Uganda hosted the Commonwealth Heads of State and Governments Meeting (CHOGM) in November 2007. By Ugandan standards I think it was well organised. It of course swallowed some significant amounts of money from the government coffers. Based on what I gather from the press and some two personal testimonies, while some individuals smiled all the way to the bank, others came out of it very hurt. Some business deals worked, others unfortunately did not for various reasons.
I did not gain financially (at least not directly). Maybe I was not prepared well enough to grab the opportunity. Well, all was not lost. I participated in the 'free' People's Space - an open forum to every Tom, Dick and Harriet. That should tell you that I did not have a special invite for any of the several parallel sessions that run in the air conditioned facilities in town. I grabbed the opportunity presented to me by British Council to participate in one of its sessions where I was introduced to the concept of Appreciative Inquiry.
While the name was new to me, some of the ideas and principles shared were not new so there was something to learn after all. Of what value is knowledge gained if it is not put to practice and shared? Well, if I fail to put it to practice (which I doubt), I will not fail to share it. This is the reason for this post.
Watch this space for the developing story.
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