By Emmanuel Gyezaho

This week, British Council organised an outdoor event aimed at showcasing musicians from across the Commonwealth.

Below are a few pictures from the event:

Musicians on stage:

Delegates having fun together:

Ugandan local DJ J Kazoora smiles for the camera with a couple of friends:

Two ladies enjoying the time of their lives:

By Ethan Musolini, Interaction Workshop participant, Commonwealth People’s Forum, Kampala, Uganda (Guest blogger)

With the Commonwealth People’s Forum’s theme being “Realizing People’s Potential”, it is critical to take a personal reality check in terms of how you as an individual can realize your own potential.

The key is to focus on how you yourself can unleash your potential. You can’t wait for someone else to wave a magic wand in front of you and expect - bingo – success to appear.

If each of us can realize our own potential, then, the whole Commonwealth - and the whole world matter will experience an explosion of immense success.

So here are my 7 great ways to achieve that:

• Vision

Always have a clear vision – a big crystal clear picture of the kind of life you want to experience. Where do you see yourself 5, 10 or 20 years from now? A personal vision will keep you motivated and inspired.

• Set Goals

Set goals in all the different areas of your life like health, relationships, spirituality, material and financial, career, mental and personal development. Do something progressive about them every day and you will be astonished how much you can accomplish by the time the next CHOGM comes around.

• Excellence and integrity

Whatever you are engaged in, do it with excellence. Excellence attracts opportunity. Keep promises to yourself and others. Excellence and integrity will transform into greater performance which will unleash more of your potential. Remember potential is what hasn’t been realized yet. Do more that you’ve never done before.

• Positive Self Talk

Keep telling yourself: ‘I can do it’.’I love myself’ ‘I like myself’ ‘I love my work’ ‘I am the best’. That will keep you motivated to stretch further towards your hidden potential.

• Hang around the right people

Hang around people who can inspire you. They will keep you going towards your dreams. Toxic and negative people will suck the life out of your dreams. Positive people will turbo charge your desire to become more successful.

• Constant self improvement

Read inspirational books. Listen to audio tapes for more success.

• Persistence

Never give up until your dreams are realized. Make it happen until your dreams are realized to celebrate your unlimited potential.

Good luck

Ethan Musolini is a CEO of Success Africa, motivational speaker, consultant, facilitator and author of 2 books – Get Motivated in 30 Seconds or Less and Public Speaking Secrets Exposed. He is a Ugandan based in Kampala

By the Editor

Whilst walking around the People’s Space yesterday, I saw these guys dancing and decided to capture a short section of it.

Click here if you can’t see the video below:

By Charles Odongtho

Yesterday I took a walk around the People’s Space and took a few pictures. Here’s a selection:

Participants being screened for safety by security. Nothing is being left to chance.

Ready to serve: A policeman on his Honda motorcycle waiting to lead a spouses convoy.

Spouses of some of the Commonwealth leaders arrive to see the People’s Space.

Flags of countries of the Commonwealth hosted at Hotel Africana, venue of the People’s Space.

School girls seen chatting at the People’s Space.

Acholi Laraka Raka dancers stage a dance play at the People’s Space.

Don McKinnon waits with his son James at the People’s Space.

By the Editor

We asked participants at the event to come share their views on the issues at our makeshift ‘diary room’. Here’s the fifth.

Click here if you can’t see the video below.

By the Editor

We asked participants at the event to come share their views on the issues at our makeshift ‘diary room’. Here’s the fourth.

Click here if you can’t see the video below.

By the Editor

We asked participants at the event to come share their views on the issues at our makeshift ‘diary room’. Here’s the third.

Click here if you can’t see the video below.

By Charles Odongtho

Out going Secretary-General of the Commonwealthh, Don McKinnon wants leaders of the 53 member states to set out priority plans to tackle the challenges of Climate Change and Balance of Trade between countries. Mckinnon considers these two issues are currently the biggest challenges to be resolved.

On Tuesday evening on the BBC World Service programme“Have Your Say”, which was relayed live from Uganda’s capital Kampala, several Ugandans criticized the Commonwealth calling it an irrelevance and a mere party club. They said it has little impact on modern Africa because the delegates just come, meet and exchange business cards, eat and drink well and then go home.

But the Secretary-General disagrees. He pointed out that during his last visit to war-affected Northern Uganda, he visited development projects set up by the Commonwealth to rehabilitate youths who had been abducted by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebels.

Don Mckinnon does not hide his disappointment with Uganda’s main opposition leaders who have boycotted the Commonwealth meeting. The opposition in Uganda say they have become cynical of an organization that cannot address their concerns on human rights and governance.

Mckinnon, who will be replaced by a new Secretary-General at the end of this week’s summit, said the meeting is crucial for the entire host country and not just for the ruling government. He said he met the country’s opposition four months ago and they had assured him they would participate.

He said that countries with good and established democratic institutions and good governance structures can benefit more from Commonwealth membership. He said it is important for all member countries, Uganda included, to build institutions that can help to build global confidence in their people.

See Don Mckinnon’s blog on the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting here.

I interviewed Don earlier. Below are both an excerpt and the full interview I carried out with him. In the excerpt, Don talks about having congruence between policy and projects ‘on the ground.’

Excerpt audio

Click to download a low bandwidth file here, or press play below:

Full interview

Click to download a low bandwidth file here, or press play below:

By the Editor

We asked participants at the event to come share their views on the issues at our makeshift ‘diary room’. Here’s the second.

Click here if you can’t see the video below.

By the Editor

We asked participants at the event to come share their views on the issues at our makeshift ‘diary room’. Here’s the first.

Click here if you can’t see the video below.