CPTM has just hosted a London gathering for the Commonwealth High Commissioners in the UK.
The event was chaired by Dr Andrew Taussig, a CPTM Board Director, assisted by Amira Jayasekera, CPTM’s Office Manager. Dr Taussig gave an update on the re-imagination process which CPTM initiated following the sad loss of its Founding CEO, Dr Mihaela Smith in June 2002. David Babington-Smith, provided further details on two new projects – relating to Food and Nutrition Security in Africa, around which the re-imagination is taking place.
Her Excellency, Dr Linda Scott, Namibian High Commissioner and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth Secretariat, sent a kind address to their Excellencies, which was read on her behalf by Mr Michael-Lee Naruseb, second secretary at the Namibian High Commission.
“Good afternoon Your Excellencies and Smart Partners. I have been asked by Dr Andrew Taussig, CPTM Director, to make a few remarks because I have been a part of the CPTM Network for many years, and because I knew Dr Mihaela Smith who was the CEO of the CPTM for years.
“It was really sad news that she had died and we pay tribute to her memory, and to the tremendous work that she did over many years for the cause of Smart Partnership within the context of the Commonwealth. Those of us who knew her were impressed by her energy, creative spirit and ability to move mountains in the face of tremendous challenges.
“We will surely miss her!
“If you look at the website of the CPTM, and particularly on the About section, you see pictures of Mihaela and also of another CPTM Partner, namely Honourable Marko Hausiku, who was the Namibian Foreign Minister and a strong supporter of the ideals of the organisation.
“So where did it all begin?
“The history of the CPTM Smart Partnership began in Banjul when Commonwealth leaders, and particularly the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammed, engaged with his peers, including Dr Sam Nujoma and Dr Robert Mugabe, among others, together with Dr Omar, his advisor, to establish a framework for coordinating and targeting the use of Science and Technology to benefit Commonwealth member states’ socio-economic transformations.
“It has been based, outside of strict government structures, in order to facilitate a network of business and civil society and government partners in order to work toward sharing knowledge and skills, and learning from the collective experience with the aim of seeking win-win solutions to challenges faced in the Commonwealth. This was all part of a wider effort toward South-South cooperation within the framework of the Commonwealth which comprises a third of the world’s population.
“Dr Mahathir and other leaders like Dr Sam Nujoma believed that this kind of networking would not only lead to knowledge-sharing but would also develop leadership skills among these leaders in their various fields. Smart Partnership Dialogues were brought together in an effort to address these gaps and resulted in meetings attended by great personalities such as President Nelson Mandela.
“The CPTM has been quiet for some time due to various challenges, including the COVID-19 Pandemic, economic challenges and of course the passing of some Smart Partners, and most importantly, of Dr Mihaela Smith.
“However, the CPTM continues under the leadership of His Excellency Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda.
“I am happy to hear about the ambition of the CPTM to find new focus in areas around food security and agribusiness and would like to see them take this further into the areas of value addition and ensuring ESG compliance.
“It is important to see the possibilities of the CPTM as our original leaders viewed the opportunities such a network could provide, including being a Creative Space established without preconditions and which would allow a creative energy, learning and sharing of experiences, South-South cooperation.
“To me, the Vision captured with the concept of the CPTM echoes the vision of leaders such as Her Majesty the Queen, who saw beyond a reality of colonialism and empire to a space in which countries were equals and could learn from one another, offer support to each other and help to develop for a wider goal of the Common Good!
“I would argue that the CPTM brings together people from within the Commonwealth who are at the Grassroots, who are creatives and who are academics together with business and civil society within a framework supported by governments to support this vision that people such as the Queen held. This is the kind of vision that our own Founding Father and First President of Namibia, His Excellency Dr Sam Nujoma and national leaders before him, held in the liberation movement of our own country.
“I do hope that we will be able to find a way to take forward the vision for the CPTM to serve those very goals once again, as a Commonwealth group.
“I thank you!”