The day after

Thank God we are past CHOGM without a scratch. Enough of the pomposity and imposing security measures. Maybe it was a rehearsal for the organisation of the EU summit if Malta gets the EU presidency someday in the future.

At the end of their meetings the Commonwealth leaders issued the so-called Malta Declaration. It looks good on paper and maybe not so good for the Maltese coffers. The leaders said in their declaration:

“We also endorse the establishment of a Special Fund to enable implementation of the specific activities and to achieve the performance targets envisaged in the Action Programme, and call for contributions to the Fund so that it can become operational without delay. In this context, we note with appreciation the substantial contributions [my bold] to the Fund announced by India and Malta.”

The Maltese government did not say what shape this “substantial contribution” will take. Malta’s financial situation does not lend itself very much for financial contributions but we can share a lot of experience in ICT with developing Commonwealth countries. We are tackling the Digital Divide successfully and perhaps we can share this experience to good effect elsewhere.

This is my last entry in Wired Temples in the time window afforded by Robert. I concluded my experience with an ICT-related entry because that’s what my real professional interest is.

I thank Toni Sant for getting me hooked on blogging and Robert for giving me the space to take my first steps. I will now continue blogging in my personal space.