Civil Society Archives - Commonwealth Oral History Project

Witness Seminar – Britain in the Commonwealth: The 1997 Edinburgh Commonwealth heads of Government meeting

by evanamusoke | Oct 13, 2018 | Apartheid, CHOGM, Civil Society, Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), Commonwealth Secretariat, Democracy, Development, Diplomacy, Elections, Eminent Persons Group, European Economic Community, European Union, Good Governance, Human Rights, India, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Technical Assistance, Trade and Investment, United Kingdom

This Witness Seminar, Britain in the Commonwealth: The 1997 Edinburgh Commonwealth took place at Marlborough House, London, on Monday, 19th March 2018. Download full Witness Seminar Transcript. Session participants: Amitav Banerji then Deputy Conference Secretary,...

Interview with Hon Alexander Downer

by evanamusoke | Oct 13, 2018 | Apartheid, Australia, Brexit, CHOGM, Civil Society, Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), Commonwealth Secretariat, Cyprus, Diplomacy, Environment, Human Rights, India, New Zealand, Queen, United Kingdom

Download Interview Transcript. Biography: Downer, Alexander. 1951-. Born in Australia. Educated at Newcastle University (1975-1976). Australian Diplomatic Service, 1976-82. Political Adviser to Prime Minister JM Fraser, 1982-83. House of Representatives for Mayo,...

Interview with Abdul Minty

by nicholaszuniga | May 4, 2017 | Apartheid, Civil Society, Constitutional Change, Decolonisation, Democracy, Development, Diplomacy, Environment, European Economic Community, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Human Rights, NATO, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Nuclear, Race, South Africa, Trade and Investment, United Kingdom, United Nations

Download the transcript (12 Feb 2013) Biography – Abdul Minty. Born South Africa, 1939. Graduate University College London. Appointed the Honorary Secretary of the British Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) 1962-1995. He played an important role in lobbying the...

Interview with Billie Miller

by nicholaszuniga | May 4, 2017 | Barbados, CARICOM, Civil Society, Constitutional Change, Decolonisation, Democracy, Development, Diplomacy, Education, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Gender, Human Rights, Jamaica, Judiciary, Law, Reflections, Small States, Trade and Investment, Trade Unions, Trinidad and Tobago

Download the transcript (12 Jan 2015) Biography – Dame Billie Miller was educated at Queen’s College in Barbados, King’s College, Durham University and the Council of Legal Education in England. She was the coordinator of CARICOM ministerial spokespersons with...

Interview with Kamalesh Sharma

by evanamusoke | Apr 28, 2017 | CHOGM, Civil Society, Climate Change, Commonwealth Foundation, Commonwealth Institute, Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), Commonwealth Secretariat, Constitutional Change, Democracy, Development, Diplomacy, Education, Elections, Eminent Persons Group, Environment, Good Governance, Human Rights, India, Maldives, Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Queen, Small States, Sri Lanka, Technical Assistance, Trade and Investment, United Nations

Download Interview Transcripts: Part One (9 March 2016) and Part Two (29 March 2016) Biography: Sharma, Kamalesh. 1941-. Born in India. Educated at St Stephen’s College, Delhi and University of Cambridge. Indian Foreign Service, 1965-2001. India’s Permanent...

Interview with Dorienne Rowan-Campbell

by evanamusoke | Jan 6, 2017 | CHOGM, Civil Society, Commonwealth Secretariat, Development, Education, Gender, Health, Human Rights, India, Jamaica, Queen, Race, Sexuality, South Africa, Technical Assistance, West Indies/ West Indies Federation, Zimbabwe (see also Rhodesia)

Download Interview Transcript. Biography: Rowan-Campbell, Dorienne. Born in Jamaica. Educated at Carlton University, Canada. One of the founding members of Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women (CRIAW), 1976. Broadcast journalist for Canadian...

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Stephen Harper

Stephen Harper (b.1959) is a Canadian politician who was elected Prime Minister of Canada in 2006. He is Leader of the Conservative Party, which was formed in 2003 after a merger of the Progressive Conservative Party and the Canadian Alliance.

CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency)

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) was the primary organisation administering Canada’s foreign aid programmes in developing countries. It was established in 1968 under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and reported to the Parliament of Canada through the Minister for International Cooperation. In 2013, CIDA was dissolved by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and its functions incorporated into the Department of Foreign Affairs.

USAID

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is the American government agency responsible for administering civilian foreign aid, with a specific focus on the eradication of poverty. USAID was established by John F Kennedy in 1971 and its work is funded by Congress.

Mike Faber

Professor Michael Faber (1929-2015) was a British economist and international civil servant who twice served as Director of the Technical Assistance Group of the Commonwealth Secretariat (1972-75 and 1978-82). In the 1960s, Faber worked for the Ministry of Finance in a newly-independent Zambia while advising Kenneth Kaunda’s government on the expansion of education provisions in the country. In 1982, Faber founded the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex.

Political Affairs Division

The Political Affairs Division (PAD) is the section of the Commonwealth Secretariat that coordinates activities between the Commonwealth, its member country governments and partner international organisations. It focuses its work on the prevention or resolution of political conflict at the invitation of a member country, and also supports the development of democratic processes and institutions.

Marlborough House

Marlborough House is a 17^th century mansion in the City of Westminster, central London, which has served as the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat since 1953.

UNIP (United National Independence Party)

The United National Independence Party (UNIP) is a Zambian political party. Led by Kenneth Kaunda, it governed Zambia from 1964 until 1991, when it lost power to the MMD.

Muhammad Yunus

Muhammad Yunus (b. 1940). Bangladeshi entrepreneur and a pioneer of microcredit and microfinance.

CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency)

Canadian International Development Agency. Established in 1968, it was responsible for administering foreign aid to developing countries. In 2013 it was merged with the Department of Foreign Affairs, becoming Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development.

World Bank

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. An international institution, founded in 1944, that funds development projects

United Nations. Major international organisation, founded in 1945.

Patsy Robertson

Patsy Robertson. Jamaican journalist and diplomat. Successively Commonwealth Press Officer, Director of Information, and official Commonwealth spokesperson (1983-1994).

Sonny Ramphal (Shridath Ramphal)

Shridath Surendranath 'Sonny' Ramphal (b. 1928). Guyanese politician, second Commonwealth Secretary-General (1975-1990).

Old Commonwealth

An informal term describing the countries of the pre-1945 Commonwealth: Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa.

OECD

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. An global economic organisation of 34 countries to promote economic progress and international trade, founded in 1961.

ODA

Overseas Development Administration. A department of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office with responsibility for overseas aid from 1970 to 1974 and from 1979 to 1997.

Robert Mugabe

Robert Mugabe (b.1924). Zimbabwean resistance leader and politician. Served as Prime Minister (1980-1987) and President (1987-) of Zimbabwe.

Don McKinnon

Sir Donald McKinnon (b. 1939) is a New Zealand politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister for the National Party (1990-96), Foreign Minister (1990-99) and Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations (2000-08).

Michael Manley

Michael Manley (1924-1997). Jamaican politician, twice served as Prime Minister (1972-1980, 1989-1992). A member of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group on South Africa.

Moni Malhoutra (Manmohan Malhoutra)

Manmohan Malhoutra (b. 1937). Indian diplomat, served in the Secretariat of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from 1966 to 1973 then joined the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, in 1974, to run the International Affairs Division.

Lancaster House

A London mansion house, frequently used as the venue for decolonisation negotiations between the 1940s and 1970s. It was the site of the Lancaster House Agreement in December 1979, for instance, which brought an end to white rule in Rhodesia.

High Level Appraisal

The ten-strong High Level Appraisal Group was established at the 1989 CHOGM to look at the role of the Commonwealth going forward, and drafted what became known as the Harare Declaration.

Commonwealth Secretariat

The Commonwealth Secretariat is the principal inter-governmental body of the Commonwealth, responsible for promoting cooperation between members. Founded in 1965.

ComSec (Commonwealth Secretariat)

The Commonwealth Secretariat is the principal inter-governmental body of the Commonwealth, responsible for promoting cooperation between members. Founded in 1965.

Commonwealth Parliamentary Association

A Commonwealth organisation that promotes good governance. Founded in 1911 as the Empire Parliamentary Association, and renamed in 1948.

Commonwealth Foundation

The Commonwealth Foundation is a Commonwealth organisation founded in 1965 to promote the growth of professional organisations and exchange of skills, and now pursuing a broader developmental agenda.

CFTC (Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation)

The Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC) is an organisation administered by the Commonwealth Secretariat that delivers technical assistance to Commonwealth member countries. A mutual and voluntary fund, it was established in 1971.

Commonwealth Day

The second Monday in March, marked by a multi-faith service in Westminster Abbey and a message delivered by Elizabeth II.

Cold War

A period of ideological tension from around 1945 to 1991 between capitalist nations led by the USA and communist nations led by the USSR.

CHOGM

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Every two years Commonwealth heads of government meet to discuss global and Commonwealth issues, with the aim of promoting common initiatives.

Prince Charles

Prince Charles (b. 1948). Heir to the throne of the UK and the other territories for which the British monarch is also Head of State.

BBC

British Broadcasting Corporation. Broadcasting organisation semi-autonomous from the British government, originally founded in 1922.

Apartheid

A system of legally enforced racial segregation implemented and upheld by the National Party in South Africa from 1948 – 1994

Witness Seminar – Britain in the Commonwealth: The 1997 Edinburgh Commonwealth heads of Government meeting

Interview with Hon Alexander Downer

Interview with Abdul Minty

Interview with Billie Miller

Interview with Kamalesh Sharma

Interview with Dorienne Rowan-Campbell

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