My name is Emmanuel Gyezaho. I am a 27 year old political journalist based in Kampala, Uganda. I work with the only independent daily, The Daily Monitor.

I grew up in uptown Kampala and I am the second of five children. I have two brothers and two sisters.

Growing up in a country where political corruption has stifled human development through bad governance, just as it has across the developing world, I studied journalism at university so that I could expose the excesses of our political class.

I am blogging with the British Council because it offers me and the rest of the Commonwealth people, a platform to interact, share experiences and exchange ideas on how best we as people, individually and collectively, can deal with the problems we face in our lives.

It is a privilege, I must admit, to be part of an ingenious idea to participate in the People’s Space this year, as my country hosts fifty three heads of state and government representing a third of the world’s population.

I am relishing the prospect of interacting with millions of people, in conversation on issues that affect their day to day lives. I hope that in the process, we can all learn from each other and make the best out of our lives by making the world we live in a better place.

In the end, I hope you guys can teach me how to be a better person, by sharing your culture and knowledge, and in turn you can learn from my own experiences.

Those of you not attending the Commonwealth People’s Forum don’t you worry. Expect all the happenings across the event, as it breaks, right here on the People’s Forum Blog.

Sit back, relax, and join the conversation.

Here’s a short piece of audio created by me about my involvement in the event:

Download / open a low bandwidth file here.

Download / open a high bandwidth file here.

(A transcript will be posted shortly)

My name is Joel Besekezi, I work with UBC-TV as a news anchor and talk show host. I am the first born in a family of four. I reside in Kisaasi, one of the most outstanding suburbs in Kampala City.

Currently I am also pursuing a business course at Makerere University, the best there is in East Africa and South of the Sahara. I am a multi-talented young man with a go-getter attitude. I can sing quite well, which explains my moving voice because when I sing, people move out!

I like several things, among which are sports, public presentations, politics, to mention but a few. The latter explains my great ambitions of becoming President of this gallant nation Uganda. I am a born-again Christian who loves the Lord with a great passion.

I like to face challenges head on, no wonder I killed a dog (read rat) with my bare hands when I was six years of age. I have travelled to several parts of Uganda and elsewhere in the world including Kenya and United Kingdom. I therefore have no doubt that if I asked to become the next Commonwealth Secretary-General, I would be given the green light.

Here’s a short piece of audio created by me about my involvement in the event:

Download / open a low bandwidth file here.

Download / open a high bandwidth file here.

(A transcript will be posted shortly)

By Naomi Kabarungi

My name is Naomi Kabarungi, 26 years old. I graduated from Makerere University with a Bachelor of Mass Communication early this year but had long before discovered, and exploited an interest in communicating with people.

I believe that everybody has a story to tell, whether politician, peasant, street kid or beauty queen! Actually all the stories I have had published in the local newspapers are human-interest personality profiles.

There has been a lot of hype about the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kampala. I figured that the Commonwealth People’s Forum was one place that would be easily and largely accessible to me as a common person; and to share what other people outside the political sphere think of the whole event.

I hope to publish a blog and keep it going even after CHOGM is over. I am looking forward to conversations with people all over the world, about topics that they are passionate about. I also hope to learn new skills in audio and video recording, and definitely blogging, which is a whole new experience for me.

Here’s a short piece of audio created by me about my involvement in the event.

Download / open a low bandwidth file here.

Download / open a high bandwidth file here.

(A transcript will be posted shortly)

One thing I didn’t mention yet. This blog is being run by a local team of Ugandans. The following posts have all been composed by the core of five writers.

These people will be working hard, using their own voices to bring you ideas and opinions on events as they unfold.

This is your chance to tell them what you think.

The BBC are running a series of audio documentaries entitled ‘Tales from the Commonwealth.’

In this four-part series, broadcasters from Guyana, Mozambique, St Lucia and Papua New Guinea show us round their country’s capitals, introduce us to local personalities, and talk about the issues they feel most strongly about.

Check them out here.

If you are here, it’s likely you are aware of the forthcoming ‘Commonwealth People’s Forum’ taking place in Uganda between 18 – 22nd November 2007.

Here’s Dr Mark Collins, Director of the Commonwealth Foundation with a few thoughts of his own on what’s happening. If you can’t see the video below, click here.

You can download a transcript in Word or PDF here.

Things are going to be a little different this year. For the first time, we are opening up the forum to the entire Commonwealth.

British Council is supporting a new online initiative aimed at creating a global discussion on the issues that affect us all. A team of Ugandans are being trained to bring you both happenings from the event and their own opinions on the issues.

The issues will include:

• Environment and Natural Resources
• Governance, Participation and Human Rights
• Economic Development
• Education for Transformation
• Health
• Culture, Creativity and Identity

Unlike standard reports, they will aim to make these issues come alive using multiple media. This blog will include text updates, audio and video interviews, photography, and more.

But, the real benefit is that there’s an opportunity to make your views heard on the issues that matter to you. Each update (or post) offers the chance to make your views known through the ‘Join the Debate – Read Comments’ option featuring at the bottom of each post. It’s your chance to engage with others around the Commonwealth and inform us of what matters to you.

New posts will go up in advance of the event and we hope you’ll join us on this exciting journey. Feel free to sign up for immediate updates as they happen by entering your email address in the box provided on the right hand side.

Thank you and we look forward to your joining us in Uganda!