The second International Conference on Children's Rights in Education will be conducted from 18-22 August 2001 in Victoria, Canada. The main aims of the Conference are to promote respect and support for children's rights and the full development of children through education. It will provide a structured exchange by international and national experts of information and perspectives on theory, research and practices relating education and children's rights.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, who is also Secretary-General of the Conference, said the Durban meeting would be "nothing less than a conference to discuss the core principles that should underpin this new century. It is an important opportunity for the world community to commit, for the first time in the post-apartheid era, to a truly global effort to address the ancient and the modern manifestations of this evil."

In a country where almost 70 % of schools are still without computers, SchoolNet SA has carved out a niche not just by making technology more available, but by focusing on historically disadvantaged schools.

Lynn Huntley, executive vice president of the Southern Education Foundation, a public charity based in Atlanta, Georgia, writes: "No matter what the official documents issued by governments and the UN say or don't say, people of African descent and their allies can use the time together profitably and well. And whatever the official documents say or don't say, our work combating racism, inequality and related forms of intolerance will begin afresh when we all return back home."

Seventy eight (78) teacher trade unionist from Nigeria are stranded in Johannesburg because of the refusal of the Nigerian Embassy in Pretoria to clear them to be granted visas by the Thai government.

Independent schools are not the exclusive enclave of the wealthy, but cater to many different communities, writes Jane Hofmeyer in a recent issue of Independent Education magazine.

The debt burden of the poorest countries helps keep children out of school. School fees make education an unaffordable luxury for the world's poor. But the G8 has failed to tackle the education crisis. Debt relief is not deep enough, and aid levels are falling. The world's richest nations should launch a global initiative to abolish school fees and get all the world's children into school.

Another 20 schools have been closed over the last 72 hours as the education crisis continued to deepen. Eight secondary schools in Central Province were closed over the weekend following disturbances by students. This brings to 27 the number of institutions closed in the province this month alone.

A call to oppose the new draft Interception and Monitoring bill, brought before the South African Parliament last week, has come from anti-censorship organisations.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health are calling for a new, broader strategy to help people make well-informed choices about family planning and protection against HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The new strategy urges efforts in five areas: government policies, communication programs, access to contraception, family planning program leadership and management, and counseling.

The members of Uganda Debt Network write to express consternation and profound shock at the high levels of corruption in Uganda as reported by Transparency International. As members of the civil society, we are deeply concerned about the devastating impact of corruption on the economic and political development of this country. The results of TI's survey indicate clearly that government institutions charged with fighting corruption are too weak and too overstretched to do their job effectively and efficiently.

As a service to the global newspaper industry, the World Association of Newspapers is providing extensive information from the World Newspaper Congress and World Editors Forum in a special section on its web site. The information includes executive summaries of all presentations, selected speeches, photos, and other data about trends, management, advertising and revenue, content, design and many other subjects of pressing concern to the newspaper community.

A four-day conference addressing the issue of mother-to-child HIV transmission in Africa began yesterday in the Ivory Coast capital of Abidjan, Agence France-Presse reports. Simone Gbagbo, wife of Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo, said that the conference will allow the eight participating countries to "share their experiences" on fighting HIV.

A French language immersion offered in Montreal in collaboration with Vues d'Afrique, the largest festival of Francophone African and Caribbean film and video in North America. April 18-22, 2002. Fee: $425.00, includes pass to festival, orientation, classes, and discussions with filmmakers; materials, lodging and some meals. For more information, contact Julia Schulz, 207-594-7688 or [email protected]

Through participatory methods, participants will learn some of the tools and techniques that facilitate needs assessment, design of sustainable, people-centred projects and the formulation of successful proposals. Topics include principles of participatory planning, community needs assessment, establishment of project baselines, village entry techniques, planning tools and writing of project proposals.

Note: this item apppeared last week under an erroneous headline.

Sustaining your strategic advantage, through proactive management of the product licence.

Closing Date: 15 Aug 2001

Includes provision of IT at a grassroots level and
global youth participation in advocacy campaigns via the Internet.

Coordinate UNICEF support to social mobilisation efforts for Polio eradication and improving routine immunisation.

Manage a program to advance the learning and practice of community-based support and care of children affected by HIV/AIDS and oversee the development of relationships with stakeholders.