A good education system is increasingly important not only for the success of a modern knowledge-based economy but also for the creation of a socially just society. The explosion of knowledge about the nature of learning, combined with the growing power of technology, create the potential to transform the most fundamental unit of education: the interaction of teacher and learner.

The last time the G8 met, the world's richest countries promised to support poorer countries serious about providing free basic education. Since then, despite vigorous campaigning, their plan to get all children into school by 2015 has stalled. At the upcoming meet of G8 leaders in Genoa, Oxfam together with other NGOs will seek a Global Initiative on education that checks progress - or lack of it - against the 2015 targets, and to provide the $8bn a year - from the North and South - to make education a reality.

We are an independent non-governmental organisation, dedicated to the equitable distribution of power and resources in the rural areas of South Africa. A person with a vision for and a commitment to rural development is required to lead the organisation as a key player in this field. Please fax a detailed CV to Rodney Calvert at (021) 882-9983 or e-mail by no later than 20 July 2001.

To promote greater understanding about what we mean when we are talking about racism. There is clearly a need to engage constructively with racism in South Africa. Developing a common vision of the nature of the problem may assist in focusing our efforts towards achieving this objective.
Date: Wednesday, 25th July 2001 9.00 for 9.30 - 11h30
Venue: The Attic at the Sunnyside Park Hotel, Princess of Wales Terrace, Parktown.
As spaces are limited, please RSVP before 20/07. For directions or further information, contact Caron Kgomo ([email protected]) or on (011) 403 5650.

Amnesty International Holds a Training Seminar
for Human Rights Defenders in Cairo from 7-9 July 2001

This Paper focuses on three of the major issues facing our society today, ones which are likely to be key battlegrounds in the struggle to shape the coming era: multiculturalism and diversity, citizenship and participation, and the Knowledge / Information Society. It reveals fundamental connections between the demands we are grappling with in those fields. It then goes on to suggest an approach to learning, named here for the first time as Open Source Learning, which aims to equip people to engage positively with all three of these major challenges on a fundamental level.

Would you like to volunteer for a relief organization in Africa? Contribute toward envi-ronmental efforts in South America? Now you can do something about the issues you care about and share your skills with those in need around the world. And you can do it without leaving home - on weekends, in the evenings, whenever your schedule permits. To become an Online Volunteer, all you need is time, the desire to help, and access to a computer and the Internet. The United Nations Volunteers Programme (UNV) and NetAid.org offer this service. Think Global, Act Global!

I was introduced to the Kabissa newsletter a few months back. I look forward every week to the latest edition and have found the newsletter very rich in information and in keeping abreast of happenings and practices around Africa. As a gender activist, I have found all sections quite interesting and educative as well. Thanks for the good work. I hope to have the opportunity soon of sharing the information especially on gender, fundraising, advocacy, courses and seminars and jobs in print form as most of the people I relate with are not connected to the web.

Catholic Relief Services seeks a Regional Technical Advisor to provide technical assistance in the area of primary education and literacy to country programs; to maintain and/or improve the program quality of such programs; and to focus on the new area of academic and educational quality. Requires: Masters in education; minimum of 3-5 years overseas education experience; experience in primary education and food-assisted education preferred; familiarity with USAID systems and regulations; willingness to travel 30-40% of the time; proficiency in French and English.

Sierra Leone's Catholic Church has launched an international appeal for funds to rebuild the education sector, the Missionary News Agency (MISNA) reported on Tuesday. Aid is needed most in the northern and eastern provinces, where fighting destroyed many private and public school buildings, MISNA quoted the Bishop of the northern town of Makeni, Giorgio Biguzzi, as saying.

The South African chapter of Transparency International (TI) has "distanced itself" from the organisation's annual Corruption Perception Index - that this year gave the country 4.8 points, on a scale where ten is the most open and honest.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Federation of Human Rights joined Tunisian human rights organizations today in calling on the government of Tunisia immediately and unconditionally to release all prisoners of
conscience and end the routine harassment of former prisoners of conscience and critics of the authorities.

Seven people have been reported dead and about 25 were seriously injured following severe flooding in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, Accra Regional Police Commander Kwame Marfo said on Thursday. Damage to property and infrastructure has been estimated at about seven billion cedi (US $ 1million). Over 5,000 people are reportedly homeless.

Philanthropy News Digest (PND), a weekly news service of the Foundation Center, is a compendium, in digest form, of philanthropy-related articles and features culled from print and electronic media outlets nationwide. The Digest is posted to the Foundation Center's Web site every Tuesday afternoon.

This manual was developed in Romania and addresses the connection between internal structures and relations of a school system to those existing in society at large. The authors argue that in order for democratic relations to exist in a a society there needs to be a certain amount of democratisation at the school level as well. The guide offers practical tips to improve relations between and among teaching staff, pupils and parents. It offers many examples on how to create community trust in the classroom and in the school and offers models for school councils, school policies, vision statements, constitutions, job descriptions and questionnaires.

Till the other day, Lacinan Seogo was one of Save the Children's sponsored children in Burkina Faso at the age of 8. He has come a long way since then and today teaches children in Babdo, the village where he grew up.

Killer AIDS has orphaned over one million children in Kenya. Millions more, affected by the epidemic in other ways, are being forced, due to lack of adequate state support to drop out of school and seek often-dangerous work on the streets in order to care for ill parents.

Opening up a country's economy to direct investment and increased financial flows could be hurting the poor even in good times, concludes a new report from the Bretton Woods Project. Linking capital account liberalisation to the impacts on the poor, the report looks at the mechanisms of government spending and the delivery of social services, access to credit as well as the vulnerability to people's livelihoods in the face of increased volatility in the macro economy.

The Criminal Justice Caucus notes with deep concern that the issue of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance within criminal justice and prison systems and law enforcement agencies are not addressed in the Draft Declaration and Programme of Action.

Human Rights Watch, the international human rights monitoring and advocacy organization, invites applications for its fellowship program. QUALIFICATIONS: Applicants must have exceptional analytic skills, an ability to write and speak clearly, and a commitment to work in the human rights field in the future on a paid or volunteer basis. Proficiency in one language in addition to English is strongly recommended. Familiarity with countries or regions where serious human rights violations occur is also valued. Fellows must be recent law, journalism, international relations or area studies graduates by no later than June 2002, or must provide evidence of significant, comparable, relevant work experience. Fellowships begin in the early fall of 2002. Application deadline: November 1, 2001.