Annual Reports

May PEACE Prevail in Sierra Leone!
May PEACE Prevail on Earth!

Welcome to Edition 167 of e-Civicus - Connecting civil society worldwide!

21 June - 27 June 2002

The editors value your comments, suggestions and contributions.
Speak to us at civpubs@civicus.org

Should you wish to receive a PDF version of e-Civicus, please
email lauren@civicus.org All back editions of e-Civicus can be
found on our website www.civicus.org.
______________________________________

Final Survey Reminder

CIVICUS SURVEY ON THE IMPACT OF SEPTEMBER 11

Only one week left to register your response! How has your
organisation been affected by the tragic attacks of September 11,
2001 on the United States and the following responses by states?
CIVICUS is gathering the views from organisations around the world
in a web-based survey. Whether you are a small grass roots
organisation or a large international organisation, your experiences
since September 11, both positive and negative are important and
we invite you to register these experiences in our on-line survey.
Visit http://www.rogator.de/civicus to provide your response before
30 June 2002!

The survey is available in Arabic, English, French and Spanish. If
you prefer an electronic copy, please send an email to
survey@civicus.org with your language preference (Arabic, English,
French or Spanish) in the subject line.

_______________________________________

Contents

MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY GENERAL

Acting on the talk in the struggle against global hunger

IN BRIEF: CIVIL SOCIETY 'ROUND THE GLOBE

Africa: Globalisation does not equal Internet access; World Bank
delays Bujagali Dam funding

Asia: Women for Loya Jirga in Afghanistan

Latin America: Indigenous communities call for an Internet for self-
determination

FEATURE OF THE WEEK

Blinded by development - poverty eradication in Andhra Pradesh
going to seed?

CIVIL SOCIETY WATCH NO. 9

Women's perspectives - September 11

WHAT'S UP ON THE WORD FRONT

Publications of interest
Calls for papers; calls for comments
New and interesting websites; Internet news

CLASSIFIEDS

Jobs and volunteer opportunities
Scholarships, fellowships and awards
Training courses and programmes
Conferences, workshops and exhibitions
_______________________________________

MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY GENERAL

Acting on the talk in the struggle against global hunger

In the midst of devastating famine in Southern Africa and
widespread poverty in other parts of the globe, delegates to the
second World Food Summit (WFS) gathered in Rome last week to
recommit to the challenge of decreasing world hunger.

Ironically, the hungriest nations made up the majority of those
gathered around the table, while only two high ranking
representatives from the wealthy nations of the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development attended. Britain, for
example sent a low-level civil service delegation to the Summit
because Development Secretary, Claire Short, believed the
gathering would be "ineffective", and that the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization was "old fashioned and needs
improvement".

There was an outcry from civil society organisations, as well as
several attending heads of state at the apparent lack of interest
shown by G8 countries, and accusations that some attending
delegations did more shopping than talking! Disheartening as the
indifference may be, it highlights the challenges for civil society to
bring all roleplayers closer to the core issues and to act on the
talk.

The outcome of the WFS may be that commitments are
reaffirmed, grave warnings are cited and pleas for more humane
approaches come from the podiums, yet the implementation of
solutions, or at least practical and creative movement toward
solutions seems to evade the formal 'agreements'. Civil society
clamours for change from the sidelines, while governments agree
again and again, to principles of change based on past and present
disequilibrium.

Structural causes of poverty, hunger and malnutrition, including
war, inequitable trade and market conditions, climate change,
ineffective land use and disparities in land distribution have
intensified since the last World Food Summit in 1996. Yet issues
of food security are increasingly addressed in a reactive, rather
than proactive way. For example, tonnes of food aid are distributed
to starving millions around the world, in the wake of famine, while
many donor countries are at the same time promoting controversial
agricultural and trade practices that undermine and even destroy
efforts at sustainable agriculture and health development,
particularly in poor countries.

Hungry people in war-torn and conflict-ridden countries continue to
suffer enormous injustice at the hands of their own governments or
those who are fuelling the conflicts from afar. From Angola to
Afghanistan, millions of people have been forcibly displaced and
now face uncertain futures in disabled societies. Their plight and
those of millions of other people suffering hunger and ill-health has
been named as the "biggest problem facing the world", along with
terrorism. Unforgivably, resources devoted to controversial anti-
terrorism initiatives far exceed those aimed at the "war on hunger".

The NGO statement at this year's WFS pointed to the dumping of
"agricultural products, privatisation of basic social and economic
support institutions, the privatisation and commodification of
communal and public land, water, fishing grounds and forests and
the increasingly brutal repression of social movements resisting
[these developments]" as structural issues that work against the
efforts of civil society toward more sustainable practices that
promote prosperity and better health.

Existing resources in developing countries are often rendered
unexploitable because equal access to markets is restricted and
protectionist polices are applied to the letter. Vast tracts of land
across the developing world are used to grow food destined for the
bellies of cows and pigs in Europe and North America, while famine
threatens the inhabitants of that very land. Dubious labour
practices and outright abuses of human rights are committed on
shopfloors and in sweatshops from Mexico to Malaysia, garnering
greater wealth for a minority of people and cyclical poverty, hunger
and ill-health for many millions. The efforts of people to feed
themselves are increasingly undermined by industrial and
technological developments that swallow the land (and thus the
opportunity), damage the environment and limit access to
nutritionally adequate or safe food.

There are, however, some interesting and exciting examples of civil
society action on the micro level that move away from the status
quo of individual privilege toward shared, communal and
sustainable solutions. In the poor barrios of Buenos Aires, people
have organised barter clubs in response to the country's economic
upheaval. Redefining the social market place and creating new
forms of social ties has helped cash-hungry people survive in an
era of scarcity. In one town in southern Argentina, this system has
extended to citizens being allowed to pay municipal taxes by
bartering. In India, rain harvesting projects are taking off all over the
country, providing people more equitable and independent access
to water resources than if they relied solely on government or
charitable assistance. In South Africa, organic farming methods are
gaining popularity amongst emerging and subsistence farmers, in
particular, and there has been some resistance to genetically
modified agricultural practices in the non-commercial sector.

So where large political gatherings may fear to tread, civil society
in even larger numbers is taking up the slack. Could this signal
imminent change in how business is done at global summits, or
will huge resources continue to be spent on 'talking the talk', while
ordinary citizens get on with the often exhausting, but creative,
business of surviving? Clearly we all need to keep talking to each
other, reaching agreements, and finding areas in which we can
cooperate for the benefit of a more equitable world order. The failure
of such gatherings as the WFS may be a sign of better things to
come. But if the stakeholders pulling the purse strings continue to
be those with greater influence over the final agreements, then civil
society, and its hungriest and most vulnerable members must and
will continue to struggle against the tide.

Regards,
Kumi Naidoo

For more information go to:-
http://www.fao.org
http://www.greenpeace.org
http://www.developmentgateway.org
http://www.allafrica.com
______________________________________

IN BRIEF: CIVIL SOCIETY 'ROUND THE GLOBE

AFRICA

Senegal

At a conference entitled Africa and the Information Society held in
Bamako, Senegal this month, African NGOs argued that
globalisation and liberalisation of trade barriers are not leading to
greater universal access to the Internet in Africa. They called for
"pro-active initiatives mobilising all sectors of African society". They
also stressed the special role of broadcasting as an affordable,
equitable and effective information to overcome barriers such as
illiteracy and geographical isolation in Africa. For information go to:
http://www.comminit.com

Uganda

The fate of Africa's biggest commercial investment - the US $550
million Bujagali hydroelectricity project in Uganda - hung in the
balance this week after the World Bank indefinitely delayed a
decision on whether to fill a massive funding shortfall left by the
withdrawal of sceptical financiers. Construction of a 200-megawatt
dam on the Victoria Nile, was due to start early this year, but was
halted after Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish export credit agencies
withdrew guarantees worth more than US$200 million.

Local civic groups and international environmentalists have
questioned the economic viability of the project, saying it could
drive Uganda further into debt, just as it is starting to pull out of a
vicious debt spiral. Commenting on the project, Frank Muramuzi, of
the National Association of Professional Environmentalists, said,
"They want to use it as a showcase of investment. But we
shouldn't be used as guinea pigs. What if it goes wrong? It will be a
very big problem for Ugandan taxpayers."

ASIA

Afghanistan

Women were significant in their presence at the opening of the
Loya Jirga (traditional council in Afghanistan last week, with 200
female delegates. This is the largest ever representation of women
in a traditional council, with 160 women appointed and 40 elected
to delegate seats. They are part of a national assembly of 1 551
delegates meeting this week in Kabul to draft the nation's new
constitution.

Women delegates are calling for more women in cabinet and
expressed grave concern that warlords may dominate the
government's new cabinet. They are also calling for the
appointment of women to the transitional legislature and the
ministries of defence, education, intelligence and health as well as
to the committee to draft a new constitution. Currently, women hold
only the women's affairs and health cabinet posts in the interim
government.

LATIN AMERICA

Mexico

In Mexico, representatives from 40 indigenous communities met
this month to discuss how to ensure that the Internet is used to
"feed not damage their identity and self-determination". Initiatives
are being proposed by civil society organisations, government,
foundations, companies and indigenous communities for increased
access to the Internet. Computers, Internet and specialised Web
servers are increasingly part of indigenous community networks.

For information contact LaNeta: info@laneta.apc.org

Sources:
http://www.irn.org
http://www.guardianonline.com
http://www.developmentex.com
http://www.oneworld.com
______________________________________

FEATURE OF THE WEEK

Blinded by Development - Poverty eradication in Andhra Pradesh
going to seed?

Jyoti Fernandes
http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/news/vision

The British government, through the Department for International
Development (DFID), is giving £65 million in 'development
assistance' to the government of the Indian state of Andhra
Pradesh to carry out a programme called Vision 20/20.

The Government of Andhra Pradesh has a vision for the shining
new face of India. They contracted the US consultancy firm,
McKinsey, to draw up a plan to place their state firmly in the
middle of the global economy. The resulting document - Vision
20/20 - contains a complete poverty eradication strategy linked to a
focus on 'high growth sectors' such as IT and construction, but
when you look at the steps to be taken, it becomes apparent that
the strategy will cause poverty rather than relieve it.

The crux of the Vision 20/20 strategy for development is the
modernisation of the food systems of Andhra Pradesh through
consolidating farms, mechanising agriculture, increasing fertiliser
and pesticide use, building roads and transport systems and
introducing genetically modified crops such as vitamin A enriched
rice and BT cotton. The government officials and corporations have
managed to convince large development agencies (with their
outdated belief that corporate agriculture can alleviate poverty
through a trickle-down effect) that the poor will benefit. A DFID
spokesman was quoted by Straits Times as saying, "Vision 20/20
is going ahead. Our aim is to take farmers out of the poverty they
and their families have been in for centuries. The only way to do so
is by modernisation, commercial consolidation of farms and the
introduction of up to date farming methods, including the use of
pesticides and machines and GM crops".

What DIFD forgot to do is to discuss it with the people who will be
affected. The majority of the 70 million population of Andhra
Pradesh is engaged in small scale farming, primarily for
subsistence and local markets. 80 percent of these farmers are
women who work small 2-5 acres plots using organic, traditional
methods, a wide diversity of seed and few external inputs.

Recently, the International Institute for Environment and
Development, along with the University of Hyderabad and other
bodies, organised a grassroots consultative process called a
'citizens jury', in which the Vision 20/20 programme was analysed
and unanimously rejected by small farmers.

The jury's main objection to Vision 20/20 is that the proposed
reduction of farmers making their living from the land would fall from
70 to 40 percent of the population. This would result in 20 million
farmers losing their land and livelihoods. The farmers of Andhra
Pradesh are very skilled and knowledgeable about their traditional
methods of farming, but they are not trained in any other
occupations and are mostly low-caste and illiterate. Some will be
able to find work as contract labourers, factory workers, or
servants, but many more will end up migrating to urban slums to
join in the desperate scramble for employment and survival.

Secondly, most of the dalits ('untouchables') - tribal and low-caste
people who farm small plots of land - will have their land taken
from them to be consolidated and given to another farmer who can
work it using modern methods. Few will be given any
compensation for their land because more often than not they do
not hold legal title to it. Monetary compensation in any case, would
not be adequate to compensate for the loss of land which
represents livelihood and a crucial part of culture.

Thirdly, the model for agricultural development proposed by Vision
20/20 involves farmers contracting their land, labour and production
to corporations in exchange for investment in inputs. The diversity
of crops, which are traditionally grown on a smallholding for the use
of the family, would be replaced with large plots on which a
monoculture is grown for export, with the farmer receiving a low
wage. Low wages can be acceptable when a farmer has
subsistence crops with which to feed the family, but are insufficient
without them and will inevitably lead to an impoverished diet.

Fourthly, as well as the everyday work on their own plots, small
farmers do paid work for larger farmers when they need cash.
Participants in the People's Jury expressed deep concern about
the prospect of increased mechanisation depriving them of any
opportunity for paid agricultural work, forcing them off their land as
they lose cash income. Mechanisation may dismantle existing
working patterns in which farmers have a degree of control,
producing a desperate workforce ideally placed for exploitation by
industry.

Finally, Andhra Pradesh farmers traditionally save their seed from
year to year. The crops they grow vary according to the types of
land, the seasons and rainfall. Many require no irrigation. GM seed
would put money in the hands of the corporations. Not only would
farmers have to buy the seed, the crops would require inputs that
farmers would have to buy. If GM did increase the yield of a crop, it
would only be for export and not for the needs of the people.

The farmers of the citizens' jury have outlined an alternative
programme, which would allow them direct access to the funding
for sustainable farming practices, based on " our own indigenous
knowledge, practical skills and institutions".

Recently a delegation of Indian farmers visited the UK where they
demanded to be able to speak with some of the DFID officials
involved in Vision 20/20. The officials, in the face of public pressure,
have agreed to embark upon a process of consultation outlined by
the farmers.

For more information or to get involved in a campaign against the
Vision 20/20 programme contact:

Grassroots Action on Food and Farming (GAFF)
16b Cherwell Street,
Oxford OX4 1BG

or email: chapter7@tlio.demon.co.uk
_______________________________________

CIVIL SOCIETY WATCH NO. 9

Women's Perspectives - September 11

This Civil Society Watch is an interview with Joanna Kerr,
Executive Director of the Association for Women's Rights in
Development (AWID). Previously she was a Senior Researcher at
The North-South Institute where she managed the gender
programme, and started the Gender and Economic Reforms in
Africa Program (GERA), an action research initiative that brings
together African organisations to influence economic policies from
a gender perspective. She has worked with researchers, policy
makers and activists in China, South Asia, Eastern and Central
Europe, Africa and Latin America, and published widely on issues
related to globalisation, women's employment, economic reforms,
and women's human rights.

CIVICUS: One of the outcomes of September 11 has been an
increased focus on women's rights in Afghanistan. Has this
spotlight had a positive effect on raising the profile of gender
equality on the international agenda?

JOANNA KERR (JK): Indeed, a new window of opportunity has
arisen with women's rights coming into the spotlight as a result of
world-wide attention on Afghanistan. Specific positive outcomes
include the creation of new funds to support women's rights in the
region, increased awareness amongst the public around the world
of the kinds of heinous gender apartheids that exist, as well as
increased high-level political support to involve women in post-
conflict reconstruction.

On the other hand however, Afghanistan teaches many lessons
that give us reasons to be cautious. Like so many other
international emergencies before, when NGOs, governments, and
leaders from all sides run in to take over or do good, too many of
the complex problems are either manipulated or oversimplified in
attempts to find the magic solution. In this case in particular, many
of us have had very mixed feelings about President and Laura
Bush's sudden focus on the 'plight of Afghan women'. Prior to
9/11, while the Taliban were being courted by the US
Administration in relation to a possible oil pipeline going through
Afghanistan, women's rights were completely irrelevant.
Suspiciously, in January, the Taliban's abusive treatment of women
became the rationale for continued bombing and increased military
intervention.

At the same time, many question whether the international focus
and resources for Afghanistan will be extended to similarly conflict-
ridden regions - like Sierra Leone or Somalia - that need serious
support to secure peace, rebuild, and guarantee the rights of
women. Indeed the Middle East crisis now complicates this even
further.

One other mixed result of the greater spotlight on gender issues
relates to the way in which Islam has been portrayed. Certainly in
the West, there has been an oversimplification of Islam as an
oppressor of women, rather than more nuanced analyses which
distinguish political-religious extremism of any kind (Christian,
Hindu, Buddhist etc.) - which is regularly used to deny women their
rights - from Islam as an inherently peaceful and tolerant religion.

CIVICUS: Are there any particular areas that global women's
organisations are focusing on in the aftermath of September 11?

JK: Regarding Afghanistan specifically, there was a flurry of events
in December when global women's organisations, as well as
several Western governments, joined to support Afghan women in
defining their priorities post-September 11th. In particular, Afghan
women were united in their primary concern to create peace and
sustain security in their country, and for this, the international
community needs to be in solidarity.

In a country which, after 23 years of war, has more land mines than
people, where women face a one in twelve chance of dying from
childbirth, where food security is constantly threatened, where
schools or hospitals barely exist, and where an entire population of
women, children and men are severely emotionally scarred from
the traumas of protracted wars, the cost of rebuilding will take a
great deal of time and fall in the billions of dollars. Women's
organisations everywhere want to ensure that the vast amount of
funds being allocated are conditional on women benefiting from
them, and especially address the main concerns articulated by
Afghan women in the Brussels Proclamation
(www.un.org/womenwatch/afghanistan/documents/Brussels_Procla
mation.pdf).

In addition, as institutions are created, including for example the
first ever Ministry of Women's Affairs headed by a dynamic Afghan
doctor and human rights activist, Dr. Sima Samar, the gender
equality community is aware that there is a window of opportunity
now to institutionalise women's rights into new legislation and
constitutional law.

CIVICUS: Economic marginalisation has long been one of the
barriers to change for women in the global south. What are some of
the economic opportunities that exist for women in a country like
Afghanistan that is rebuilding?

JK: In the past years of crisis, particularly under the Taliban,
economic opportunities were almost non-existent. Yet widows and
female heads of households had to seek any means to generate
income. Many turned to prostitution, while the lucky ones gained
access to small development projects - both of which are activities
which many will still rely on. But the reconstruction effort, with all
its potential as well as its faults, is tantamount to new major
industries entering Afghanistan. UN agencies and NGOs abound
and it will be critical that women, many of whom are qualified and
well educated, be recruited into these agencies.

CIVICUS: What are the challenges facing these women?

JK: The scale and the scope of the challenges is impossible for
most of us to relate to. In a country that is so devastated, and has
so much to rebuild, I think the international community needs to
lower its expectations of how long development and change for
women will take. In a conversation I had with Dr. Samar, she noted
that the international community is somewhat ignorant of the local
reality. When she started her job as Head of Women's Affairs in
December, she had no building, no staff, and no budget, just a
huge list of urgent priorities.

CIVICUS: Looking at the larger picture, what are global women's
organisations, like AWID, doing to further the rights of women in
Afghanistan and how does this relate to women's rights globally?

JK: On a more global level, women's groups are increasingly
concerned about the ways in which extremist religious, cultural and
ethnic forces have been gaining ground. With their networks,
financial resources, and close ties to political power, many gender
equality advocates see these political/religious movements as a foe
so formidable it will take an immense amount of advocacy,
consciousness-raising, resources, and political power to stand up
to them. As a result, as religious (as well as ethnic or cultural)
extremisms intensify around the world, greater emphasis on
understanding it, advocating against it, and developing alternative
approaches to counter it, will likely become a more central priority
to gender equality work in the coming years. Furthermore, it will
become even more critical for the women's movements to make the
links between poverty, religious extremisms, and militarisation. It
will be essential in the long-run to challenge the core conditions
that breed and encourage extremisms - such as lack of
democracy, ignorance, corruption, and of course, poverty and
economic marginalisation - by effectively presenting an alternative
vision and leadership to that proposed by extremists.

CIVICUS: Based on your experience, what role can the broader
civil society community play in forwarding gender equality in the
post-September 11 world?

JK: Supporting women's leadership and speaking out against
religious (or ethnic and cultural) extremism is essential. It's critical
for the broader civil society community to recognise that the
violence, oppression, and causes of inequality are mirrored in other
parts of the world - in fact they are universal. Women mustn't be
seen as victims (as most of the media portrays them) but need to
be visible as change agents with transformative agendas for peace,
economic justice, and human rights for all.

_______________________________________

WHAT'S UP ON THE WORD FRONT

PUBLICATIONS OF INTEREST

Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace
Gore Vidal
http://www.nationbooks.org/perp.shtml

Vidal's most recent collection of essays is a provocative analysis of
the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Oklahoma City bombing,
and the reasons why so much of the world seems to currently hate
America. Never shy about expressing his opinion, Vidal's acerbic
wit makes for both entertaining and enlightening reading. So please
check out the link below, find out more about the book, and
consider sharing Vidal's singular voice with friends, family and foes.

A Just Response
Edited by Katrina vanden Heuvel
with an introduction by Jonathan Schell
http://www.nationbooks.org/justresponse.shtml

A Just Response features a series of provocative essays looking at
the causes and consequences of September 11 and speaking out
against "Fascism with an Islamic face," jingoism, the undermining
of civil rights, phony multilateralism, the confusion between dissent
and treason and much more.

Contributors include Christopher Hitchens, Noam Chomsky, Naomi
Klein, Edward Said, Richard Falk, Katha Pollitt, William Greider,
John LeCarre, Ahmed Rashid, Eric Alterman, David Corn, Mary
Kaldor, Patricia J. Williams and Alexander Cockburn, among many
others.

Stolen Harvest: The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply
Vandana Shiva
http://www.dev-zone.org/cgi-bin/bookshop/jump.cgi?ID=683

Vandana Shiva continues her work on uncovering the devastating
human and environmental impacts of corporate- engineered
international trade agreements. She charts the impacts of industrial
agriculture and what they mean for small farmers, the environment,
and the quality and healthfulness of the foods we eat.

The "Jo'Burg Memo: Fairness in a Fragile World - now available in
Spanish
http://www.joburgmemo.org

(English, German versions available - Russian and Italian versions
in preparation)

What will be the legacy of the Johannesburg World Summit on
Sustainable Development? Will it be remembered as an "historic"
watershed, as we now regard the 1992 Rio Earth Summit? Will
Johannesburg generate results that will be worthy of celebration, or
will it lead to yet another meaningless global photo opportunity?
_____________________________________

CALLS FOR PAPERS; CALL FOR COMMENTS

Twinning Against AIDS - Call for participation in survey

'Twinning' refers to a formal, substantive collaboration in which two
or more AIDS Service Organisations (ASOs), NGOs, research and
other institutions anywhere in the world come together to contribute
to each others work and to learn from each other's experiences

'Twinning against AIDS' seeks to gather ideas informed from as
wide a set of experiences as possible through a survey available on-
line and via e-mail. It is supported by a website and a discussion
forum through which interim results of the survey will be available
and further comments welcomed. The survey is available on-line
and in Word in English, French & Spanish.

For more information and to access the survey:
Web: http://www.comminit.com/icad
e-mail: twinning@comminit.com

Another World is Possible - One million signature campaign - Call
for signatures

A global campaign has been launched to stop further corporate
takeover of the planet, governments and the United Nations. A
target of one million signatures for the World Summit on
Sustainable Development in Johannesburg is being sought.

The petition for the campaign is as follows: "We the peoples
believe another world is possible. We commit to change the course
of corporate-driven globalisation and development paradigms that
destroy peoples and nature; to reject technologies and products
that endanger nature, health and life such as genetically modified
organisms, nuclear technology and toxic chemicals; to reject the
patenting of nature; to reclaim nature and the rights of indigenous
peoples and local communities; to reclaim our national
governments and the United Nations from corporate takeover."

To sign the petition or for more information

Web: http://www.dev-zone.org/cgi-bin/links2/jump.cgi?ID=3193
http://www.twnside.org.sg

International Year of Volunteers (IYV) - Call for comments on web
portal

As follow-up to the International Year of Volunteers (IYV) 2001, the
UN Volunteers is exploring ways to transform the IYV website into
a web portal on voluntary action. Help shape the portal by sharing
your thoughts and opinions by visiting the anonymous web survey:

http://www.iyv2001.org/cfapps/web_survey/web_survey1.cf
_____________________________________

NEW AND INTERESTING WEBSITES; INTERNET NEWS

New reproductive health and rights website
http://www.PLANetWIRE.org

www.PlanNetWIRE.org is an online newsroom for journalists and
researchers who want the latest information about reproductive
health rights and services, maternal and child health, equality in
education, women's empowerment, youth participation and a
healthy environment. Fully searchable and interactive, the site
provides up-to-date story ideas, facts and figures, expert
spokespeople, and background studies from organisations and
government agencies.

LAGNIKS - Sistema Latinoamericano de Informacion y
Conocimiento sobre Gobernabilidad
http://www.iigov.org/lagniks

Recursos, textos, indicadores, todo sobre la Gobernabilidad en
America Latina.

Internet Chat with EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy
26 June 2002
EU/US Trade - Friends or Foes?

For more information:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/chat/index_en.htm
http://europa.eu.int/comm/chat/lamy8/index_en.htm

If you cannot attend, you are welcome to send an advanced
question to:
chat-lamy@cab.cec.be

Questions may be sent in all 11 languages.
______________________________________

CLASSIFIEDS

JOBS AND VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
ACDI/VOCA - Cooperative Development Training Specialist

Mozambique

This US-based international development organisation, delivering
technical assistance to businesses and institutions, is recruiting
for a Cooperative Development Training Specialist, to be based in
Chimoio, Mozambique. The two-year program will focus on
designing and field testing cooperative development materials,
methodologies and tools. Subject matter will include cooperative
governance, business development and planning, business
management, leadership development, member education, and
functional business literacy. Emphasis will be placed on targeting
under-served populations, specifically semi- and non-literates,
women and youth.

The successful candidate will have a minimum of 5 years'
experience in cooperative development and adult
education/training. Familiarity with literacy training and gender
analysis preferred. Africa experience and Portuguese fluency are
also required.

For more information:

Web: http://www.acdivoca.org

Please email résumé/cover letter to: rcampbell@acdivoca.org</underline

Only finalists will be contacted.

The International Food Policy Research Institute - Research Fellow
Food Consumption and Nutrition Division
Closing date for applications: 31 August 2002

Successful applicant will take on a three-year renewable
assignment. He/She will conduct empirical research on the
dynamics of poverty and on how households manage risk and
shocks and how they build up assets. The researcher needs to be
a mission-oriented team player, willing to work with non-
economists and willing to travel three to four months per year.

Excellent knowledge of econometric panel techniques and
techniques related to intertemporal disaggregating of poverty are
essential.

For more information:
email: IFPRI-HRINTL@cgiar.org
Fax: +202 862 8187.

The Harwood Institute - Senior Project Manager

The Harwood Institute seeks a senior candidate who can lead and
manage projects. The candidate must have demonstrated
capacities in being a highly strategic and systems-oriented thinker;
truly rigorous; a sound writer and comfortable public speaker; and
self-motivated. The successful candidate will have 12 years or more
of proven success in project management, training, writing and
speaking. Fund-raising desired. A proven "can do," entrepreneurial
outlook required. The project manager will work on national and
local initiatives in such areas as the improvement of the nation's
political conduct; growing community strength; and re-connecting
communities and schools.

For more information:
Web: http://www.theharwoodinstitute.org

To apply, send a resume and salary history to:
e-mail: thi@theharwoodinstitute.org
Fax: 301 656 0533
_______________________________________

SCHOLARSHIPS, FELLOWSHIPS AND AWARDS

Gleitsman Foundation Award to Honour International Activists

Deadline for Nominations: 15 November 2002

The foundation's International Activist Award is designed to honour
individuals in the international community who have inspired
change and motivated others in the realm of social activism. The
honourees will share US$100,000 and will each receive a specially
commissioned sculpture designed by Maya Lin, creator of the
Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C.

For 2003, the International Activist Award will focus on the
eradication of poverty. Citizens from all countries (excluding the
U.S.) are eligible to apply. Although the award is designed to
recognise and honour widely varying forms of positive social
activism, the winners must demonstrate exceptional perseverance,
selflessness, and leadership in striving to combat social injustice in
their communities, nations, or the world. No preference will be
given to those individuals who have gained the attention of the
international media; the award is made solely on the level of
conviction, tenacity, and impact demonstrated by the nominee.

For more information on guidelines and nomination procedures:

Web: http://www.gleitsman.org

_______________________________________

TRAINING COURSES AND PROGRAMMES

XIII International Summer School on Human Rights
7-14 September 2002
Warsaw, Poland

The School is intended for human rights activists, teachers and
young lawyers from Central, Eastern European and CIS countries.
The programme combines lectures and discussions on the
historical and philosophical background of human rights, domestic
systems of protection of human rights, international systems of
protection of human rights, and aspects of some selected rights:
rights of minorities, rights of refugees.

English, Russian and Polish are the languages of the Summer
School. Ability to communicate well in one of the above languages
is required.

The organisers will cover round-trip travel expenses (train or air
economy rates), accommodation in double rooms and meals for
accepted applicants.

For more information and application details:
Web: http://www.hfhrpol.waw.pl/en/index_pliki/aplication.rtf

email: pyrek@hfhrpol.waw.pl

Tel/Fax: (#048 22) 828 1008, 828 6996, 826 9875
_________________________________________

CONFERENCES, WORKSHOPS AND EXHIBITIONS

AAUW International Symposium
15-17 November
Washington D.C.

USA

Advanced registration deadline: September 16th, 2002.

The symposium will provide policy-makers, scholars, and
practitioners an opportunity to explore how women have used their
education to address four key global issues, especially in emerging
nations:

- Literacy improvement
- Peace education and conflict resolution
- Governance
- Education for people with disabilities

Interactive presentations, which will include panel discussions,
demonstration/poster sessions, and dialogues, will enable
participants to fulfill five primary objectives of the symposium:
Topics will include women's roles in literacy, higher education, and
economic development; the role of women's nongovernmental
organisations; and women in leadership and decision-making
positions.

Registration forms can be downloaded
Web:http://www.aauw.org/7000/ef/symposium.html

* Simposio Internacional del AsociaciÛn Americano de Mujeres
Universitarias.

El objetivo del simposio es explorar como las mujeres usan su
educacion para tratar los temas globales de alfabetizacion,
gobernabilidad, resolucion de conflictos, y educacion para
personas con discapacidad. El simposio se llevara a cabo en
Washington D.C., EE-UU del 15 al 17 de noviembre del 2002.
Fecha limite para inscribirse es el 16 de septiembre del 2002.

Para mayores informes, visite la p·gina Web: http://www.aauw.org/7000/ef/symposium.html

envÌe un correo electrÛnico a: intsymp@aauw.org

* Symposium international de líAssociation AmÈricaine de
Femmes Universitaires.

Líobjectif du symposium est díexplorer la faÁon dont les femmes
utilisent leur Èducation pour adresser les thËmes globales de
líalphabÈtisation, la gouvernance, la rÈsolution de conflits et
líÈducation pour personnes handicapÈes. Le symposium aura lieu
ý Washington D.C entre le 15 et le 17 novembre du 2002. La date
limite pour síinscrire est le 16 septembre, 2002.

Pour tous renseignements, veuillez consulter la page Web: intsymp@aauw.org
______________________________________

END
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