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In this issue:
Management changes: transition at Forum of Federations
Eight countries become partners with Forum
Strategic Council encourages Forum to strengthen its role
New Chair named by Forum of Federations
Sharing federal experience with the Philippines
Workshops on minority rights in Sri Lanka
International Youth Network linked by Forum Youth Website
Ottawa was the scene of Forum book launch in June
How Bosnia manages as a federal country - Federations Vol. 4 No. 4
Global Dialogue to hold roundtables on fiscal federalism
Video on diversity in federal countries now available in Arabic
Management changes: transition at Forum of Federations
The Board of Directors has named George Anderson as the new President of the Forum of Federations, succeeding Bob Rae who served as Chair of the Forum's Board from 1999 to 2005 and as President and Chief Executive Officer from 2003 to 2005. Mr. Rae was named the first Fellow of the Forum by the Board of Directors. He will continue to work with the Forum on projects around the world. Don Dennison has finished his two-year term as Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of Forum.
Eight countries become partners with Forum
The governments of six countries - Austria, Australia, Canada, India, Nigeria, and Switzerland - have signed Framework Arrangements with the Forum of Federations. The Framework Arrangements create a partnership between each federal government and the Forum. By signing, each government will sit on the Forum's Strategic Council to provide broad policy advice to the Board. The number of governments will soon increase to eight. The governments of Mexico and Ethiopia recently signed letters of intent to sign Framework Arrangements in the near future.
Strategic Council encourages Forum to strengthen its role
The first meeting of the Strategic Council, which provides advice to the Forum's Board, took place in Ottawa on June 14. The council made a series of recommendations to the Forum. The Council also took note of the recommendations for candidates for the Forum Board made by countries represented on the Strategic Council and recommended their approval to the Board.
New Chair named by Forum of Federations
Arnold Koller, former President of Switzerland, was elected Chair of the Forum's Board of Directors in February.
Sharing federal experience with the Philippines
With a proposal to adopt a federal political system now supported by many in the Philippines as a means of power sharing and conflict resolution, the Forum is helping organize a conference to share federal experiences. On August 11, the Forum, the Philippine-Canadian Foundation and the Canadian Embassy in Manila will hold a conference on Canadian parliamentary federalism.
Workshops on minority rights in Sri Lanka
The Forum of Federations, the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and the newly created Peace Secretariat for Muslims will hold a series of three workshops in the Eastern provinces (Trincomalee, Ampara and Batticaloa) of Sri Lanka in July 2005. Dr. David Cameron, Forum board member and former Canadian deputy minister, and Bob Rae, former Premier of Ontario and Fellow of the Forum of Federations, will make presentations on the issue of non-contiguous minorities, administrative arrangements and minority rights. The workshops are a continuation of the Forum's programs in Sri Lanka.
International Youth Network linked by Forum Youth Website
The International Youth Network, created by the Forum of Federations in 2004, promotes youth perspectives in the worldwide dialogue on federalism and ensures that generations learn from one another. The Network brings people of all ages together to exchange experiences and ultimately generate new ideas on federal governance. There is a special section for the International Youth Network in the Forum's website. The site has several interactive dialogue pages.
Ottawa was the scene of Forum book launch in June
Members of the Canadian parliament, representatives from federal governments worldwide and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada were among the crowd at the Forum's book launch for the Global Dialogue on Federalism series of publications and the Handbook of Federal Countries, 2005, held on June 15 in Ottawa.
How Bosnia manages as a federal country - Federations Vol. 4 No. 4
Ten years after the end of hostilities, Bosnia is now one country with a federal system of government. The difficult path to democratic federal governance is traced by Bosnia's Ambassador to Canada, Vjekoslav Domljan, in a 'Practitioner's Page' article in the new Federations, Vol. 4 No. 4.
Global Dialogue to hold roundtables on fiscal federalism
The Global Dialogue on Federalism will be holding its fourth series of roundtables in 13 countries from now until the end of 2005. The theme is The Practice of Fiscal Federalism: Comparative Perspectives. This is a joint project of the Forum and the International Association of Centers for Federal Studies. The first in the series of fiscal federalism roundtables will be held in Nigeria on August 11, followed by those in Malaysia, India, Brazil, Canada, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, Australia, United States, Russia, South Africa and China.
Video on diversity in federal countries now available in Arabic
The Forum's 40-minute video, The Challenge of Diversity: The Federal Experience, is now available in Arabic, as well as in English, French, Sinhala and Tamil. The video shows how five countries - India, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain and Canada - deal with ethnic and linguistic diversity through their federal systems. To order any language version of the video on DVD or VHS, contact the Forum at forum@forumfed.org.
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