In commemoration of World AIDS Day 2007, Home-Based Caregivers and grassroots women united within the networks of GROOTS International and the Huairou Commission re-affirm our statement from our most recent Grassroots Women's International Academy which took place prior to the YWCA's International Women's Summit on HIV and AIDS, July 2007 in Nairobi, Kenya

The film submission period for Lola Kenya Screen—eastern Africa’s first and only audiovisual media festival, production workshop and market exclusively designed for children and youth—opened on December 1, 2007. Lola Kenya Screen, therefore, is calling for film entries in all genres, lengths, and formats from all over the world for the 3rd Lola Kenya Screen that runs August 4-9, 2008 in Nairobi, Kenya.

A South African scholar was barred from the United States because of his criticism of US policy in Iraq and the Guantanamo Bay prisoner camp, a civil rights group said in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday. Accusing the Bush administration of stifling academic debate by routinely denying visas to critics, the American Civil Liberties Union filed the federal suit on behalf of four groups that invited Adam Habib, a Muslim, to speak in the United States.

In rural Morocco, many girls receive no secondary school education while others never go to school at all. The school attendance rate for girls across the country is 60.3%, but in rural areas it is just 16.5%. The main reasons: rigid traditional attitudes, the isolation of some douars (settlements) and the lack of roads and public transport.

The United Nations Mission in Liberia is supporting efforts by the Government to create more than 1 million days of work for labourers from small communities in the country, where employment has been linked to stability since the end of the civil war returned thousands of former fighters to the civilian workforce.

CIVICUS is recruiting a Membership Communications Coordinator to take the lead on the Membership Department’s main communication functions such as the production of the Membership Quarterly newsletter and the updating the Membership Lounge (section of the CIVICUS website for Members’ only). Working with the Membership Manager, the Communications Coordinator will also be responsible for developing a strategy for the increase in CIVICUS’ Membership representation especially in countries/regions of low membership representation including North Africa and French speaking countries, and the Middle East.

As part of a new UNRISD Fellowship Programme for Researchers from Developing Countries, UNRISD invites applications from African social science scholars, based at an African research institution. The visiting fellows would spend 9 to 12 months working at UNRISD in Geneva. Successful applicants should be engaged in innovative research in the field of Social Policy in Africa. At UNRISD they will continue research in this area, prepare a paper for publication under the UNRISD Programme Paper series and develop ideas for future research.

The African Civilian Standby Roster for Humanitarian and Peace-building Missions (AFDEM) is a database of qualified African civilians interested in deployment with the UN and agencies, AU and other International organizations operating in humanitarian and peace-building missions. To apply, please send your updated CV with at least three contactable referees to:[email protected] or [email][email protected] For more information about AFDEM visit www.afdem-africa.org

Kuona Trust is seeking applications for an East African artist for the 11th international artist’s residency program to be held from the 21st of March to the 28th of March 2008. Interested artists are requested to send their applications to Michael Soi on [email][email protected] before the 10th of December 2007. You are all invited to the opening of the end of year Kuona Trust Exhibition on Wed the 28th at 6.30p.m. The exhibition will run until the 15th of December.

Mobile technology is being used by citizens all over the world as the most affordable and massively adopted piece of technology. How can we harness this technology for advancing human rights and civil society participation? Join a group of outstanding resource practitioners to share and discuss "Using Mobile Phones for Action".

On 26 November 2007, the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) addressed the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at the Committee’s Pre-Sessional Working Group at the UN Office of the High Commissioner in Geneva. In its presentation, OMCT drew particular attention to the fact that disrespect for economic, social and cultural rights is frequently the cause of other serious human rights abuses, including executions, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

The aggressive push for agrofuel developments in Africa (known to many as "biofuels") is a massive new threat to our farmers, food, forests, water resources and land rights. The aggressive push for agrofuel developments in Africa (known to many as "biofuels") is a massive new threat to our farmers, food, forests, water resources and land rights. We now invite organisations from across Africa and the rest of the world to sign up to this moratorium call, and to forward this to all your friends and colleagues. If you are working with local farmers groups and CBOs, please help them to sign on too. To sign up, please send your name, organisation and country to:

Sokari Ekine has been part-time online news editor for Pambazuka News since the beginning of 2007. This week is, sadly, her last week in this post. During her period as online news editor Sokari has developed Pambazuka News to ever greater heights, establishing its reach well beyond what we had previously managed. The quality of authors and articles that she brought to Pambazuka News has been extraordinary. Sokari leaves the position of online news editor at the end of November, but she will continue to write for Pambazuka News in her regular blogs round-up column. We espect that Sokari will continue to be involved in many other ways with Fahamu and Pambazuka News. We are sure that we speak for all our readers in saying ‘thank you for all you have done and best wishes for the future’.

Meanwhile, we are pleased to announce that Mukoma wa Ngugi has joined the Pambazuka News team as Co-Editor. Mukoma Wa Ngugi is the author of Hurling Words at Consciousness (AWP, 2006) and Conversing with Africa: Politics of Change (KPH, 2003). A political columnist for the BBC Focus on Africa Magazine, his essays and articles have appeared in the LA Times, Mail and Guardian, Business Daily Africa and the Sunday Nation amongst other places, as well as in Pambazuka News. In addition to his editorial duties at Pambazuka News, his current projects are: editing an anthology of New Kenyan Writing for Ishmael Reed Publications (forthcoming in 2008) and co-organizing a Pan African Youth Peace Caravan – Cape to Cairo in 2010.

Finally, we are pleased to announce that Joshua Ogada, who has worked heroically as part time editor of the Links and Resources section of Pambazuka News will now be working with us full-time as Assistant Editor. Tidiane Kasse continues as Editor of the French edition, and Hakima Abbas as editor of AU-Monitor.

The Forced Migration and Refugees Studies Program FMRS at the American University in Cairo AUC is hosting the 11th Biennial International Association for the Study of Forced Migration IASFM conference taking place in Cairo, Shepheard Hotel from January 6th to 10th, 2008. The theme of the conference is "Refugees and Forced Migrants at the Crossroads: Forced Migration in a Changing world." FMRS is calling for volunteers to assist the conference coordinator in the conference logistics before and during the conference. Volunteers will receive a registration waiver to attend some of the sessions of the conference as well as the social events.

Mozambique will need to employ more than 100 000 teachers by 2015 in order to meet United Nations' millennium development goals for education, national media reported on Thursday. Radio Mozambique said in a report - quoting a study done by Action Aid International in Maputo - that the country needed to employ 109 000 teachers by 2015 in its primary schools to attain a ratio of 40 learners per teacher.

The chief executives of the Financial Gazette and Zimind Publishers Jacob Chisese and Raphael Khumalo respectively, were arrested for allegedly increasing cover prices without the approval of the National Incomes and Pricing Commission. They were questioned over the price increases at Harare Central Police Station where they explained that the high costs of newsprint, film, printing plates and fuel necessitated the increases.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has condemned the move by management at the Guardian newspaper to end a 12-day strike by shutting down the newspaper and dismissing all its employees. The journalists and the other workers at the paper have been on strike since November 8 after negotiations with managers over a pay raise and better working conditions stalled. The Guardian online and print editions have not been published since then.

The Maasai Integral Resource Program [mirp] have two core programs - Education and Conservation. In education, mirp supports ten primary schools with a population of 4058 students by improving the infrastructure like classrooms, desks and teaching materials and also supports 86 vulnerable children [24 of them orpahns]. In Conservation mirp is involved in wildlfie security to stop poaching and bush meat trade as well as cultural tourism where guests stay with hosts
families at a fee.

The 3rd International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training will take place from May 28 to 30, 2008 in Accra, Ghana. eLearning Africa is the premier gathering place for all experts and stakeholders engaged or interested in ICT-based education, training and development on the African continent. Everyone concerned with eLearning in Africa is welcome to share and learn. We encourage practitioners and academics engaged in an African context to apply by submitting a proposal. Deadline for receipt of all proposals is Friday, December 7, 2007.

Twenty African migrants were feared dead after the boat in which they were trying to reach Spain capsized in bad weather off the coast of The Gambia at the weekend, Gambian state television said on Monday. It quoted a police officer as saying seven bodies had been recovered from the capsized boat, the third such tragedy involving would-be migrants headed for Europe from West Africa in the last three weeks.