Annual Review 2007-2008 - The Royal Commonwealth Society

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Cyprus: RCS International Meeting & Nkabom 2008 In September 2008, Cyprus will play host to the RCS International Meeting (IM). The IM provides a forum for strategic development and for the sharing of ideas and best practice between RCS programmes, branches and affiliate societies; it encourages wider discussion of the Commonwealth and its global role; it serves to develop and strengthen the RCS’s international network; and it acts as an opportunity to explore the politics, history and culture of the host country. Finally, the IM is held in association with an international Commonwealth youth project (Nkabom), allowing young people from across the Commonwealth to join the IM and to interact with other delegates. The next IM, to be held in the Cypriot city of Larnaca, will explore the theme ‘Conflict, Conquest and Migration’, reflecting the turbulent history of the region as well as some of the most pressing concerns of the Commonwealth today. It will come at a time when there is new hope that a lasting solution to the Cyprus issue may be possible. The meeting will be preceded by the Nkabom Project, a youth development and exchange programme. This project provides a unique space for talented young people to share experiences, deepen their 28 Annual Review 2007/08 understanding of key global issues and informally interact with peers from around the Commonwealth. In 2008, Nkabom hopes to conduct communitybased projects, in partnership with local youth movements, in four locations around Cyprus, including across the Green Line in Turkish-occupied Cyprus. Key dates: • Nkabom Project: Saturday 13 to Saturday 20 September • RCS International Meeting: Sunday 21 to Wednesday 24 September The Nkabom youth project will precede the RCS International Meeting Dimitris Christofius, President of Cyprus, who has been invited to open the RCS International Meeting IM delegates have the option to extend their stay to include study visits, scheduled to take place on 25 and 26 September. The RCS expects branches to raise all the necessary funds for those attending the meeting, although there may be some bursaries available, on a matching funding basis, for young people involved in the Nkabom Project. More detailed information, including hotel bookings, flights and application forms, were distributed to branches early in 2008. Suggestions for thematic content of working groups and plenary sessions, and for keynote speakers at the meeting are most welcome and branches are encouraged to submit their ideas for consideration. For more information, contact Head of Public Affairs, Nigel McCollum: 020 7766 9205 or email: publicaffairs@rcsint.org
Write around the world The Commonwealth Essay Competition The Royal Commonwealth Society’s Commonwealth Essay Competition is a unique international writing contest which each year inspires thousands of young people across the Commonwealth to put pen to paper and find their voice. The Commonwealth Essay Competition is one of the world’s most longstanding and popular writing contests. Designed for the young citizens of the Commonwealth, the competition provides a space within which they can reflect upon their worlds and articulate their thoughts, and an opportunity for these diverse and valuable voices to be heard. Since it was first established in 1883, the Commonwealth Essay Competition has evolved into a modern education project designed to encourage literacy, creativity and critical awareness. The competition topics are reviewed annually and, seeking to inspire academic and creative minds alike, they are designed to challenge the youth of the Commonwealth to think about important local and global issues. As such, the Competition gives young people a rare opportunity to be heard on issues which matter to them and encourages participants to grow into engaged and active citizens. The importance of this function and relevance of the Competition within a contemporary context is reflected by the tremendous growth witnessed by the Competition in recent years; participation has increased by almost a third since 2004. The goodwill and support the Commonwealth Essay Competition receives from around the world is further testament to its popularity and the diversity of those whose lives it touches. The Essay Competition enables young people from a wide variety of scholastic and social backgrounds to compete on equal terms with their peers, and all socioeconomic brackets are represented in the project, from village schools in Bangladesh and Botswana to elite schools in South Africa and Singapore. The Royal Commonwealth Society has worked hard to consolidate the recent growth of the Competition by strengthening its relationships with participating schools, which are in turn often eager to be further involved in other RCS activities. Lydia Adero, winner of Class A in the Commonwealth Essay Competition, with Hon Geraldine Namirembe Bitamazire, Ugandan Minister for Education & Sports and other Ugandan award winners at a prize-giving ceremony held in Kampala on November 19, 2007 The 2007 Competition elicited a fantastic response, with over 6,300 final entries received by the Royal Commonwealth Society in London and an estimated 50,000 students participating in schools around the globe. As always, standards were high and the team of 24 examiners singled out, as prizewinners and runners-up, 44 entrants from 17 countries and territories throughout the Commonwealth, including Australia, Canada, Falkland Islands, Ghana, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Pakistan, Tanzania, Turks & Caicos Islands, Uganda and the UK and the Channel Islands. The topic ‘Welcome to my Family’ inspired writing from every corner of the Commonwealth touching on themes of relationships, power, conflict, love, education, recreation and discipline which pervade the lives of young people everywhere. Writing on this subject, the Competition’s top winner this year, Lydia Adero, from Uganda, captivated examiners with her description of a traditional polygamous family motivated by her desire to “write about a family which [she] believes is too rare and truly African”. Lydia and other Ugandan award winners were presented with prizes at an awards ceremony held in the CHOGM People’s Space in Kampala during November last year. Other winners submitted writing variously creative and imaginative, academic and rigorous in style. Canadian Andrew Wesson won the youngest age band (12 and under) with a wonderful story about ‘Colours’ which played on the everyday associations they evoke for us, while winning first prize in Class A, Laure- Astrid Wigglesworth of the Turks & Caicos Islands, tackled ambiguity found ‘Between worlds’. The Competition is a highly regarded and popular international education project, enjoying much esteem and support throughout the Commonwealth. For further information or a copy of the 2007 Review, please contact the project manager, Ms Zoé Wilson, by post, via email, zoe.wilson@rcsint.org or phone on 020 7766 9204. www.rcsint.org 29
Page 1 and 2: Creating ideas, building with visio
Page 3 and 4: Contents Royal Commonwealth Society
Page 5 and 6: Director-General’s Report My eigh
Page 7 and 8: Events, Conferences and Banqueting
Page 9 and 10: Building on the past, creating the
Page 11 and 12: Speakers at the RCS during 2007-200
Page 13 and 14: Another important development was t
Page 15 and 16: Can faith and politics meet on peac
Page 17 and 18: Migration: perception, policy and t
Page 19 and 20: Lobbying Parliament ‘Making an im
Page 21 and 22: experiences of the catastrophic eff
Page 23 and 24: “I think that you can grow the ec
Page 25 and 26: Throughout November and December 20
Page 27 and 28: The voice of youth Young people hav
Page 29: The new Business Area, housing the
Page 33 and 34: network of tiny fibres and capillar
Page 35 and 36: An International Network Branch and
Page 37 and 38: The Caribbean In the Caribbean, the
Page 39 and 40: Supporting the work of the RCS The
Page 41 and 42: It is not only the volume, but also
Page 43 and 44: like me, they were helpless. It nev
Page 45 and 46: Dr David Suzuki, Co-founder of the
Page 47 and 48: Consolidated balance sheet As at 31
Page 49 and 50: Prince Edward Island (The Royal Com
Page 51 and 52: Nexus Strategic Partnerships is an

Annual Review 2007-2008 - The Royal Commonwealth Society

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