The Royal Commonwealth Society
* issue 8 | October 2008 | View as a webpage*
update... The monthly e-newsletter from The Royal Commonwealth Society
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September Round-Up

  
  Fitness First
RCS International Meeting 2008
Conflict, Conquest and Migration

80 delegates from 20 branches and 27 countries and territories attended the International Meeting in Larnaca, Cyprus from 21 to 24 September 2008. This number included 30 young delegates from the Nkabom Commonwealth Youth Leadership Programme.

Delegates remarked on the exceptional quality of the speakers and debates, which addressed the meeting's theme: Conflict, conquest and migration. Workshops allowed RCS housekeeping issues to be discussed and a presentation by the Nkabom delegates was particularly well-received. There was also a crowded social programme, including several receptions, a traditional Cypriot dinner and cultural show and two days of tours, including across the Green Line to northern Cyprus and to the lovely port of Kyrenia.

Click here to download the full programme and here to read the final communiqué.

 

  
     
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  Fitness First
Commonwealth Youth Leadership Programme
Nkabom 2008

Immediately preceding the International Meeting, from 13 to 21 September, 28 young delegates from across the Commonwealth gathered in Cyprus for the RCS's fourth biennial Commonwealth Youth Leadership programme. Travelling from as far afield as Canada and Kenya, Vanuatu and Bangladesh, the delegates took part in an exciting two-week programme exploring the theme: Conflict and Beyond.

As the leaders of the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities in Cyrpus entered into reunification talks, the Nkabom delegates enjoyed a rare tour inside the Green Line with UN peacekeepers, undertook intensive leadership skills and media workshops with the British Council, partnered with the UN Development Programme and Commonwealth Secretariat and enjoyed input from pioneering local and international peacebuilders. Particular highlights of the programme included meetings with President Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Talat.

The RCS is now planning exciting follow-up work with the group.

Click here to see the packed diary of the delegates and here to see delegate profiles.

 

  
   
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Coming soon

      
 

Wednesday 29 October, 6.15pm

Keynote Address
Designing Ecocities

Keynote: DATO Ken Yeang, eco-designer and green skyscraper architect

Chair: Sunand Prasad, President of RIBA

goldsmith

Recently listed by The Guardian as one of the 'Fifty People Who Can Save the Planet', Ken Yeang of Malaysia, is the world's leading green skyscraper architect and one of the foremost eco-designers, theoreticians,and thinkers in the field of green design.

High-rise structures are traditionally the most un-ecological of all buildings, often wasting up to 30% more energy than lower structures built with the same materials. Yeang uses walls of plants, photovoltaics, scallop-shaped sunshades, and advanced ventilation to collect water and breezes, ecological aesthetics being central to his designs.

Yeang's vision is to enable buildings to run as complete ecosystems with little external energy supply. He will explain his theory using case studies of his own buildings and city planning initiatives in Malaysia, Singapore and India.

- Almost fully booked! -

To book, email Public Affairs or call on 020 7766 9205.


  

Tuesday 11 November, 6.15pm

Keynote address
A new agenda for global co-operation

Keynote: The Rt. Hon. Nick Clegg MP, leader of the Liberal Democrats

Chair: Stuart Mole, RCS Director-General

Vortex

In this important keynote, the leader of the Liberal Democrats will outline his vision for building a new consensus for global change.

Nick Clegg will ask how we can uphold democratic values, justice and human rights within a liberal and equitable trading system and how, in cases of gross human rights violations, an effective mechanism for humanitarian intervention can be developed.

The speaker will argue that the neo-colonial era of unilateral, military intervention for 'democracy' is passing and that we must all now aim for a new era of global cooperation in support of democracy and justice.

Finally, he will ask what role the Commonwealth can play in this new world order.

To book, email Public Affairs or call on 020 7766 9202.


  
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Tuesday 25 November, 6.15pm
Panel Debate
Ireland and the Commonwealth: an end to 60 years of separation?

Dame Veronica Sutherland DBE CMG, former British Ambassador to the Republic of Ireland and former Commonwealth Deputy SG

Dr Ian Paisley, MP, former First Minister of Northern Ireland

Des O’Malley, former Irish government Minister

Ian Paisley

On 18 April 1949, the Irish Free State declared itself a republic and left the Commonwealth. After sixty years, and with the prospect of lasting peace in Northern Ireland, the question of Ireland’s return to the Commonwealth has been raised by several leading political figures.

Ian Paisley has lent his voice to those who believe that this would represent a positive step for strengthening the country's economic, legal, cultural and political systems and Sinn Féin is now part of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in Northern Ireland.

Highly respected former government Minister, Des O'Malley, will also speak from his experience as former leader of the Progressive Democrats.

To book, email Public Affairs or call on 020 7766 9205.

 

Wednesday 26 November, 12-2pm

Keynote address
The SOPHIA Forum Inaugural Lecture

Keynote: Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, QC

SOPHIA Logo

Almost 75% of all women living with HIV globally are Commonwealth citizens.

Numerous issues, including gender inequalities and violence, fuel the pandemic around the world. Rising rates of sexually transmitted infection in the UK, coupled with the ongoing stigma faced by people living with HIV in this country, point to the urgent need for the human rights dimension of these issues to be seriously addressed.

At this event, jointly hosted by the SOPHIA Forum and Royal Commonwealth Society, Baroness Helena Kennedy QC will speak about the human rights dimensions of HIV and AIDS in relation to women and girls, both in the UK and globally.

The SOPHIA Forum is the UK branch of the UNAIDS-led Global Coalition on Women and AIDS. www.sophiaforum.net

Bookings must be made by 26 October.

For further information email Public Affairs or call on 020 7766 9205.SOPHIA Logo

 

 
     
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Special Announcement

  
  Internet Cafe
Commonwealth Vision Awards 2008
Global challenges and the new generation

The prestigious Commonwealth Vision Awards recognise excellence in the production of short films. This year, broadcasters and independent filmmakers are invited to submit a written proposal for a short creative film, between 3 - 4 minutes in length, on the theme: Global challenges and the new generation.

Up to 15 of these entries will be short-listed and awarded a cash prize to assist in the production of the finished film. Shortlisted entries will then compete for the top prize to be awarded by a special Guest of Honour at a Gala Awards ceremony in March 2009.

Thereafter the winning films will be screened internationally. Films to date have been seen by audiences of millions across the globe.

Please visit the website to see previous winning films. For further information, please contact Alice Kawoya on +44 (0) 207 766 9206.

The Commonwealth Vision Awards are organised by the RCS and Commonwealth Broadcasting Association. They are supported by Warburg Pincus.