Dialogue: just one word which opens up a conversation. And a conversation allows us to explain and understand.

Representing one third of the global population and various cultures and peoples, dialogue between Commonwealth nations is of primary importance. It gives us the opportunity to present our views and understand that of others. You learn what others are thinking about and give others an insight into your thoughts. On a national level, it is the basis for collaborating with other nations and peoples. And it is on dialogue that democracy is built.

CHOGM 2015 Malta will include various fora which aim to do just that – encourage dialogue.

The chairpersons of the four fora further explain what they expect of each dialogue opportunity.

Adrian Hillman

Commonwealth Business Forum

Spread over three days from November 24 to 26, the Commonwealth Business Forum will be a unique opportunity for local businesses and entrepreneurs to network and share ideas with a truly global audience. It will bring together 1,200 delegates from 80 countries and will be addressed by 20 heads of government. It has been designed to provide a space for high level dialogue between business and government leaders from the Commonwealth and beyond, providing an opportunity to learn, engage and, ultimately, do business. Perhaps the very location of this years’ forum will also be conducive to a different level of thinking. While having the benefits associated with EU membership, part of Malta’s attractiveness lies in its uniqueness within the Commonwealth. The theme of the forum is ‘Creating a more prosperous Commonwealth’ and it will be tackled from a number of dimensions such as infra­structure, technology, healthcare and financial services. There will be the opportunity to understand high value tourism and evaluate the impact of tourism on the wider economy. All this will be delivered by a number of world class speakers. They will share their views on the world economy, sustainability and globalisation as well as the lessons learnt from all economies. These themes will be underpinned with the concept and idea of sustainability, Blue economy, smart cities and sustainable energy.

Jacqueline Micallef Grimaud

Commonwealth People's Forum

The Commonwealth People’s Forum is held every two years in the run up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. We expect that it will provide a platform for civil society to learn and share knowledge with other civil society organisations from across the Commonwealth; and that the Forum will enable constructive engagement between civil society and policy makers on key issues like education in small states. We’ll have nearly 400 delegates participating in 19 sessions, which will include case studies, policy dialogues and sharing sessions all focused on the theme ‘What makes societies resilient.’ The single common thread in all sessions is that of resilience as a tool for societal development; and the oppor­tunities and challenges associated with making the concept of resilience meaningful for people. The People’s Forum will generate specific proposals that civil society will discuss with Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers and during the first ever Civil Society Dialogue with Secretary General Candidates which will be held at the House of Representatives in Parliament’s Assembly Hall. It will also outline initiatives that could be taken forward over the next two years, for instance through the proposed Small States Centre of Excellence, which is expected to be launched at CHOGM 2015.

Christopher Formosa

Commonwealth Youth Forum

The Commonwealth Youth Forum aims to achieve cross-cultural connections, learning and consensus on current issues between participants from all over the Commonwealth. The central theme of this forum, ‘Adding Global Value: #WhatNext’ clearly shows that youth have the ability to come up with practical ideas addressing topics directly related to them. The programme, which is the result of a vast number of consultations carried out with national youth bodies from all across the Commonwealth, truly puts young people at the centre and encourages them to make their voice heard on an international level. Topics on the agenda include climate change, inclusive education and human rights. We believe that CYF 2015 will be an opportunity for all the participants to share and amalgamate their perspectives on issues that concern them with those of people coming from different cultural backgrounds. This enables the participants to foster an appreciation of what the spirit of the Commonwealth is all about.

Claire Cassar

Commonwealth Women's Forum

We are very excited to see the hard work of the Women’s Forum Sub-Committee and the Taskforce come to fruition in relation to the Women’s Forum. With over 370 attendees and a sound representation from across most Commonwealth countries we expect to raise awareness on a multitude of issues relating to women such as early and forced marriages as well as empowerment of women in all aspects of society, from entrepreneurship and employment to civil society aspects. The upshot of the forum will be the outcomes document which will be presented to the Foreign Affairs Ministers with a view to being adopted as a key part of the Heads of Government’s agendas going forward. We are also confident that, having established the format of the Women’s Forum for the first time, this will continue to take place in future CHOGM events too.

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Twitter: @chogm2015mt
chogm2015mt #CHOGM2015 #AddingGlobalValue

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