The South African government, together with the Wellcome Trust is supporting the development of African scientists who wish to attend the workshops listed below. There is an excellent line-up of speakers, together with the opportunity to take a solid course in genome bioinformatics. Funding is available for deserving scientists, especially those from poorer institutions. French speaking scientists from within Africa are especially encouraged to apply as there is specific support for French-speakers.

We organise work camp projects successfully with both international and local volunteers in any community in the volta region of Ghana. The project is run to help the community in building school, health posts and clinics. This project will need both local and international volunteers to help finish the work we have already started in the volta region of Ghana.

As Social Protection Manager, you will be responsible for the management and development of SC UK's social protection work in Rwanda. This includes taking a strategic position on the development and management of social protection programmes, effective management of both financial and human resources and representing SCUK in Rwanda to the government, partner agencies and other outside bodies including the media, and the public.

Train IRC staff in human rights, IDP and refugee protection concepts; Monitor protection concerns among IRC beneficiaries, including ethnic discrimination, diversion of relief supplies, lack of access to land, sexual violence, and separation of family members; Collect information relating to protection problems; Ensure that protection and the promotion of human rights is better incorporated into IRC projects through contributing to program design, monitoring and evaluation.

The African Youth eConference on the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was held online at www.yahoogrups.com/group/wsisyouthafrica between the 20th and 30th of November 2002. It was co-ordinated by Paradigm Initiative Nigeria and ninety-six (96) young Africans from over 13 countries (from Western, Eastern, Central, Northern and Southern Africa) participated in the eConference which sought to strengthen the role of African Youths in the WSIS processes, and the eventual action plans that will be drawn. Read the statement from the conference at the link below.

About 200 teachers in Namibia quit the profession this year alone citing poor salaries and overall deteriorating conditions of service in education, the Teachers' Union of Namibia says.

Christmas trees, Rastafarians, punk rockers and even postboxes were just some of the fun costumes worn by runners in the Community Chest Twilight Team Run on Tuesday. Last year, the event raised over R190 000, which was distributed to more than 520 social welfare and development projects throughout the Western Cape.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development says it has reached its target of collecting 100 000 pledges for the 16-day long campaign against the abuse of women and children. For each of the first 100 000 signatures collected, NGOs working with abused women and children will get R2, helping them offer crucial services to those affected.

Scanning the savanna with a pair of binoculars and a global positioning unit, biologist Robin Reid counts the number of zebra, giraffe and cows that graze in one of the world's most famous wildlife reserves. Reid is the lead scientist in Mara Count 2002, one of the most ambitious attempts ever to inventory an ecosystem. Nineteen teams and two planes counted 23 species and classified the vegetation in an equally divided 965 square mile area.

Carol Bellamy is the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). She has just ended a two-day visit to Ethiopia to witness at first hand the scale of the drought there. Here are excerpts from her interview with IRIN, during which she talked about HIV/AIDS, the drought, genetically modified food, land distribution and the responsibilities of the
government and donors.

Children in the world's poorest countries face an "increasing threat" from HIV/AIDS, according to UNICEF's State of the World's Children 2003 report. The report ranks sub-Saharan Africa as the worst place for children's well-being, with Sierra Leone as the number-one country where children are likely to die before age five.

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) holds its first national conference in five years at Stellenbosch University next week -- with elections likely to indicate whether the left or "right-wing" of the movement holds sway.

The Minister of Social Development, Dr. Zola Skweyiya has undertaken an emergency visit to the Intandane area in the Eastern Cape to check the reasons for the delays of grant payment to thousands of pensioners.

South Africa’s Social Development Minister Dr. Zola Skweyiya says he is embarrassed that children should die of malnutrition in his country.

Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia, the three countries hardest hit by a region-wide food crisis, are set to benefit from a US$100m grant, to assist in funding emergency and supplementary food distribution.

"Education is the key to life!" Smiling schoolgirls from Zanaki Secondary, in Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, said it all. Welcoming African education ministers, and delegates from all over the continent, with song and dance, the students gave a passionate performance at the opening of the 8th conference of African education ministers on Tuesday. But the challenge facing Africa’s educators and governments, as they chart the way forward to ensure 'Education For all' (EFA), is formidable.

Close to 60,000 children across Zimbabwe are expected to benefit from a supplementary feeding scheme from December to March next year, World Vision says.

The successful candidate will take the lead on the Masisi programme team for financial, administrative and human resources policy and procedural matters, set up and review. He/She will monitor all grants and programme budget finances, provide regular capacity building for staff and ensure clear internal audits as well as supervise accounts for external audits.

CREDO, an international human rights organisation based in Senegal and London and focusing on work in Africa, has welcomed the swearing in of the judges of the Special War Crimes Court on Sierra Leone. However, the organisation says it is concerned at the waning enthusiasm of the international community and donor countries for the Truth and Reconciliation process in Sierra Leone.

Sierra Leone's youth believe that to achieve peace, degradation and instability must be eliminated from their communities and their everyday lives, according to a paper from the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and  Children. Recommendations from the paper include a need for increased support from the international community and increased access to education.