Archive for August, 2009

The view from Jamaica? – On Tour with The Queen

27th August 2009 by ZoeWare 12 Comments

As part of a Channel 4 series called ‘On Tour with The Queen’, presenter Kwame Kwei-Armah has been retracing the steps that The Queen took on her tour of the Commonwealth in 1953. This clip, from the first programme in the series, shows how callers to Jamaica’s famous Breakfast Club radio talkshow with host Professor Trevor Munroe view Jamaica’s relationship with the Queen. The question provoked some surprising results!

Romesh Gunesekera: ‘Its real strength is that the US is not in it’

25th August 2009 by AlexT 17 Comments

Romesh Gunesekera writes in the Guardian of what the Commonwealth means to him. “‘Commonwealth” is not a word I ever used, growing up in Colombo”, he writes.

Media Freedoms in the Commonwealth

24th August 2009 by AlexT No Comments

Kaye Whiteman, a writer and journalist and former Director of Information at the Commonwealth Secretariat says more needs to be done to prevent abuse of media freedoms in the Commonwealth.

Co-founder of the New Zealand Republican Movement says: “Queen Elizabeth should abdicate her position as Head of the Commonwealth”

20th August 2009 by AlexT 97 Comments

Savage, a co-founder of the New Zealand Republican Movement has written the following contribution to the Commonwealth Conversation:

There is a belief perpetuated in Britain and other Commonwealth countries that the British Empire was of benefit to the world. The greed and racism are forgotten. The invasions, wars, political oppression and genocide are downplayed. The poverty and inequality it created are conveniently ignored.

Local Government matters in the Commonwealth

19th August 2009 by AlexT 4 Comments

The Commonwealth should take a more active role in supporting and promoting local government. As an organisation it should return to what it does best: fostering partnerships and positive links.

Gender and Age breakdown of our polling: More questions than answers

18th August 2009 by DannyRCS 1 Comment

The gender and age breakdowns of our polling make for some interesting reading.

Is the Commonwealth inconceivable without a monarch?

17th August 2009 by AlexT 50 Comments

Just as the Crown was essential to the evolution of the world?s most successful system of governance, the Westminster model, so it has been at the very centre of the long evolution of the Commonwealth.

Getting it right about the headship of the Commonwealth

17th August 2009 by AlexT 29 Comments

The possibility of a rotating Head has been floated. The opinion polls showed most people in India as many as 50 per cent – favoured that solution. But rotation could create real problems because it would politicise the position. Occasionally a Mandela figure might be available, but such people are a rarity.

“It has to grow wings”: Interview with Lord Howell

11th August 2009 by AlexT 8 Comments

Lord Howell, former chairman of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs in the UK Parliament discusses the continued relevance of the Commonwealth to British Foreign Policy

Leone Ross: What does it mean to me? Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.

7th August 2009 by ZoeWare 1 Comment

Read Jamaican novelist Leone Ross’s talk about how little the Commonwealth means to her.