Feel the passion: CPSU Conference 2009 *

2009-07-10 10:40 p.m.

First the sun was scorching. Then the bus driver conveniently plonked himself behind two of London’s buses as he attempted to navigate his way to the coach station. Then it drizzled. Were these the signs of a terrible conference ahead? Quite the opposite. Let me explain:

Day One: The daily temperature was increasing each second and it wasn’t any more comfortable with a suit on. I left out the tie, ready to place it on in case the dress code was more formal than I made it out to be. After the regular fire safety check in, I head up and was greeted by one of the staff. As the heat was seeping into the poorly ventilated room, I forgo the tea and coffee and moved around until I found myself with a group of students. We soon introduced ourselves and a girl named Lorna joined us a minute later, dress rather formally. Ok, so I wasn’t really that overdressed but I would soon remove my tie in an effort to cool myself.

If the reception area was stifling, the conference room, or rather a simple meeting room was pressing the heat down on us without mercy. It was a rather old building and the conference room had a sealed up fireplace (which I was sitting behind). Lorna was next to me and people began fanning themselves with any material as the chairman introduced the session. First up was a Dr. te Velde who argued about the Commonwealth’s importance in the 21st Century and how it had remodelled itself into an institution that worked and assisted global challenges. She even dropped the term “multilateral institution” something which I immediately did not agree with—how could the Commonwealth compare itself with other major institutions? The issue of the Commonwealth’s activities deepened as the next speaker Dr. Sen gave a picture of Human Rights promotion and observation with the Commonwealth. With my superficial knowledge of Human Rights, that presentation was quite an eye opener. Finally, Vijay Krishnarayan added on to the first speaker’s points, tackling the area of civil society.

Q and A came and I set my brain in speed motion, trying to think of a question based on the depth of information that I had absorbed. The first few questions touched on the area of diversity of cultures, human rights, Commonwealth size and power, some which I considered to ask but found them too “simple”. Finally the chairman, Mr. Bourne, opened it to four questions at a time and I asked how attached individual Commonwealth nations are to the Commonwealth as compared to regional institutions, stating that Singapore was closer to ASEAN. The panellists answers were even more in depth when answering my question, noting the limitations of human rights, culture, the scope and ability of intervention by Commonwealth members. After another few rounds of questions, including one from Lorna about Human rights work, I was pretty much convinced about the changing scope of the Commonwealth’s work.

Lunch was a great opportunity to move around after the “furnace” that was building up inside the room. Lunch was typical British lunch—sandwiches and crisps. The “gang”—as in the group I found earlier on—formed and we had a common goal—to head down to buy tube tickets for the trip to Westminster in the evening. “Buying tube tickets” is a little inaccurate, since some had the Oyster Card with them—something that I really should get. Outside air was naturally a great welcome after the stifling room and we took the opportunity to grab a drink—I finally found a small bottle of water which Lorna was yearning for—but she ended up with some juice instead.

Instead of returning immediately, we engaged in what is a favourite British (and I guess European) summer past time—frolic in the grass. This meant Russell Square park which was just opposite the building. Now, given that I was wearing a nice suit and pants, sitting down of grass—even if it was dry grass—made be stop to ponder. No way I was going to butt out this, I thought, and positioned myself gingerly down. Quite surprisingly, grass did not stick to my clothing but found their place on Lorna’s and the other girl’s clothing. Ok, at this point, I should introduce the gang. There’s me, Lorna from Oxford PPE (same year as me but heading to law after this), Laure-Astrid from LSE, Ruby and Aurea from King’s College and Patrick, who is reading Spanish and Arabic in Cambridge. In fact, Patrick did ask some interesting questions about Arabic countries and the Commonwealth. Back to our “fiesta” on the grass, we chatted about the morning, our universities and how much knowledge each of the speakers had. I brought up the topic of the 2012 London Olympics, noting that the vote took place in my home country. The Aurea mentioned that she spent some time volunteering in China and asked me about my background. Another random topic that came up was the speakers doctoral focus. “Probably and increasing trend with Tony Blair’s ‘Third Way’ foreign policy,” I quipped.

I arrived back in time to listen to Adam Matthews, who was covering the topic of Global Warming and a deal at Copenhagen. His speech covered mostly the latest climate change bill that passed through the US House of Representatives and now finding its way through the US Senate. I had previously previously ran a campaign on Climate Change but this was dealing with the political implications, things that I knew about but his content was quite refreshing—almost helping me ignore the heat. Next up was the presentation I was waiting for—“Coordinating a response to the Global Financial Crisis”. Armed with no writing material, I leaned forward to listen but the powerpoint presentation was almost like what I learnt in IPE. The final speaker of the day was someone from Eyecatcher/Solution talking and Gender inequality though most of her presentation was focus on the UN’s role in Kosovo. After about two years of learning feminism, the topic was great but I was definitely itching to ask the guy from the Bretton Woods Project a question.

Q and A time and my hand shot up at the same time as a guy next to me. The Chairman picked me and I asked the person’s view on IMF/World Bank reforms. His answer wasn’t much of an answer at all (in my opinion). In the second round of questions, the guy next to me prodded the presenter more on reforms, citing his own country of Ghana. Ah, I thought, a person I must talk to.

Most of the afternoon’s Q & A was on climate change and gender, with the Bretton Woods guy questioned occasionally. So it was yet another lesson for me on Climate Change, an issue that I campaigned on. I could elaborate more, but since I was void of writing materials, I can’t say any more.

In the evening, we were jammed packed all with London’s commuters on the way to the Houses of Parliament for a reception with the Deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth. On the way, Lorna caught up with another Oxford student reading a Master’s in IR while I chatted more with Adam, the guy from Ghana. We clicked as his doctoral studies and my dissertation were pretty similar and he was impressed with one of the chapters of my work. I later caught up with that IR student and talk about Ngaire Woods, the IPE scholar whose articles and books were well known to me.

The House of Parliament “souvenir”, was a printed photograph around your neck which I noted to the rest looks much better than my university ID photo. The “reception” was not much food wise—just wine, drinks, chips and nuts. I moved between groups and found a guy named Matt who was from Birmingham but a second year PPE student. Aurea and I chatted with him for a while finding interesting stuff about his college and that he’s a vegetarian. Oh well. Floated between groups again until I found myself with Lorna’s group and a lady who turned out to be the Deputy Secretary General. She was recounting how she moved from working as an engineer for a telecommunications company before finding the passion to switch to economic development. Her welcoming address touch on that and she continued to urge us as young leaders to exert change, how ever small, for a constructive Commonwealth.

Day 2:

Dress in just simply shirt and tie but even so that did not help combat the rising heat. Again I decided to forgo the morning tea while Lorna and Ruby (another of the gang). This time the morning session featured a Mr. I Bryne from the International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights and a R. Payne from the Commonwealth Journalist Association. As you would have guessed, the morning session’s theme was human rights, with the first speaker noting about HR in developed nations and in developing nations, including non Commonwealth countries. What was surprising was that his example was explained by Lorna—that was the focus of her dissertation. Something about anti viral provision to AIDS patients in Africa. Wow, I thought, that’s a really unique topic. The second speaker mainly focused on the persecution of journalists but she did touch the effects of the new media. Human Rights just like Climate Change isn’t my forte, but my brain was again buzzing about what questions to ask. Should I ask about the internet and social networking sites as the new news arena? I didn’t and the questions came, about certain HR cases studies, the plights of journalists, news stories etc etc. Lorna asked about enshrining social and economic rights. As the session drew to close, I exited without asking questions but learning a great deal about HR.

Lunch was the same spread again and yet again we decided to “rest” outside on the grass. It was also Matt’s opportunity to advertise a group he was working with—the Oaktree foundation. It is a student run international development organisation and naturally I was extremely interested. I also took the opportunity to discuss about the U8 Global Partnership for Development and my UN Society (see the side bar). The sun hid itself amongst the clouds for a while and that was a short sigh of relief as we discussed the morning session. I did admit out loud how much I learnt from the session but quipped that I was waiting for the afternoon speaker on the G20.

So yes there was a Mr. T Aldred from Progressio speakeing about influencing the G20 to fight international poverty and two High Commissioners. Not just any High Commissioner—they were from St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago, the former being many times smaller than the latter. Again it was an eye opener listen to the brief history of their countries and the influence they try to exert even as island nations. I was particularly interested in St. Lucia’s case of its banana trade, which had much to do with the effects WTO rules. The guy from Progressio was very detailed about campaigning during the G20 summit and told us about a memorable moment. A FOX news (the classic right wing American news site) reporter came up to him while he was marching and asked, “So you’re xxx. You’re xx (age hidden), you’re wearing a poncho, why are you a socialist?” The room burst into laughter. (I think that’s the exact story, the word may have been different). That’s the “challenge” of advocacy, he told us.

Q and A and I definitely did not want to be silent this time. I asked him about the comparison between the Gleneagles summit where NGOs managed to get countries to intiate debt relief versus the G20 summit, where nothing much was done. His answer was an answer (versus the guy from the Bretton Woods Project), nothing that there was a strong communiqué at the G20 meeting on helping poorer countries and a statement on climate change. The point is, he remarked, was exactly what Brown’s aide told me. Never stop the campaign about reaching the 0.7%/GNI of aid. I also asked him about the role of emerging markets but hi skipped that question. Other questions that flew at him were about the lack of political will by the developed nations and how far aid pledges will be met. The bulk of the questions though went to the two HCs and the one from St. Lucia was humorous at times. He even said there wasn’t anything “stupid” about Lorna’s question about the drug trade.

There was a further session entitled “How to get into an NGO or an international institution” which was something I was looking forward to but nothing new cropped up. The heat was still present in the evening but the day’s events was refreshing from start to finish. I trooped down to London’s Chinatown to given myself a small “victory” dinner—well victory for my question and the socialising. In was at Malaysian outlet which gave a tinge reminder of home.

Day 3:

It was the last day and some people, including Lorna stored their luggage in a corner in anticipation of returning home. With two presentations on Climate Change, they presented us with yet another Climate Change presentation, this time by the head of campaigns, Oxfam UK. Instead of the usual Q and A, we were divided into groups to discuss how aggressive Oxfam should be in its protesting and campaigning—should it go as far as the actions of Greenpeace? I was mixed with a group where we brought up stuff about the effectiveness of basic campaigning, the need for some desirable education about CC, the impact of celebrities such Bono. After each group presented, it was open to questions. Lorna asked something about comparing the Iraq demonstrations to having such size in the fight against climate change. Once again, I deferred all questions to the rest of the team but again learnt more about this topic—which well explained the weather for the last three days.

Lunch time and we were out on the lawn again. The heat wasn’t that overpowering today but amongst the group next to us, someone fainted and a roving medical team was called in. Well first the medics on bicycle and then the actual ambulance team itself. Oh yes, the day before, we were discussing about the final speaker, Andrew Mitchell the Shadow International Development Minister. I pointed out his political orientation—Thacherite while others noted his different votes. Inevitably, the MP expenses scandal came up. (Shan’t say more than this). Back to the lawn, I met another new guy, Tom from the University of Reading and heard about his time at a boarding school. They played a mini game, name the celebrity (British celebrity) that you’ve met. Luckily time was up before it was my turn—I definitely met celebrities—well in my dreams.

The final afternoon session was the one I was really waiting for. Two members—one from VSO and one from Action Aid, a CPSU researcher and of course, Andrew Mitchell, MP for a Birmingham constituency. The VSO guy taclks about his encounters with various volunteers from Malawi, Cambodia and various others through out the world, emphasising that yes, volunteering does make a difference. The lady from Action Aid was a Filipino who touched on around the same subject and distributed an ActionAid pamphlet that said—“Bollocks to Poverty”. Well, that’s some way to gain the public’s attention I thought. The CPUS researcher’s presentation was on Corporate Social Responsibility, something which light a blub in my mind. Ah yes, wasn’t it covered in one of Joseph Stiglitz’s books?

Mr. Mitchell would arrive later so the first round of Q and As started. I asked about donor coordination, especially given the huge range of groups involved. The guy from VSO gave a pretty good answer, admitting donor coordination was the challenge amongst NGOs although there was coordination amongst British NGOs in administration. Questions flew at all three, with some interested in CSR. Tom asked about any presence of neo-liberalism or western imperialism in western NGos. Alright, that’s a nice start but I was still itching for…

Yes, I recognised him. This is because Mr. Mitchell debated at my university before on the topic THBT foreign aid is useless and he took the opposition. (I think it’s in one of my older entries). His presentation was no different, stating that aid in the UK was no longer between the left and the right but British aid, the moral case for aid, and the Conservative’s push to make aid funds more accountable. Oh he also mentioned Dambisa Mayo’s book about “Dead Aid”. What question would I ask him?

I asked him something about the UK’s relationship with the International Financial Institutions and how the Conservatives would change the relationship with the IFIs. He thought I was talking about conditionality so initially he remarked that British aid should be transferred more though DFID rather than the IFIs though his party was supportive of World Bank efforts. Which efforts, I thought. Then he launched into a dictation of conditionality that wasn’t anything new from the books. People peppered him on aid as a tool for security since he brought that up, and Patrick (a guy from Cambridge University) asked him how the two invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan had affected the view of Western intervention. I voted for the Iraq war (as a backbencher0 he admitted and yes intervention always is controversial.

That wasn’t the end—cocktails were served and everyone still mingled around. I started the ball rolling asked for people’s facebook contacts. Now I asked for contacts before and that wasn’t a great experience but this was different. By this day, I felt that all of us (as in the group I was mixing with) were really fired up, passionate in changing the development landscape of not just Commonwealth nations but others. This was one group beyond my university that I felt really in common with and really could learn from, especially topics on Human Rights, Feminism and Climate Change, the first and last which Lorna seemed really knowledgeable about. Our groups split. One group started talking about the rise of the BNP and the stupidity of its policies while later I found myself with one of the CPSU staff and Lorna, discussing about donor activities in the field. Then the incoming director of CPSU discovered which college Lorna was from and knew her Master/Head tutor. How about my professors? Oh well, I didn’t say that out loud.

Later I would find myself with another CPSU staff, discussing about student debt, foreign intervention in Africa, and British Universities. One by one, people exited, but I could tell that everyone simply loved the three day conference. Indeed, this was the best of all conferences I’ve been to—better or equal to the DFID consultation in March. God Bless CPSU and all the contacts I’ve met there.

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