The Commonwealth Conversation

As the Conversation has gone on, a question I am frequently asked is: why should public profile matter for an association like the Commonwealth?

Muttiah ‘Murali’ Muralitharan is the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket history and Sri Lanka’s greatest player of all time. He is also a dedicated humanitarian and philanthropist, serving as a trustee of the Foundation of Goodness, which seeks to help Sri Lanka’s rural poor. In this exclusive interview for the Commonwealth Conversation, he talks about the power of sport to unite people and what the Commonwealth do to help Sri Lanka build a better future.

Over the next six weeks, in the run up to CHOGM, over fifty Commonwealth Conversation events are taking place around the world.

In an article published on Tuesday 20th October 2009, in Caribbean Net News, Maja Daruwala, Executive Director of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative has called for CMAG reform to be top of the agenda at the Trinidad CHOGM. CMAG is the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group – the Commonwealth watchdog on human rights abuses.

In an interview conducted by the RCS as part of the Commonwealth Conversation, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, Zimbabwean Minister for Regional Integration and International Cooperation, emphasised how important the Commonwealth is to Zimbabwe, but warned that it must do more to sell itself to the Zimbabwean people.

A Canadian journalist, Doug Saunders, has written for the Globe and Mail about the Commonwealth’s relevance to Canada. He certainly doesn’t pull his punches.

In a joint article for the Commonwealth Conversation, Meg Munn MP, leader of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (UK) study visit summer 2009, and Moana Kalosil Carcasses, Member of the Parliament of Vanuatu, and former Foreign Minister, describe the effects of Climate Change in the Commonwealth countries of the South Pacific.

The first of our events in Canada.

Bill Morris, discusses the important role of sport in uniting the diverse citizens of the Commonwealth.

Danny Sriskandarajah, Director of the RCS, welcomes you to the Commonwealth Conversation.