CPSU 2nd Summer Conference for Young People 28- 30 June 2006

Conference Coordinator: Frank Soodeen

Page last updated: May 28, 2007

Introduction | Programme

Introduction

Welcome to the website for the 2nd CPSU Summer Conference for Young People. The conference this year had been organized around the twin themes of Democratisation and Development, and seeks to build on the success of our first conference (see the report Bridge Over Troubled Water? The Commonwealth Challenge To A Divided World).

The Commonwealth, more so than any other international organization has committed itself to collaborating with young people in pursuit of its aims. The Commonwealth Policy Studies Unit (CPSU) wholeheartedly supports this approach given its belief that incorporating a youth perspective is critical if public policy is to be relevant and effectively implemented.

Our conference therefore provided a forum in which young people could grapple with some of the major issues facing the global community and gain ownership of the debates as citizens. With presentations by senior diplomats, journalists, MP’s and Commonwealth staff, delegates gained greater insight into the public policy process and a deeper awareness of the issues facing the contemporary Commonwealth. It was an opportunity to find out about the extensive opportunities for young people to get involved in the intergovernmental and nongovernmental Commonwealth.

An outline of the topics covered on each day can be found below and a programme is available from this link. Any further questions you might have should be directed to Frank Soodeen, Conference Coordinator on frank.soodeen@sas.ac.uk. More details on the 2005 conference can be found at: http://www.cpsu.org.uk/projects/summerconf/2005.htm

Programme

Each day began with a major keynote address by a prominent Commonwealth figure that in some senses presaged the themes for that session.

Wednesday 28th June 2006

• Introduction to the Commonwealth
• Civil Society Organizations and the Commonwealth
• Locating the site of leadership within the Commonwealth
• Sketching out possible Commonwealth identities
• Opportunities seminar
• Democratisation - a critical condition for economic development?
• Rights-based approaches to poverty eradication
• Entrenching a gendered perspective
• Election observation - a Commonwealth methodology

Thursday 29th June 2006

• The link between governance and development - a donor perspective
• Institutional reform in Commonwealth countries - impetus and implementation
• Combating corruption - proposals for domestic and multilateral measures
• Improving the transparency of Commonwealth institutions
• Small states and their future in the 21st century
• An argument for reform of the trading system
• Commonwealth relations with the major development stakeholders

Friday 30th June 2006

• The Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation
• Education provision in crisis, conflict and post-conflict situations
• The brain drain - the impact of health worker emigration in Africa
• Networking the Commonwealth - the need to bridge the digital divide

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