Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), now operational in sixty least-developed countries, open access to debt relief and are the basis for concessional lending by international financial institutions. Most PRSPs stress education and refer to Education for All (EFA) objectives. However, the strategy and the financing required to achieve them are unspecified.

In Africa today over 40 million children are living with the consequences of broken promises - the promise of being able to go to school. Two thirds of all children in Africa will not complete five years of education. The world's leaders have made this promise time and time again. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Education for All Goals, the Millennium Development Goals and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child all endorse children's right to complete a basic education of good quality.

A court in the Gambia freed a reporter on bail this week, more than two months after he was detained by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), local sources told the Committee to Protect Journalists. Lamin Fatty of the Banjul-based The Independent will go on trial June 22 on charges of publishing "false news," they said.

The United Nations Non-Governmental Liason Service is calling for comments on the Secretary-General’s Report on International Migration and Development. Visit the website for more information.

A newly founded Child's Rights organization called CAMPAIGN FOR CHILD'S RIGHTS AND SURVIVAL (CCRS) founded in 2005 is seeking international reputed professionals to serve in their International Advisory Board for a period of three years.

A workshop on the World Social Forum ahead of the Nairobi hosting of the WSF in January 2007 will debate how this annual gathering of progressives best generates collective, global-scale, national and local social change.

The Centre for Public Participation (CPP) would like to invite you to a public dialogue to discuss issues around: Regional Governance and public participation. In the context of South Africa's peer review process in terms of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), and the preparation of the final report due to be presented in July 2006, the public dialogue will attempt to critically discuss the nature of civil society participation in the review process.

CIVICUS is undertaking the CIVICUS Civil Society Index (CSI). The CSI is a an international action-research initiative providing civil society stakeholders with a diagnostic tool for assessing the current state of civil society on a country level and creating a basis for dialogue, joint reflection and action. For the second half of 2006, CIVICUS is offering internship positions to work with the CSI project.

The Civil Society engagement in the Gambia will deliberate on issues affecting Africa's development. The forum will focus on three thematic workshops namely; African integration, Governance, Poverty and Development. These thematic groups will feature issues on Economic Integration, Trade, WTO Processes, EPAs, Debt and Aid, Local Government Reforms and Decentralisation, Political Participation and Development, Youth and Unemployment, Youth and Migration, Youth and HIV/AIDS, Armed Conflict, MDGs and APRM. GCAP Coalition in the Gambia in collaboration with African Youth Coalition against Hunger and delegates from Senegal will be organizing the African youth campaign against EPAs. This is expected to attract a lot of interest and discussions. A communiqué will be submitted to AU Head of States as Civil Society contribution to Banjul Summit. The forum will facilitate interaction among civil society networks and organisations in their quest for a better Africa. The workshops will start on the 19th June, 2006, before the official opening of the AU Summit in the Banjul, The Gambia. Contact Baturu Mboge on [email][email protected] or [email][email protected] for more information.

The appointment by the then Minister for Education, Prof. George Saitoti, of a task force to review the laws governing education, training and research in the country, though belatedly, was a sign that education standards in this country will soon whirl forward. Kenyans look upon the commission with high expectations.

The teacher shortage in SA will reach crisis point by 2008 unless drastic steps are taken to increase the number entering the profession. By 2008, SA will be short of 15,090 educators, according to a study by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). That is with the current learner-to-educator ratios of 40:1 for primary and 35:1 for secondary schools.
Related Link:
* South African Human Rights Commission report on the Right to Basic Education

An exciting opportunity has arisen to work with Africa Now, a value-driven non profit organisation with its head quarters in the UK. We are currently seeking a Co-ordinator for our newly established Ethical Business Services Unit, based in Nairobi.

Applications are invited from suitably qualified students to study full-time at Rhodes University in 2007.

This study explores the phenomena of education decline and the reasons why educators may be leaving the profession in South Africa. The report integrates the findings of seven reports presented to Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) concerning education, published as part of the multi-study project focusing on the Factors Determining Educator Supply and Demand in South African Public Schools. The aim of this report is to integrate all these findings and give a more comprehensive picture of the determinants of supply and demand for educators in public schools.

The Southern Africa Trust, in partnership with the Mail & Guardian newspaper, announces the establishment of the Drivers of Change award. The Drivers of Change award has been established to highlight living examples of innovative practices, inclusive attitudes, and effective processes that build social trust and create the best conditions to make a real and lasting difference in the lives of people living in poverty.

The Malaria Consortium office in Zambia is seeking a suitably qualified and highly motivated individual to become a part of a growing international organisation with offices in several African countries and an increasing portfolio of work. The ideal candidate should be able to provide leadership and direction to the office which has been open for the past 18 months.

The second World Forum on Human Rights will be held in the Nantes Métropole International Convention Centre from 10 - 13 July 2006, under the theme “Make Human Rights a reality for all”. 2006 will be marked by the 40th anniversary of the adoption of the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights, and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

This is an exciting opportunity to work with a young, ambitious women's health organisation, and have a real impact to reduce maternal mortality in developing countries. The post-holder will coordinate the development and evaluation of Maternity Worldwide's ambitious £349,000 Safe Motherhood Programme funded by the UK Big Lottery Fund. The programme aims to reduce maternal mortality by the empowerment of local women and communities, improving access and communications and providing skilled obstetric and midwifery care.

APC is seeking a manager for our Strategic Use and Capacity Building Programme (SU&CB) and its projects. The SU&CB manager will have excellent people and project management skills, experience of working in networks, managing relationships and partnerships and a sophisticated understanding of the concept of strategic use of technology as it applies to development and social justice.

A special issue of Agenda will come out in August September 2006 to mark the Nairobi+21 project. As the first international women's conference on African soil, the Nairobi Conference in 1985 discussed ways to fend for women's rights and gender equality that would, for the first time, be informed by the agendas of women from the South. We are particularly seeking writers from Senegal, Morocco, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, DRC, South Africa but also from other parts of Africa and the world. The journal wants to give a voice in particular to black writers.