In an article for The Round Table published in October 2001, Gott thinks the Commonwealth should encourage us to see imperial history through the eyes of its former subjects. He claims the current British government comments rashly on developments in other Commonwealth countries because it retains an air of empire.

He thinks the British education system should emphasise multiple imperial narratives, ranging from the dominant British narrative of imperial triumphalism to the narratives of aboriginal rebels.

He concludes that the countries of today’s Commonwealth must draw on a range of experiences in their historical teaching. The Empire will never go away, and its legacy continues to create havoc in places as diverse as Israel, Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka. It is important we fully understand its impact on all.

What are your own experiences of learning about the Empire and its legacy?

You can read the full article, free of charge, here, and feel free to leave any comments below

Gott, Richard, What can the Commonwealth learn from its history?, The Round Table Vol. 90 No. 362, 673-677, October 2001]

The Commonwealth is rooted in past movement of peoples and in present-day links between individuals and institutions. Indeed, the health of the intergovernmental Commonwealth depends on the concurrent existence of a vibrant ‘Commonwealth of peoples’.

At the strategic level of thinking about the Commonwealth’s long-term future, the need to support people-to-people and institution-linking networks and to invest in education about the Commonwealth may seem only too obvious. More could and should be done to nurture the civil society constituency of associations committed to strengthening Commonwealth interchange and Commonwealth values. This is not just because civil society networks represent the essence of the Commonwealth relationship, but also because they can play a major supportive role in fostering understanding and appreciation for the association itself.

Sadly, however, member governments and the Secretariat have largely neglected the challenge of raising awareness of, and interest in, the Commonwealth among those in civil society who might provide core support for the Commonwealth and its programmes. In the short-term actuality of Commonwealth Secretariat budget decisions these agendas get very short shrift.

This neglect is part of a wider problem of the low priority that human development is accorded in Commonwealth agendas. Education in particular is largely taken for granted and its prominence in Commonwealth co-operative activity – through the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP), Commonwealth of Learning and civil society programmes of educational exchange – is poorly reflected in Secretariat structures.

The UK actually spends more each year on bilaterally-administered Commonwealth Scholarships than it does on the Secretariat, Commonwealth Foundation and Commonwealth of Learning combined, The British Government’s stance on Commonwealth education cooperation in its multilateral forms is, however, largely one of indifference. Not since 1980 has the UK sent a Secretary of State to the triennial conferences of Commonwealth education ministers.

Few people, it seems, are conscious of the potential asset for Commonwealth co-operation of the 25,000-strong Commonwealth scholarships alumni. Or that of the 70 or so associations accredited to the Commonwealth, about one in five are educational. A further 10 or 12 have education and training functions included in a wider remit of activities. Many of these work together through a sectoral group, the Commonwealth Consortium for Education, including the largest of all the organisations with accredited status, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, which has some 500 member universities and employs nearly 40 staff.

Twelve regional education officers took part in a Commonwealth Conversation event in Namibia.

After an hour of discussions they concluded that the Commonwealth is poorly marketed, and needed to do much more to get the public engaged.

They urged the Commonwealth to become more involved in education in a variety of ways. These suggestions included: investing in nomadic education; investing in institutional development in developing countries and making scholarship application forms more accessible to regional offices.

They thought that in the future, the Commonwealth must ensure a more collective involvement of all member states. Namibia, they felt, seems to have been left out of the scheme of things.

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 irrespective of race and religion and what the Commonwealth could do to help Sri Lanka build a better future.

Transcript:

What does the Commonwealth mean to you?

It’s about uniting people and getting together countries; there are so many issues that so many countries have. Sports- wise, we get together through sports, I can remember in Malaysia [the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, 1998], as cricketers we got together as athletes normally do in the Commonwealth Games, cricket was also a part in Malaysia, it happened once, and it was nice.

How does cricket, and sport more generally, unite people from different countries and backgrounds across the Commonwealth?

Cricket is a sport, and sport always unites people because people are interested to see some kind of activities going on in each of the countries, sports can unite like that, and another thing is sport doesn’t have any religion or any caste or anything, it’s all one common thing, winning and losing, and participating, and that makes people happier, makes spectators happier, so that makes us more united than anything else.

As a humanitarian, what do you think international organisations like the Commonwealth can do to help the people of developing countries like Sri Lanka?

Oh, they can do a lot of things, developing countries need a lot, especially in Sri Lanka after the war, the North and East are struggling more through that, and so many issues are there, so they can talk to the leaders of our country and come and help them. There are a lot of houses to build, a lot of people need education, so many things they can do, and that would be the ideal thing for Sri Lanka for the next few years.

53 Commonwealth leaders will be meeting in Trinidad in November for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. If you could tell them to focus on one international issue of importance in the coming years, what would that be?

Mainly poverty, especially for food and for the children and people who can’t afford it, because food- every house needs food, and if people don’t eat properly the mind doesn’t work, and if the mind doesn’t work, so many problems can be created in that environment. So if on food shortages they can concentrate, and mind development will be more, so people will see the easing of their life and everything will go more smoothly in those countries.

This year’s speaker at the Commonwealth Foundation’s Commonwealth Lecture, Terry Waite, a humanitarian and former hostage, talks to the RCS about climate change, education and the Commonwealth’s relevance.

How do you think the Commonwealth adds value to the world?

The Commonwealth is a remarkable association because a collection of 53 nations gather together around common values, not around primarily economic values. They are working for peace, working for democracy, working to improve the lives of people around the world. Therefore by keeping that vision right and by consistently working for those values to be expressed, not just in word but in deed, they are making an enormous contribution to the world.

In your lecture you talked about the big challenges facing the world: climate change, democracy…Are there ways in which the Commonwealth can contribute to addressing those challenges?

Very much so. Commonwealth leaders ought really to take those values to heart. Let?s take one – climate change. Climate change is actually threatening the existence of certain countries in the world, Bangladesh, the Maldives and other places and their very existence is at stake and so therefore I think it is absolutely vital that Commonwealth leaders take responsibility. Stop deforestation for example; act in a responsible way one to another because what they do has an effect on their neighbour; what their neighbour does has an effect on us, on everybody. It isn’t just a question of rich and poor nations, it’s a question of us all together being determined to deal with this problem that faces us.

You talked about how the Commonwealth is relevant to someone like you. How does the Commonwealth make itself relevant to a 12 year old in Guyana?

Only if there can be a personal contact, if they can be involved in one way, if they can be involved in programs. For example, I think we ought to have a syllabus that goes across all schools in the Commonwealth dealing with some of the big issues that are Commonwealth issues and every school in the Commonwealth should?have at least an element of that. That’s one way in which young people can be actually involved in the Commonwealth and feel the sense of pride of belonging to an organisation that has such high ideals.

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. It is on a local level that the future success of the Commonwealth will be seen.

Local government is often viewed as the poor relation to its glamorous national associates, but it is through us that thriving, safer communities are developed, and the Millennium Development Goals will be delivered. It is best placed to provide basic services such as water, sanitation and primary health care for its people. It is closest to them and knows their needs and concerns. It is where involvement and consultation can be focused and effective channels for the engagement of local people and other stakeholders in the wider work the Commonwealth does can be built.

Why then is this crucial element of modern democracy all too often ignored by heads of Government in important international discussions?

Several things need to change for the Commonwealth to fully utilise the power of local government.

It must show genuine respect for the Commonwealth Aberdeen Agenda which set out the principles for good governance in local government. Better partnerships between different levels of government need to be encouraged and we must not be ignored in the big decisions made about sustainable development. On issues such as climate change and disaster management, local authorities are on the front line. But to have a big impact they must have adequate resources.

The CLGF links local authorities when they are trying to tackle common problems, and can learn from each other. We bring cities and towns together in a network which fosters collaboration, and have spearheaded a project to develop an international peer review mechanism to measure and evaluate success in local democracy and good governance. But for this to continue and develop we need more support.

The strengths of the Commonwealth, its diversity and common values and solidarity, means it is well placed to make a difference and share good practice and knowledge whatever the field. Local government must be central to this. With its network of central ministries responsible for local government, local government associations, individual provinces, town and rural councils, the Commonwealth has the potential to make real and noticeable difference to the two billion people it represents. It needs to wake up to its own potential.

Since the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) started in 1959, it has ‘grown to be one of the most prestigious schemes for international study and development in the world’, and many beneficiaries have gone on to positions of great influence in their own countries and globally. The shared cultures, education systems and language between Commonwealth countries also mean that there are many other educational exchanges and partnerships that take place on?a less formal level across the Commonwealth.

Have you studied in another Commonwealth country, either with or without the support of a Commonwealth scholarship? What has the Commonwealth dimension of your exchange meant to you? Or have you wanted to study but been unable to do so? Do you think that student exchanges are a crucial part of the Commonwealth’s added value?

There is univeral agreement that access to high quality education is crucial for development. Two of the Millennium Development Goals (Achieve Universal Primary Education and Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women) are focused on Education. Are Commonwealth Governments doing enough to meet these goals?

From 15-18 June 2009, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Education Ministers from Commonwealth countries met at the 17th Conference of Education Ministers. Four other forums took place in parallel to the ministerial meeting: Stakeholders Forum, Youth Forum, Teachers Forum and Vice-Chancellor’s Forum. Each of these forums produced their own statement which they hoped the Ministers would pay attention to in drafting their Final Communique.

Do you think the Minsters listened to the experts? Have a read of the Final Communique below, and the statements from the four forums, and let us know what you think.

17th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers – Final Communique

Stakeholders Forum Statement

Youth Forum Statement

Teachers Forum Statement

Vice-Chancellor’s Forum Statement