'CPC brings huge opportunities for Ugandans'

Sep 17, 2019

"When you go into entertainment, we are picking entertainment groups from different parts of the country that will be able to depict a complete picture of the country’s cultural diversity," says MP Paul Amoru.

64TH COMMONWEALTH PARLIAMENTARY CONFERENCE

With about a week to the 64th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, which will take place in Kampala on September 22-29, organisers say they have almost everything in place for the high-profile event. The media will play a central role to ensure all Ugandans are kept abreast of the proceedings. The chairperson of the media and publicity committee, Paul Amoru, told New Vision how his department planned to reach out to every Ugandan and to spread word about the conference around the world 

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Q: Which events at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference are likely to be open to the public? And what arrangements have been made to relay those events to Ugandans?

A: First of all, we came up with a comprehensive and elaborate communications strategy to enable Ugandans know what is going on and understand who will be attending the conference. This was meant to help them appreciate what this conference means to them so that those who can take the chance to tap into the opportunities that come with this event may be free to do so.

So, we have engaged all the major media houses and the Right Honourable Speaker has already had a breakfast meeting with the top editors in the country and the bureau chiefs covering Uganda for international media organisations to brief them about the conference. Secondly, the conference supported a media budget, which has allowed us to be able to place content on television, in the print media and on radios across the country, so there is no corner of Uganda that has been left out.

As we speak, much of this content is already running. But also, we have been fortunate that most of the media houses have been receptive towards the conference and so, over and above the paid content, there is an editorialled campaign to give visibility and prominence to this conference.

And so news pieces, especially around the major themes of the conference, have been developed. There is something on the youth, women, people with disabilities and climate change. Ugandans have gained a deeper understanding of parliamentary practice within the Commonwealth, traditions, values and how it has shaped policies and legislation over the decades. We want people to understand that this is significant for Uganda. We last had this in 1967.


We have been able to dig deeper and gain access to content that was available then, in 1967. We have videos, pictures of that time and things that happened. We are looking out for people who participated in that conference. All of this is being generated and shared with the country.

Most importantly also, we are helping Ugandans to understand the opportunity this brings for us in terms of tourism, and that is why the organising committee deliberately worked with many hotels. We were able to give accreditation to many hotels that the delegates may have access to. There is also going to be opportunity for the different companies and organisations that are looking to export their products to exhibit them during the conference. They will target these high-valued delegates, who are coming from about 54 countries.

During the conference, because this is a high-profile meeting, attendance is by invitation and by accreditation. It will not be open to everyone and that is why the media becomes very critical in helping to relay this. Both the official and closing ceremonies will be aired live on all the major televisions. The media and publicity committee has also created a state-of-theart media bureau, which will be well-equipped to enable local and international journalists to freely operate and be able to generate content for publication and broadcast.

 himpanzees are among the major tourist attractions ganda hopes to benefit from during and after the conference Chimpanzees are among the major tourist attractions Uganda hopes to benefit from during and after the conference

 

Which local organisations have been invited and are going to be represented at the conference? Who are the civil society and business community representatives at this event and how will their presence benefit ordinary Ugandans?

All the invited groups are coming as observers. There is room for a significant number of youth leaders from across the country through the Uganda National Youth Council and the process of identifying them is on-going.

The business community and leadership in Uganda will be sending representatives. Their registration is also ongoing. Then some key agencies and government departments such as the Uganda Tourism Board, Uganda Investment Authority and will definitely have representation. And many of them have already been incorporated into the organising committee.

All sectors and different groupings will be represented. Even when you go into entertainment, we are picking entertainment groups from different parts of the country that will be able to depict a complete picture of the country's cultural diversity. Student leaders through Uganda National Students Association will also be represented.

As you know, the Commonwealth pays a lot of attention to youth issues. And you will have people with disabilities and women groups. As you can see, all sectors are going to be represented. No major sectors in the country will be left. But for the general public, almost every media house that we have engaged has agreed not just to live stream the proceedings on their legacy media outlets, but also to stream them on online media and social media platforms.

We are also going to livestream activities on the conference website, the Parliament website and on the website for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. We will also be running a daily magazine. The media bureau we have set up will be generating content and this will be run throughout the duration of the conference. There will be seven editions of the magazine that will help to capture the conference's highlights. All of these will give access to the conference to people who will not have physical access to the conference venues in Munyonyo so that they can follow the events.


We have talked about this conference as an opportunity to market Uganda internationally. Which international media houses are coming to cover this conference?

Well, the key media houses within East Africa will be here. We have BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, AFP and many of the other international media agencies that have bureaux here. So far, over 240 journalists have already been registered.

We also know that because there will be Speakers from the 54 Commonwealth Parliaments here, these Speakers always come with elaborate press teams around them and this will help beef up the level of coverage of this conference. 


What is your final message to Ugandans as Parliament heads into the home stretch of organising this high-profile conference?

This is a special moment for everyone in Uganda and our special appeal to the local media is to seize the moment and help to propel the success story of the country to the world so that we are able to maximise such an opportunity which comes almost once in our lifetime.

We last had this opportunity to host the Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference 52 years ago and there is every chance that the next time we are having this will again be after 50 years or so.

So we think we stand to gain a lot through the opportunities the conference offers and one clear route towards effectively sharing those conference opportunities with every Ugandan is through the media.


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