This brief report has been produced to underscore the difficulties in accepting that elections, be they by-elections or the Presidential election, can be free and fair in the current situation. The persistence of organised violence and torture seem to mitigate against any acceptance that the conditions for holding elections are even close to desirable. The current by-election in Chikomba constituency provides an interesting case study of the electoral process in Zimbabwe currently.

Bright Planet's Deep Content page features some in-depth articles, tutorials and tools for Internet research. Much of the Web is 'invisible' to mainstream search engines. Learn how to access specialised databases at this site.

Pupil enrolment increased a staggering 63 percent when Malawi introduced free primary school education in 1994, but education authorities are still battling to keep young girls in class.

According to a study by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University the World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist attacks may have unpredictable effects on Americans' charitable giving.

"Reshaping the Nursing Landscape" will be the second conference of its kind to be hosted by the Department of Nursing Education, University of the Witwatersrand. The organisers are calling for abstracts for oral and poster presentation. Closing date: 28 November 2001.

Working for change in prison and with prisoners - What can be done? Is it worth the effort? Speakers: Chris Giffard, who will be talking about the conflict resolution work in Pollsmoor prison, Lindi Mkhondo, from the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, Mariska van Zyl, who will talk about NICRO's Tough Enough programme in seven prisons in Gauteng.

In 2000, the Arca Foundation continued its focus on US policy toward Cuba, building on decades of experience in supporting citizen participation in policy debates and peaceful change in the hemisphere. Our grantmaking has emphasized issues and countries where a shift in US policy or public opinion can make a significant, if not decisive, difference.

The Bertelsmann Foundation wants to take up societal problems, develop model solutions with scientific experts and practitioners alike and implement these models in selected areas of society. The Bertelsmann Foundation defines itself as an operating foundation working conceptually. It formulates and initiates its own projects, managing them all the way to their practical implementation. In doing so, the Bertelsmann Foundation cooperates closely with competent partners in scientific, state and private institutions. Both social policy and corporate policy considerations played an equal part in the decision to establish the Bertelsmann Foundation in 1977.

Non-Profit Resource Training will be presenting the following bumper short-course series in Cape Town from 17 to 20 October, to boost your non-profit organisation's fundraising efforts: * Effective Writing Skills for Fundraisers * Marketing Essentials for Successful Fundraising * Tax & the Non-Profit Sector: Encouraging Philanthropy Through Incentives * Fundraiser Remuneration & Working with FR Consultants * The A to Z of Volunteer Management. ENQUIRIES: Tel: +27 (21) 685 7726.

You will manage and develop IS's programme in West Africa. Based in York, your role will include liaising closely with Field Coordinators in Burkina Faso and Mali in the identification, management and evaluation of development worker assignments, and with partner organisations and donors in the field and in the UK.

VSO's website plays a critical role in recruiting 2,000 professional VSO volunteers, campaigning for policy changes and sharing development information with a worldwide audience. We need a web editor with the skills and vision to keep our website at the forefront of all our communications. Closing date: 12th October 2001. Interview date: 23rd October 2001.

SANGONeT is pleased to announce that it will start the development of an exciting new Internet portal on 1 October 2001, namely Thusanang: Southern Africa's Online Funding Resource Facility. The objective of this proposed facility is to develop and maintain a user-friendly "one-stop" Internet entry point to information on Southern African development funding issues. It will present funders and related institutions with a tool to disseminate and communicate information to NGOs on their funding activities in Southern Africa. At the same time, it will present Southern African NGOs with an up-to-date information and capacity-building resource to enhance their fundraising efforts.

The Young Entrepreneur Association of Zaragoza, Spain is organizing in collaboration with the European Union, The Spanish Kingdom, and the Government of Aragón the "I Virtual World Congress of Young Entrepreneurs and SMEs" that will be celebrated in October 2001. The objective is to create a community of business entities worldwide to participate in the development of the I World Congress of Entrepreneurs and SMEs.

What did we learn from the World Conference Against Racism in Durban? And how do we prepare for the upcoming annual meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) later this month in Washington--assuming that in the wake of the tragic terrorist attack that this still goes ahead as scheduled?

Political parties have called for the introduction of an integrity code of ethics and conduct for political parties and their leaders and candidates to promote clean politics.