more the Commonwealth could do in tackling global security?
Potential Speakers: John MacKinley from the Centre for Defence Studies at Kings; Bill Durodie (Director for the International Centre for Security Analysis.)
• How can the Commonwealth network be used to promote human development?
Potential Speakers: Savita Bailur (Lecturer in Information Systems at the Institute for Development Policy and Management at the University of Manchester).
• The Commonwealth as an English Language arts and leisure network.
Potential Speakers: Michael Hooper (CEO of the Commonwealth Games foundation).
• The role of Commonwealth organisations in promoting human rights. Potential Speaker: Amanda Shah.
• AIDS can be seen as a challenge to democracy and development. Can the Commonwealth help to overcome this?
Potential Speaker: Pamela Lynham, regional technical director for JHPIEGO (Johns Hopkins University) based in Nairobi.
• How can Commonwealth Organisations ensure environmental sustainability within the Commonwealth?
• How can you build a people friendly 21st Century Commonwealth?
• Volunteering
opportunities within the Commonwealth.
Potential Speaker: Savita Bailur, author of Volunteer’s Tales.
• How can you
study the Commonwealth?
An information pack will be provided for participants.
Further Information
See the CPSU Summer Conference web page for updates