In June, I attended #CHOGM2022 in Kigali, Rwanda. I attended in the Commonwealth Women’s Forum, moderating a panel organizations by The Commonwealth Equality Network (TCEN) on LGBTQI+ rights, and was on the closing panel at the Commonwealth People’s Forum which was focused on building upon the ideas shared during the two-day forum and looking toward the future.

Later in the week, I participated in the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers Roundtable where I spoke about the relationship between governments and civil society and why it needs to change. We, members of civil society, know our communities. We work with and within them every day, we can reach them with ease, we know the pressing issues, and our access cannot be matched by the government. Non-governmental organizations cannot be skipped over and ignored when services and programs are being developed to benefit the people in the communities we serve.

If I come across a recording of the Roundtable, I’ll be sure to share it. I’m happy to see the Commonwealth Foundation has shared the recordings from the Commonwealth People’s Forum, and it was great to revisit the closing panel. Check it out.