What is a CHOGM?
Posted by AlexT - 07/08/09 at 01:08 pmTop of the list of must-know Commonwealth words is ‘CHOGM’, the bizarre diplomatic shorthand for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings, which take place every two years. (Pronounced Ch-ogg-um).
There is much more to CHOGM than a leaders get-together. Running alongside are the Commonwealth People’s Forum for civil society organisations, the Business Forum, the Youth Forum and even the People’s Space, which highlights the cultural offerings of the host country. It’s a great time for Commonwealth groupies and hangers-on to ponder whatever is on the agenda that year.
The theme for Trinidad 2009 is partnering for a more equitable and sustainable future. This catch-all language seems as impenetrable as the word CHOGM itself. And more importantly will the average person walking down a street have any idea to what either of these refer? My guess is no.
Uganda in 2007 went ‘CHOGM crazy’, with one Kampala daily running the headline ‘Queen 2,314 miles away’, as Elizabeth II stopped over in Malta en route to the meeting.
The Government certainly went crazy too, spending massively on new roads to take the great and good from the airport to the conference centre.
The BBC reported that the country also got ready by clearing beggars from the capital’s streets:
In the last few weeks, hundreds have been rounded up and taken to a makeshift holding centre outside the capital.
Built as a rehabilitation centre for young offenders, it is now home to almost 900 people, nearly all of them children.
There is not enough room for everyone in the dormitories, so some sleep in the gymnasium.
A report out this week tells us that Uganda?s roads are in dire straights, as if the costly improvements of two years ago never happened. So what are the long-lasting benefits of these meetings for the host country?
But this is a different issue altogether. Back to the name, shouldn’t we just call it a ‘Commonwealth Summit’ and make everything simple? Surely no-one disputes the value of world leaders connected by a shared history and common values holding a Summit every two years to discuss shared solutions to common problems. But to many it will appear a noble idea wrapped up in gobbledygook and alienating jargon.
Category : The Official Commonwealth
Tags: CHOGM, Trinidad, Uganda
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August 7th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
It?s a ridiculous word that should be dropped straight away.
It sounds like something you spit out of your mouth the morning after a hard night partying: ?fleg?, ?hoick?, ?spittle?, ?chogm?.
And as for? ?partnering for a more equitable and sustainable future?. Who passed this soundbite? Don?t things like this have to passed by a committee? Drunk on rum-punch I assume? What does it even mean?!
This is the kind of idiocy which makes the Commonwealth seem completely irrelevant.
August 7th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
It’s totally meaningless. And anything released by the Commonwealth to raise awareness of the meetings should be buzzword-free. ?Partnering for a more equitable and sustainable future? is what the Commonwealth is supposed to do; it shouldn’t have to be reiterated with every meeting.
However, the Commonwealth also needs to encourage further awareness of the meetings, no matter what they’re called. I don’t know about the rest of the Commonwealth, but in Canada CHOGM barely receives any notice in the media. The meetings will be meaningless if nobody knows why they’re being held.
August 9th, 2009 at 11:02 am
Acronyms and names are very powerful things. It is worth noting that CHOGM does come from that part of the throat reserved for unpleasant things and disgust.
Given that this is a debate about cosmetic aesthetics, the Commonwealth should probably make the effort to come up with more fluid and/or inspiring acronyms. UNICEF and NATO flow off the tongue and have a certain dash about them. CHOGM? Nope.
I like Commonwealth Members’ Forum. (CMF) It’s egalitarian, but has that slightly arcane air which the Commonwealth should really try to preserve. It sounds like a back-room chat, which is really what the Commonwealth does in the modern world.
Any further ideas?
‘Partnering for an equitable and sustainible future’ is a grand principle but does not roll of the tongue. It is not a sound-bite, it is a committee-decided sound munch.
And DJHaisell’s point is noted. The Commonwealth needs to try to connect with the more affluent developed member states. Because it’s that diversity in lifestyle which will keep the Commonwealth unique.
October 25th, 2009 at 5:55 am
The name is fine. What CHOGM needs is to have the ability ot be able to make concrete plans and proposals to give it some relevance. Perhaps it would be time for a Commonwealth assembly/parliament to get more robust and regular debate going?