Description

The Commonwealth Ministers Reference Book is an essential source of information on key aspects of policy issues for all Commonwealth ministers, from trade to transport. It includes articles, case studies, partnership initiatives, interviews and reports that inform and educate ministers, regarding opportunity and potential in the Commonwealth.

The 2008 edition includes a new ‘Ministerial Briefings’ section, which includes articles specifically to assist Ministers and Senior Officials in the efficient running of Ministries. It includes a variety of papers from an update on the Millennium Development Goals to advice on how governments can promote environmental responsibility.

The Governmental Priorities section outlines the key priorities facing governments throughout the Commonwealth. The 40 articles cover a range of topics with opinion pieces, case studies and transferable solutions written by multi-sectoral authors from across the globe.

This comprehensive reference book also contains a complete directory of all key Commonwealth Ministries, with over 1,000 Minister and relevant Ministry contact details listed, including Education, Health, Transport, Finance and Defence. This is an essential publication for ministries, government officials and libraries.

Published by Henley Media Group for the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Contents

Introduction Kamalesh Sharma, Commonwealth Secretary-General

Ministerial Briefings

• Progress Summary of the MDGs: Update for Ministers Professor Jeffrey D Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute at Columbia University
• The Cabinet System: How it Works in the Commonwealth Syed Sharfuddin, Former Special Adviser for Political Affairs, Commonwealth Secretariat
• Local Government in the Commonwealth Dr Munawwar Alam, Adviser, Governance and Institutional Development Division, Commonwealth Secretariat
• Public Sector Accountability Dr Munawwar Alam, Adviser, Governance and Institutional Development Division, Commonwealth Secretariat
• Integrated Service Delivery John Wilkins, Adviser, Public Sector Management, Governance and Institutional Development Division, Commonwealth Secretariat
• Promoting Good Governance in Public-Private Partnerships Geoffrey Hamilton, Chief, Cooperation and Partnerships Section, United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
• Environmental Responsibility Vasantt K Jogoo, Adviser & Head, Small States, Economic Affairs Division, Commonwealth Secretariat
• The Challenge of Gender Mainstreaming: From Commitment to Action Sarojini Ganju Thakur, Head of the Gender Section at the Commonwealth Secretariat
• Bridging the Digital Divide for Networked Governments Tony Ming, ICT Adviser, Governance and Institutional Development Division, Commonwealth Secretariat 

Government Priorities

• Trade and the Millennium Development Goals Edwin Laurent, Head of International Trade and Regional Cooperation, Commonwealth Secretariat
• Is Micro-credit the World’s Most Powerful Weapon against Poverty? Sam Daley-Harris, Founder, Microcredit Summit Campaign and RESULTS
• Unleashing Entrepreneurship: Making Business Work for the Poor Sahba Sobhani, Programme Manager, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Growing Inclusive Markets Initiative
• Maintaining Debt Sustainability in the Aftermath of Debt Relief Alberto Espejo, Senior Economist, Policy Development and Review Department, International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• A Natural Disaster Insurance Programme Robert Lyle, Founder Director of the Commonwealth Disaster Management Agency Ltd and Vice-President of the Overseas Territories British Red Cross Society, and Sir Humphrey Maud, Chairman of the Commonwealth Disaster Management Agency Ltd and former Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth
• Coping with Climate Change: How the Ecological Effects are Transmitted to the Poor Kemal Dervis, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
• Power to Empower Akanksha Chaurey, Associate Director, Distributed Generation Energy Environment Technology Division, TERI
• Sustainable Bioenergy in Africa: Issues and Possibilities Mersie Ejigu, President & CEO Partnership for African Environmental Sustainability (PAES), and Senior Fellow, Foundation for Environmental Security and Sustainability (FESS)
• Jamaica’s Climate Change Agenda: The Way Forward Clifford Mahlung, Meteorologist, National Meteorological Service
• A Means to an End: Transport and the Millennium Development Goals Kate Czuczman, Editor and Communication Coordinator, International Forum for Rural Transport and Development
• Cars in the Commonwealth: Reducing the Climate Impact of Passenger Transport Karen Anderton, Mark Kenber and Lauren Willoughby, The Climate Group
• Safe Roads Require Sustainable Financing: Global and Commonwealth Records on Road Safety Sibylle Rupprecht, Director General, International Road Federation
• Canadian Ports: Opportunities and Challenges Dr Michael C Ircha, Senior Advisor, Association of Canadian Port Authorities
• A Sustainable Vision for the Aviation Industry Philippe Rochat, Director, Aviation Environment, International Air Transport Association
• Lowering Infrastructure and Other Barriers to Exports in the Commonwealth Chris Milner, Leverhulme Globalisation and Economic Policy Research Centre, University of Nottingham
• Sustaining Tourism in the Caribbean: Adaptation and Mitigation for Climate Change Mareba Marissia Scott, Head of Sustainable Tourism Development, Caribbean Tourism Organization
• Tourism and the Double Challenge of Climate Change and Poverty Reduction Francesco Frangialli, Secretary-General, UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
• Resolving Food Crises Today and Tomorrow Jacques Diouf, Director-General, UN Food and Agriculture (UNFAO)
• Livestock and Livelihoods: The Need for Institutional Support for African Successes Andy Catley, Feinstein International Center, Tufts University
• Unheard Voices: The Case for Supporting Marginal Farmers John Madley, Independent Writer and Broadcaster
• Education and Development in a Global Era: Strategies for ‘Successful Globalisation’ Angela W Little, Professor of Education and Andy Green, Professor of Comparative Social Science, the Institute of Education, London
• What Kind of Higher Education for Africa? Mamadou Ndoye, Executive Secretary, Association for the Development of Education in Africa
• Higher Education Partnerships: Building Human and Institutional Capacity Ann Perrelli, Strategic Communications Manager, Higher Education for Development, USA
• Framework for Assessing and Evaluating the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Training Programmes Jennifer Roberts, Evaluation Officer, Strategic Planning and Management Division, Commonwealth Secretariat
• Learning for Development: 20 Years of Progress in Open and Distance Learning Sir John Daniel, President and CEO of the Commonwealth of Learning
• Closing the Gender Gap in Schooling in the Commonwealth: Challenges and Strategies Dr Ramya Subrahmanian, Social Policy Specialist, United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) India
• The Impact of HIV and AIDS on Teachers Dennis Sinyolo, Education and Employment Coordinator, Education International
• Sexual and Reproductive Health Challenges Facing Young People: Lessons from India Chireen J Jejeebhoy, Senior Associate, Population Council, New Dehli; KG Santhya, Senior Programme Officer, Population Council, New Dehli; Lea Hegg, Independent Consultant, Reproductive Health; and Rajib Acharya, Senior Programme Officer, Population Council, New Dehli
• Low Cost eHealth Applications for Commonwealth Countries Professor S Yunkap Kwankam, Coordinator eHealth, World Health Organisation
• Stopping Women Dying During Childbirth: How Are Commonwealth Countries Doing? Oona M R Campbell, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and Wendy J Graham, University of Aberdeen
• Mobile Phones and Commonwealth Development: Understanding the Implications of Rapid Diffusion Abi Jagun, Research Fellow in the Department of Management Science at the University of Strathclyde Business School, and Richard Heeks, Professor of Development Informatics at the University for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester
• ICT for Disaster Management in the Asia-Pacific Region Daniel Stauffacher, Chairman and Sanjana Hattotuwa, Special Advisor, ICT4Peace Foundation
• Development in the New Media Landscape Mirta Lourenço, Chief of Media Capacity-Building, United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)
• Harnessing the Power of Sport: The MDG Challenge Sue Campbell CBE, Chair of the Commonwealth Advisory Body of Sport, and UK Sport
• Youth and Peace-building: Coherence between Declaration and Action Pregs Govender, former Trade Unionist and Politician
• Commonwealth Museums: Relics of the Past or Tools for the Future? Lois Irvine, Secretary General, the Commonwealth Association of Museums
• This is Where I Live Lauren Stewart, Durban Girls’ College, South Africa 

Commonwealth Governments and Ministries

• Alphabetical Listing of Commonwealth Governments and Ministries, Including Names and Contact Details