Prominent women at CHOGM’s opening

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ONE FOR THE ALBUM: (Seated, from second left) Queen Elizabeth II, Gillard, Bissessar and Kamalesh (seated left) with the Commonwealth heads of governments after the CHOGM opening ceremony. Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is standing at second right, second row. — Bernama photo

PERTH: While the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2011 here moved the audience with its diverse performances, what perhaps, took centre-stage was the presence of three women.

They were the head of Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Kamla Persad Bissessar.

Bissessar noted that she was handing over the chairmanship to Gillard, and witnessing the event was Queen Elizabeth.

“All three are women,” she said in her handing over speech. Trinidad and Tobago hosted the CHOGM in 2009.

All 53 heads of government, including the Queen, were seated on the stage during the opening ceremony which was declared open by Queen Elizabeth.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma also acknowledged this fact.

“We decided our 2011 theme should be Women as Agents of Change, with Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar handing over the chair to Prime Minister Gillard, we have lived up to it spectacularly,” he said.

There are mostly male heads of government attending the event in this serene city of Perth but these women leaders would definitely make their voices heard and be agents of change.

Out of the 53 heads of goverment, five are women, including Gillard and Bissessar. Bangladesh is represented by its prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, Dominica by its acting high commissioner, Janet Charles, and St Lucia by Dr June Soomer, as head of delegation.

The one-hour ceremony was tinged with ‘modernity plus tradition’. Cultural performances, modern dances and songs filled the hall, performed mostly by the youths of Australia.

In her speech, Gillard said that unlike other global bodies united by practical concerns such as commerce or trade, the Commonwealth is also joined by a very different motivation.

“We are a ‘Commonwealth of Values’. Shared values of peace, democracy, racial equality, the rule of law and a commitment to social and economic progress.

“The Commonwealth is also about shared values freely embraced and consensually expressed.

“Values, we can put to work in addressing some of the most pressing concerns that face our world like climate change, financial stability and food security. The Commonwelth is vital to addressing such changes,” she added.

Queen Elizabeth, in her speech, described the Commonwealth as ‘the original world wide web.’

In the duration of the three-day CHOGM, Perth will play host to more than 4,000 visitors, including the leaders from 53 countries who represent more than one quarter of the world’s nations and two billion people.

Also present are foreign ministers, business people and youth and community leaders.

As many as 1,200 international and domestic media are in Perth to report on the event, said to be the biggest media contingent ever to cover CHOGM.

CHOGM 2011 will provide an opportunity for Commonwealth leaders, who meet once every two years, to discuss world issues relevant to building a strong and secure future for all. — Bernama