The next CHOGM meeting scheduled to be held in Uganda in November will discuss the tangible results achieved by the Commonwealth Connects Programme which was agreed in Malta last year and which is being piloted by Foreign Minister Michael Frendo, who was appointed by the secretary general in to chair the Steering Committee of the Commonwealth Action Programme on Digital Divide.
This assurance was given by Dr Frendo at a meeting he had this morning with Don McKinnon, secretary general of the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth secretary general, after spending some days on holiday in Malta resumed his work routine, meeting also the Acting Prime Minister Tonio Borg and the Opposition Leader Alfred Sant.
Minister Frendo updated the secretary general on the work being done in preparation for the Commonwealth Connects Steering Committee and Point of Contact Meetings to be held in Malta on 16 and 17 of this month. The meeting will be the first step in a process of engaging the Points of Contact in Commonwealth countries to act as focal points for the agreed programme.
The Commonwealth Connects Programme is result oriented and by the next CHOGM meeting Malta will be able to report to the Heads of State, that through this programme the Commonwealth have managed to reach a defined amount of people in a practical way.
This will be achieved through a three-pronged approach. First through the continuation of the implementation of specific country projects which are submitted by various entities. In fact, the second call for project proposals is scheduled to close today and this will give start to the second period of evaluation which will identify the next set of projects to be adopted by Commonwealth Connects.
Secondly, a ‘Grand Project’ on a larger scale than the individual country projects is being discussed by the Commonwealth Connects Steering Committee, meeting in Malta in mid January, with the endorsement of governments and the private sector.
The third approach is the engagement of the Points of Contact who during the meeting in Malta will have the opportunity to start the process of identifying projects in their countries which can benefit from the ICT expertise and experience of other Commonwealth countries. In this way, the less developed ICT countries will be able to draw experience and resources from the more ICT developed countries, thus taking full advantage of Commonwealth “value added”.
On his part the Commonwealth Secretary General expressed his appreciation for Malta’s increased contribution to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation.
Dr Frendo, who is currently also in the Chair of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, and the secretary general discussed current developments in Fiji, which on 8 December was suspended from participation in the Councils of the Commonwealth following a meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration, held in London.
Currently the results of a visit to Fiji and the report of the Pacific Islands Forum Eminent Persons is awaited Group is awaited before taking any further decisions. The Pacific Islands Forum Ministers are also expected to meet to discuss Fiji on 28 January.