SNV Benin provides advisory support to some 30 mostly rural and middle sized municipalities (population 25-100.000) with the objective to strengthen the capacities of the local governments, especially in the fields of planning, local finance and project preparation and management. These activities take up a large part of the programme.

Swaziland's poor economic performance is the direct result of the kingdom's inferior education system, which is producing functionally illiterate students, the minister of education, Constance Simelane, has warned. "The Swazi economy is struggling as a result of the current manpower crisis: an oversupply of underqualified labour, and a shortage of skilled and supervisory personnel," Simelane noted at a conference on remedial education.

Some university lecturers have blamed “powerful foreign forces” for the decline in the quality of university education in Africa. Contributing to the discussions at a seminar on academic freedom organised by the University of Dar es Salaam Academic Staff Assembly (Udasa), the dons criticized the government and foreign donors for “downgrading university education”. A senior law lecturer, Dr Kabudi Kapalamagamba, said university education had been turned into a commodity because market forces were now dictating what teaching mode should be employed.

Africa will only be able to provide universal access to primary schooling by 2150, yet it also has to begin focusing on improving the secondary education sector, says a new report. It could take the continent another century to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of Universal Primary Education (UPE), due by 2015, "and even then it may not acquire the skills its needs to truly develop," said a new report, 'Back to the Blackboard' by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA).

Ninety-five percent of the world's illiterate people live in developing countries, and about 70 percent are women. Female illiteracy rates are particularly high in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Niger and Burkina Faso, for example, more than 90 percent of women are illiterate. This paper presents a model of literacy. It shows that the main determinants of worldwide literacy are enrollment rates, average years of schooling of adults, and life expectancy at birth, says this World Bank Policy Research Working Paper.

The contractor will be responsible for the on-site development and implementation of the civic education and capacity-building component of the robust CRS-IFES technical assistance program in Rwanda.

The primary responsibility of the Nutritionist Nurse is to provide hands-on care, identifying and treating malnourished children, and upgrade the skills and knowledge of local counter parts and/or community health workers.

The Centre for Civil Society at the University of KwaZulu-Natal presents a seminar and the 1st Wolpe lecture in the 2005 Harold Wolpe Memorial Lecture series. Gregory Elbo will be speaking on "Contesting Neoliberalism: Conceptual and Political Divisions" and on "The Global Social Justice Movement: Old and New Socialist Projects" on Monday 21st February.

The Helsinki Process on Globalisation and Democracy has released three reports:
- Global problem solving:
http://www.helsinkiprocess.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/24/89/Track1.pdf
- Financing for Development:
http://www.helsinkiprocess.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/24/89/Track2.pdf
- Human security:
http://www.helsinkiprocess.fi/netcomm/ImgLib/24/89/Track3.pdf

This Request for Proposals invites institutions, particularly in low- or middle-income countries, to express their interest in hosting the Secretariat for the Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI) for an initial period of three years, renewable by the SVRI Coordinating Group. The SVRI is funded by The Global Forum for Health Research, which is an independent international foundation promoting more health research to combat the neglected diseases and conditions that are major sources of ill health in developing countries and to reduce other inequities in health and health research. Deadline: 21 February 2005.

The Uganda Institute of Information and Communications Technology (UICT) in conjunction with the East African Centre for Open Source Software is organising an Open Source Software (OSS) weekend to take place at the UICT campus in Nakawa, Uganda from Friday, February 25, 2005 to Sunday, February 27, 2005.

The Five College African Scholars Program invites applications for competitive residency fellowships from junior and mid-level teaching staff employed full-time in African universities. There are two residency periods: mid-January to May 2006 OR mid-August to December 2006. Proposals for the January residency are invited on the topic of Health & Society, while the August residency is open to all applicants with projects relevant to the study of Africa in the humanities and social sciences. The program cannot fund projects in the natural or physical sciences. Proposals should be based on the applicant's current research, which can be completed and prepared for publication during the residency. Three to four candidates will be chosen for each term. Scholars will receive a stipend of $3,000 per month, roundtrip airfare, laptop computer, housing, health insurance, and a modest research allowance. Application deadline: 1 May 2005.

The Foundation for Moral Courage will focus their search for a 20005 candidate for their moral courage awards on the African Continent. "As a frame of reference for this year's candidate, we will appreciate your help in identifying an individual from an African nation who can best be described as unknown or ordinary as opposed to a known political figure. The candidate should have engaged in activities over a sustained period of time in support of human rights, environmental rights, or social activities not attributed to his/her employment, and at great personal risk. Candidates could be volunteers involved in protesting injustice toward individuals, communities or environmental resources. Within this overview, it is probable that your organization will be able to identify and refer to us many well qualified candidates. We should receive your nominations with supporting documentation prior to May 1, 2005, to allow our Board to evaluate the information and make its decision by June 1, 2005. Your thoughts are always welcome. Laurence de Bure Event Coordinator Foundation for Moral Courage 1800 K Street, N.W. Suite 1120 Washington, D.C. 20006 Tel. (202) 429-9320 Fax. (202) 659-2667"

The World IT Forum (WITFOR) is coming to Africa for the first time in September, when it will be staged in Gaborone, Botswana. WITFOR is a UNESCO initiative sponsored by the European Union, and will be hosted by the Botswana government, in partnership with the International Federation for Information Processing. The event is expected to attract around 700 decision-makers from around the world, and aims to generate proposals for ICT-based initiatives that will accelerate economic progress in developing countries.

"Just one week ago, I visited a project, in Lusaka, Zambia, where children orphaned by AIDS, all of them HIV positive, were being cared for during the day. The project had identified 130 such children, drawn from the surrounding neighbourhoods, children who returned home in the evening to stay with extended family, or grandmothers, or in some cases, just their siblings in child-headed households. The children looked to be between the ages of three and five. They were, in fact, mostly between seven and ten … little bodies wracked by a combination of disease and malnutrition."

Fortune Hakata dreams of becoming a pilot. Each morning, like any other 14-year-old, he leaves home for school; at the end of the day he makes his way home - to a street corner in Zimbabwe's capital, Harare. Together with 53 others, Fortune attends the Presbyterian Children's Club, which offers six years of primary schooling to street kids between the ages of 6 and 14. Each year, with the assistance of sponsors, it facilitates the entry of 18 children into the normal school system.

The shooting of a British journalist working for the BBC by unidentified gunmen outside her hotel in the capital of Somalia has the hallmarks of a targeted attack that threatens all media staff working in the country, warned the International Federation of Journalists. Kate Peyton, 39, a producer based in Johannesburg, was taken to the Madina hospital in Mogadishu for an operation to remove a bullet wound to her back but later died of internal bleeding. The circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear, but according to local reports Peyton was entering the Hotel Sahafi when two masked men drove by in a taxi and shot her in the shoulder.

On 9 February 2005, the Douala Appeals Court granted a provisional release to Jules Koum Koum, editor-in-chief of the independent bi-weekly "Le Jeune Observateur". The journalist has spent the past month in very harsh conditions in New Bell prison, serving a six-month sentence for libel. He is expected to be released as soon as the legal formalities are completed. (French version available)

Hats a size too large for most of the small heads, formal school uniforms equally incongruous, they march on regardless - the vanguard in an effort to bring pre-schoolers into Zimbabwe's education system. Beginning this year, primary schools in this Southern African country are required to have at least one class that caters for four- and five-year-olds, to help these children prepare for first grade. This pre-school class, also known as ”grade zero”, is part of government's Early Childhood Education and Care Programme (ECEC).

The organisers invite participation from African and other youth organisations in this conference. Topics covered include how to build a youth movement, identity, the importance of culture and hip-hop, and education.