Relief International, an international relief and development agency with cross-sectoral programs bridging relief and development is in search of a Program Manager (PM) for a USAID funded Child Survival (MCH) Program in Tessaoua District, Niger.

The first day of school could be grim for a bunch of Grade 1 pupils whose classrooms were ransacked and wrecked days before the start of term. Teachers and governing body members at Greenlands Primary School in Bishop Lavis looked hopelessly yesterday (15 January 2007) at what they estimate to be R60 000 in damage.

Angola's Education Ministry (MED) will embark on actions to improve the management of the higher education subsystem in the country until 2015, through a plan approved in December 2006 by the Cabinet Council.

At least 86 students from Domboshawa Theological College were left stranded after the University of Zimbabwe withdrew its facility of offering them a Diploma in Religious Studies following contractual disagreements.

Miffed at newspaper reports that he is driving a US$365,000 Mercedes Benz acquired with public funds, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Gideon Gono moved Tuesday (16 January 2007) to put his side of the story before the public with ads in three Harare newspapers.

Fahamu

Mobile phone technologies have taken Africa by storm. The technology has raised new possibilities for activism by human rights and social justice organisations and for service delivery in fields such as health care, banking and agricultural information.

In 2007, Fahamu and Tactical Tech will hold a conference in Nairobi, Kenya, that will aim to enable those using mobile phone technologies in activism or service delivery work to exchange their experiences of using the technology in the African context and plan strategies to support their work. The conference will explore areas related to the use of mobile technology in the African context, future trends, best practice and available tools and resources.

The conference will establish an African regional network of those who use mobile phone technologies and facilitate an ongoing support network. The meeting will also lead to the development of a toolkit on mobile phones put together by an international team of practitioners with relevant expertise.

As part of the development of this initiative, Fahamu is conducting research to consult widely and involve as many interested parties as possible in the network and 2007 conference.

Fahamu would like to hear from you if you have:

- Used, are currently using, or planning to use, mobile phone technology in human rights and social justice work in Africa;
- Used or are currently using mobile phones in service delivery work in Africa;
- Developed or are in the process of developing technologies related to mobile phones;
- Plan to use mobile phone technologies in the future in Africa.

Interested individuals and organisations are asked to send an expression of interest not longer than one page to [email][email protected] with the following information:

- Name of organisation or individual
- Contact Details
- Country
- Nature of past, existing or planned work involving mobile technology, including a description of the project, the problem it sought to address and its successes or failures. Alternatively, we would welcome seeing any reports you may have produced (any such information will be treated confidentially if that is your preference).

If you would like to discuss this on the phone (preferably using something like Skype) please let us know.

It is envisaged that the conference will be held in May 2007. Funds will be available for travel, accommodation and limited expenses of invited participants.

Further information about Fahamu can be found at and www.pambazuka.org

More than 100,000 delegates are expected to attend the World Social Forum conference to be held in Nairobi in a fortnight. Organisers said yesterday (9January 2007) the preparations for the conference were almost complete.

When, sometime ago, Mahmood Mamdani, former Professor of political science at Makerere University, gave us a disturbing diagnosis of what has gone wrong with that institution of higher learning, it earned him considerable wrath from the dons.

She appears to be in her mid 30s, although she is just 16. Perhaps Amina (not her real name) could now be in secondary school had she not become pregnant at the age of nine.

Jinja mayor Mohammed Baswali Kezala has revealed that Asian investors are planning to establish a university in the district. Kezala said the investors are seeking 30 acres of land for the university, adding that municipal authorities were in the process of securing it.

Uganda has begun implementing a free universal secondary education (USE) programme in 700 public and 280 private schools in the first phase of a scheme aimed at making education accessible to all, officials said on Monday (8 January 2007).

Underperforming schools in Gauteng and the Free State will remain open, the provincial education departments said on Tuesday (9 January 2007). The [provincial minister] is not closing any schools for non-performance," said the Gauteng education department spokesperson Mbela Phetlhe.

Oprah Winfrey could be doing so much more to improve girls' education, said ActionAid after the TV star opened a school for poor girls in South Africa this week. Winfrey used $40 million of her own money to launch the school while the following day Gordon Brown re-iterated his promise of $15 billion aid, promising to make universal primary education a key foreign policy goal.

The writer/Editor will be responsible for ensuring that all publications, studies and materials intended for internal or external communications are of the highest professional, editorial standards. He/she will be engaged in the writing, preparation and editorial review of documents produced by Forum staff or commissioned to external experts.

The two last independent newspapers of Zimbabwe, both weeklies, are heading towards an uncertain future. The South Africa-based publisher of the 'Zimbabwe Independent' and 'Zimbabwe Standard' newspapers has been stripped of his Zimbabwean citizenship, and is thus according to national laws not allowed to own local media outlets.

Moroccan police have violently rounded up more than 430 sub-Saharan migrants since late December and tried to force them over the Algerian border, rights campaigners and support associations have said.

Experience in marketing and sales and background in business administration. Prior experience with artisan-focused fair trade programs is a plus. Excellent English writing communication skills.

The Deputy Country Director, Finance & Administration will oversee the administrative, logistical, human resource and financial health of the programme, as well as liaise with partners and diverse stakeholders of the peacebuilding field in the DRC. S/he will report to the Country Director.

An adviser to Joseph Kabila, the Congolese president, has been named as head of the Democratic Republic of Congo's new national assembly, in a ballot during which presidential allies swept key parliamentary posts.

A young girl, unconscious by the time her mother brought her to a rural clinic in southern Burkina Faso, had the classic symptoms of meningitis: fever, stiffness, vomiting. With treatment, doctors hoped to be able to save her life although she may be permanently disabled: deafness, epilepsy or paralysis are among the effects of the disease.