Mancham attends world NGO body’s annual conference

26.10.2004

Former President James R. Mancham was among the over 300 delegates from over 100 Nations attending the 3rd Annual Conference of the World Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (Wango) which took place on Friday October 29 in Budapest, Hungary.

The first Conference was held in Washington, D.C. in 2002 and the second in Bangkok in 2003.

A communiqué from Mr Mancham’s Glacis-sur-Mer office says that this year’s opening Plenary Session took place in the main hall of the Hungarian Parliament where the guest speaker of the day was Dr Katalin Szili, President of the Parliament of Hungary who is Deputy Head of State of the Republic of Hungary.

The communiqué says Dr Szili spoke mostly on the theme of the Conference – “The Role of NGOs in Healing a Hurting World.”

“The remarkable ‘NGO Revolution’ now taking place represents substantial hope for addressing the serious problems plaguing humanity.

The non-governmental community is involved in healing this hurting world to a level that was never imagined a century ago. Their flexibility and connections to grassroots communities aids them in mobilizing resources quickly to affected areas and their often single-minded commitment and strong motivation afford them a civic power that other institutions may lack,” the communiqué quotes Dr Szili stated.

From Budapest, Mr Mancham travelled to London where he is due to attend a dinner reception tomorrow at Buckingham Palace hosted by Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh who are Patron and President of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce to mark the 250th Anniversary of the Society. Some 150 guests who are Fellows of the Society will attend this historic dinner. Mr Mancham will be accompanied by Mrs Mancham.

It is to be noted that Mr Mancham had on October 11, 2004 participated in a “Day of Inspiration” hosted by the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) as part of its 250th Anniversary at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Mr Mancham has been a fellow of the RSA since 1968 which is today committed to encouraging enterprise, moving towards a zero-waste society, fostering resilient communities, developing a capable population and advancing global citizenship.

One of the keynote speakers of the “Day of Inspiration” was Cardinal Cormac Murphy-Oconnor, who became Archbishop of Westminster in 2000 and made a Cardinal in 2001. As President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales, he guides the world of the R.C. Church on religious, pastoral, educational and international issues. Cardinal Murphy-Oconnor said that at this critical time in world history – a return to God provided the only hope for a better humanity.