World Alliance for Citizen Participation

A Free Weekly Newsletter Promoting Civic Existence, Expression & Engagement Please send contributions, comments and questions to editor@civicus.org.

21 August 2008 ISSUE No. 403 PUBLISHER CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ingrid Srinath MANAGING EDITOR Eric Muragana EDITOR Nastasya Tay OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS Carol Baloyi Christopher Worman Julia Sestier Julie Middleton International Crisis Group Natalia Kiryttopoulou Mandeep Tiwana Tania Gobena Tanzilya Salimdjanova Vicente García-Delgado, Esq ABOUT e-CIVICUS  The CIVICUS weekly electronic publication is keeping tens of thousands of people informed of the developments taking place in civil society, the factors that are affecting them and the impact they are having on creating an informed and knowledgeable civil society.  e-CIVICUS WELCOMES CONTRIBUTIONS OF CIVIL SOCIETY NEWS e-CIVICUS offers a useful channel through which you and your organisation can share your news, publicise your events and articulate the issues you face. Please send us your contributions no later than Tuesday for publication in the coming week to editor@civicus.org. All contributions must focus on civil society issues or have a civil society angle. To read the contribution guidelines, click here.  REPRODUCTION OF e-CIVICUS Readers are welcome to reproduce, in part or in full, all sections of this newsletter, however please request permission to do so first. When reproducing or retransmitting content, please credit sources and authors. The content of this newsletter can be translated into another language and reproduced in other publications, as long as due acknowledgment is made to CIVICUS.  e-CIVICUS DISCLAIMER Although CIVICUS makes all reasonable efforts to obtain prima-facie reliable content for  e-CIVICUS  , CIVICUS cannot guarantee the accuracy of the reports, views or opinions of third-party content providers, nor does CIVICUS necessarily endorse the views reflected therein. Opinions expressed by contributors to  e-CIVICUS  are solely those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of CIVICUS, its Board of Directors, managers or staff, or any CIVICUS members or partners. We request that readers exercise caution and alert us immediately if they suspect any fraudulent or incorrect material has been included in our publication. Please do send your comments and suggestions to  editor@civicus.org.  CONTACT US P.O. Box 933 Southdale, 2135  South Africa  Tel: +27 11 833 5959 Fax:+27 11 833 7997 1112 16th Street NW, Suite 540  Washington D.C.  20036 USA Tel: +202 331-8518 Fax: +202 331-8774 Websites: www.civicus.org www.civicusassembly.org To subscribe or unsubscribe: email subscriptions@civicus.org TELL A FRIEND Do you have a friend who works for a more just world? Would you like to share this newsletter with them? Please forward their e-mail address to subscriptions@civicus.org We value your comments, suggestions and contributions. Speak to us at editor@civicus.org Support CIVICUS To make an on-line donation, click here. Join CIVICUS Join or renew your CIVICUS Membership on-line now, click here.  Civil Society Watch Monthly Bulletin The CIVICUS e-newsletter Civil Society Watch Monthly Bulletin  is an action-oriented newsletter distributed to over 7,400 people around the world, featuring insightful interviews, updates on threats to civil society, and analyses of current situations. Read more at www.civicus.org. CIVICUS blog What do you think? Have your say on the CIVICUS Blog! CIVICUS seeks to amplify the voices and opinions of ordinary people and give expression to the enormous creative energy within civil society. Our recently launched blog gives you the opportunity to use your voice and engage with the rest of civil society. Have your say by visiting http://civicus.civiblog.org

FROM THE DESK OF CIVICUS' SECRETARY GENERAL Send your comments and contributions to editor@civicus.org. Disabling by Design? - The Ethiopian Charities and Societies Proclamation By Ingrid Srinath, CIVICUS Secretary General Dear friends and colleagues, A major part of our work at CIVICUS is to support and encourage the growth of an enabling environment for civil society to operate. In doing this, we engage with national governments, particularly on legislation that negatively impacts civil society freedoms. Ethiopia has recently come out with a third draft of its Charities and Societies Proclamation. Sadly, despite the interventions of both national and international civil society groups, including CIVICUS, the current draft fails to redress the most seriously disabling provisions of previous versions. While some of the most arbitrary clauses have been modified, the Proclamation falls substantially short of internationally accepted standards, by providing legal cover to disproportionate, discriminatory and disabling actions against a broad range of civil society actors. This proposed legislation is just the latest in a series of similar attacks on civil society freedoms globally. To read more on this week's column, click here. CIVICUS cautions of the draft law threatening to criminalise Ethiopian civil society Under a draft law, Ethiopia could see severe restrictions on civil society and even closures of organisations working on contentious issues, such as human rights and governance, cautions CIVICUS in a recent analysis. “We appeal to the government to stop the introduction of the bill in its current form. If enacted, many organisations will be forced to choose between stopping their work on vital issues or facing closure and possible imprisonment,” said Ingrid Srinath, CIVICUS Secretary General. The government has stated that the intention of the bill is to increase civil society organisations’ (CSOs) transparency and accountability to stakeholders, but local and international groups have expressed concern that it will instead serve to silence dissent. For more information, click here. CIVICUS Civil Society Behind Bars campaign - Mutabar Tojiboyeva By Tanzilya Salimdjanova & Mandeep Tiwana, CIVICUS Civil Society Watch Programme Uzbekistan: Seventeen years of independence, still little hope for civil society The CIVICUS Civil Society Watch Programme is publishing a series of articles as part of the Civil Society Behind Bars campaign, which profiles civil society activists imprisoned because of their work. Although individuals are profiled in the campaign, their cases indicate a systemic pattern of repression of civil society voices by national governments. This is the second article in the series. For more information, click here.  CIVICUS urged King of Jordan to reconsider draft NGO law A draft law, currently awaiting the approval of Jordanian King Abdullah II, could curtail the activities of the country’s civil society groups, warns CIVICUS. Jordanian and international experts have voiced concern over the unjustified restrictions on the activities of civil society organisations (CSOs) - including barriers to foreign funding and excessive control over activities - contained in the draft Law on Societies 2008, passed by the country’s National Assembly on 11 July 2008 . “We urge the King to seriously consider the possible impact of the law. If passed, the draft law will constrain civil society, and undermine the perceptions of Jordan ’s democracy internationally and among its own people”, said Ingrid Srinath , CIVICUS Secretary General. For more information, click here. CIVICUS Poll Question This week’s question: The threats to civil society of increased legislative controls are:  a. exaggerated b. present but justifiable in the context of security threats c. seriously hazardous to democracy and human rights To answer the question, click here. Previous question: Do you think that the Beijing Olympics have improved enough space for Chinese civil society?  Results: Yes - 20.51%, No - 37.61%, Don’t Know - 41.88% TELL A FRIEND ABOUT e-CIVICUS The e-CIVICUS newsletter keeps tens of thousands of people and organisations informed of the many developments taking place in civil society around the world. As a subscriber you know the value e-CIVICUS can bring to your work. So why keep it to yourself? Do you have a friend who works for a more just world? Would you like to share this newsletter with them? Why don’t you suggest they register for a free subscription? They can send us an e-mail to subscriptions@civicus.org or fill out the subscription form here. Alternatively, please forward their e-mail addresses to us and we’ll contact them on your behalf. Please send us your contributions no later than Monday every week to editor@civicus.org. All contributions must be focused on civil society issues or have a civil society angle. e-CIVICUS DIALOGUES Right response in Latin America to oil and food price pressures: Fight Inflation Now! Source: Senior fellow Liliana Rojas-Suarez Center for Global Development (CGD) Senior Fellow, Liliana Rojas-Suarez argues that the recent sharp spike in food and oil prices, above the long term upward trend, threatens Latin America 's stability and is the result of excess global liquidity and the US credit mess. She urges that the region must fight inflation now and insist on a greater say in setting global financial rules. With a reputation for high and hyper-inflation from the 1980s and 1990s, the region’s central banks are being challenged to prove that, this time around, they will do the job right. Additionally, facing growing social discontent with the results of democracy and market-based institutions, dealing with oil and food inflation becomes all the more crucial for sustaining the economic and democratic successes achieved so far. For more information, click here. Shameful history of anti-Gypsism is forgotten - and repeated in Europe Source: Council of Europe's Commissioner Hammarberg for Human Rights Only a few thousand Roma in Germany survived the Holocaust and the concentration camps. They faced enormous difficulties when trying to build up their lives again, having lost so many of their family members and relatives, and having had their properties destroyed or confiscated. Many of them had their health ruined. When some of them tried to obtain compensation, their claims were rejected for years. For these survivors no justice came with the post-Hitler era. Significantly, the mass killing of the Roma people was not an issue at the Nürnberg trial. The genocide of the Roma - Samudaripe or Porrajmos, was hardly recognised in the public discourse. For more information, click here.  Civil society voices of freedom are under attack in South Africa Charlene Smith, a multi-award-winning journalist and author, www.thoughtleader.co.za Tyrants dance when the voices of civil society are silenced in South Africa . The band is starting to play. There are many reasons for disquiet; an array of laws have been lined up over the last two years focusing on curtailing liberties, particularly freedom of expression, and now the University of KwaZulu Natal is trying to shut down the Centre for Civil Society. Legislation that disables freedom of expression includes the Film and Publications Act as amended but more serious threats are backing up in the parliamentary pipeline. The Protection of Information Bill, like apartheid’s Terrorism legislation, has broad repressive intent. It will block free access to information in the “national interest”. For more information, click here. CIVIL SOCIETY NEWS Democracy, civil society missing ingredient in Israeli-Palestinian peace process By Julie Stahl, CNSNews.com in Jerusalem Two veteran human rights activists - an Israeli and a Palestinian - are setting aside political differences and calling for the focus of peace negotiations to shift to the development of a strong Palestinian civil society. Natan Sharansky and Bassam Eid say that without the development of civil society among the Palestinians, peace talks will achieve nothing.  At a time when the Bush administration is pushing for a peace deal by the end of the year, “all attempts to bring peace from the top down, while ignoring what is happening in Palestinian society are doomed to failure,” Sharansky told CNSNews.com. For more information, click here.  Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and civil society hail Musharraf’s resignation Source: Daily Times, A new voice for a new Pakistan Human rights activists and civil society on Monday (18 August) hailed Pervez Musharraf’s decision to resign from the presidency. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Director, IA Rehman said that for the first time the Pakistani people had forced a president to resign. He said that now a new challenge had emerged for the ruling coalition. “They cannot play around with the people,” he added. He also noted that the ruling coalition would have to take responsibility for its own acts from now on. HRCP Chairwoman Asma Jahangir said, in a statement, that no tears would be shed for the former General Musharraf. She said that if he had really cared for Pakistan as much as he had claimed in his speech, he would have resigned earlier. For more information, click here.  Score one for the NGOs Source: Ted Piccone, Washington Post In recent elections for the Human Rights Council, an NGO coalition successfully convinced governments not to support two candidates who they felt had failed to uphold human rights. The success of these NGOs shows how much NGOs can achieve by persuading democratic countries in the developing world to stand up for human rights. It also showed that a more credible UN human right system can be established through bringing more participation of civil society organisations to the decision-making processes of the Human Rights Council. For more information, click here. Civil Rights Museum to honor Al Gore and Diane Nash for 'A Climate of Change 2008 Freedom Award' Source: The Wall Street Journal The National Civil Rights Museum will honor former Vice President Al Gore, for the International Freedom Award, and Diane Nash, for the 2008 National Freedom Award. This year's theme, "A Climate of Change" personifies the individual sacrifices, influence and awareness of both Gore and Nash as creating lasting impressions on America and globally. In 2007, Gore was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (together with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) for "efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change." For more information, click here.  A deceptive calm in Kyrgyzstan Source: International Crisis Group Long viewed as a relatively liberal aberration in Central Asia 's authoritarian landscape, Kyrgyzstan has, since the autumn of 2007, transformed its political system into a functional one-party state ruled by small elite, with President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's family at its core. The main change came in December 2007, when, after an electoral campaign widely criticised for blatant bias in favour of the ruling party, a new parliament was returned. It is dominated by Ak Zhol, President Bakiyev’s newly-created political machine, with decorative roles assigned to two parties that were apportioned seats in contravention to the electoral code. The opposition, sidelined by events, has lapsed into apathy, and a superficial calm has overtaken the usually boisterous political scene. This calm may, however, prove deceptive, given worsening corruption, increasing disillusionment with politics and a series of major economic crises that could strike before year’s end. For more information, click here. The wrong side of copyright in Sri Lanka Source: DailyMirror It is argued that strong intellectual property rights, particularly patents and copyrights, are essential for Sri Lanka to promote industrial, commercial and economic growth. On the other hand civil society has presented critical analysis of data to show the negative impact of patents and copyrights. Civil society organisations, including Health Action International, have been campaigning against the TRIPS Agreement by showing data that patents increased prices and reduced access to medicines. For more information, click here.  Gender activists breathed sign of relief as Gender Protocol signed at the SADC summit Source: Zahira Kharsany, Inter Press Service (IPS) Gender activists breathed a sign of relief when a long-delayed gender protocol was signed at the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit. Women bear the brunt of social injustice and problems on the African continent, ranging from access to clean water, poor health care, access to economic opportunities or adequate protection before the law. The protocol calls for 50 percent representation by women at all levels of government by 2015, and further calls for member states to put in place legislative measures which guarantee that political and policy structures are gender-sensitive. It draws up a plan of action setting specific targets and time frames for achieving gender equality in all SADC countries. For more information, click here.  Crackdown on Civil Rights, Media Feared in Malaysia Source: Media Channel An influential Catholic newsletter faces closure, an inter-ethnic forum on religious freedom gets forcibly disrupted, a popular book on Islam by a respected Malaysian academic is banned and a senior judge has ordered a prominent blogger to reveal his sources as well as the identities of hundreds of thousands of net users who wrote comments to his postings. A Catholic journal ‘The Herald’ faces closure because it plans to publish political commentaries and other current affairs issues that the authorities say are outside its scope of religion. Church leaders, who are already facing the authorities in court over various issues - including the right to import bibles in the Malaysian language and the right to use Allah, the Arabic word for God, in their prayers - have appealed to gain access to publish ‘The Herald’ freely. For more information, click here.  MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS & GLOBAL CALL TO ACTION AGAINST POVERTY Calling on 1% of humanity to take a stand? Source: Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) Last year, 43.7 million people in 127 countries took part and broke the world record for the most number of people to Stand Up against poverty in one day. This year, GCAP aims to put more pressure on world leaders and inspire people around the world to take action by breaking that record and facilitating millions more people to Stand Up and Take Action from October 17-19. GCAP is aiming to mobilise 1% of the world’s population, or 67 million people this year. For more information, click here.  World crises test UN development goals Source: Managing Globalisation blog Making progress toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), while society face crises like current global financial turmoil and the rising cost of energy and food is a huge challenge. Initial estimates indicate that more than 100 million people will fall back into extreme poverty because of the increase in food prices alone, unmatched by increases in their already meager income - a serious setback for the MDGs. There will be secondary effects on the other MDGs: children, and particularly girls, will drop out of school, health care will suffer and deforestation may accelerate. For more information, click here.  International trade system needs to reinvent itself By Myriam Vander Stichele, Senior Researcher at Center for Research on Multinational Corporations and Fellow of the Transnational Institute The collapse of World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks has brought the problems of the international trade system to the surface. It is now time to overhaul a 'free trade' system that protects corporate globalisation at the expense of poverty eradication and sustainability. The conflict in the WTO has brought differences over free trade into the open. Developing countries have already removed their import barriers and domestic support in the agricultural sector, pressured by the World Bank or by implementing the WTO rules. Their experience is that this did not bring the promised benefits. In addition, WTO rules in different sectors forbid developing countries to take those (protective) measures that industrialised countries used in order to develop their own economies (‘kicking away the ladder’). For more information, click here.  GET INVOLVED! Sign the Petition to the UK Prime Minister to stop child deaths Source: Save the Children UK  10 million children die every year before their fifth birthday, with the very poorest and neglected children at greatest risk. Many of these children die from illnesses like pneumonia and diarrhoea - things society can easily prevent or treat. In the 21st century, that's just wrong. Save the Children UK knows that it's simple to save lives. Vaccinations, mosquito nets and clean water are all simple things that can keep a child alive. These should be available to all children, wherever they are born. To sign the petition, click here. Civil society appeals to all sister nations in South Ossetia and Georgia Source: Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society The Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society have compiled an open letter about the events in South Ossetia and Georgia . Despite the harsh censorship of news from the region by the authorities of both Russia and Georgia , the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society manages to get alternative information about current developments from journalists, bloggers, human right activists, and individual citizens in Georgia and South Ossetia . They want to correct inaccurate information perpetuated by the official media in Russia and Georgia , which is widening the gap between these two nations. For more information on the appeal, click here. Petition on Justice for Chengara Protestors in India Source: eldiscommunity blog Around 5000 families protesting in Chengara are facing violence and are completely cut off from basic necessities like food and medicine by the Government of Kerala. There are several activities taking place on the ground to provide some relief to the protestors. In addition, eldiscommunity blog thought it is important to show solidarity in the form of a petition addressed to Constitutional authorities in the country, to put pressure on the Government of Kerala to act immediately and secure justice for the peaceful protestors. To sign the petition, click here. ACCOUNTABILITY The Paris Declaration: How CSO Transparency and Information can increase Democratic Ownership and Accountability Source: Caroline Neligan & Anne K. Iversen, GuideStar International (GSI) With the Third High Level Forum (HLF3) on Aid Effectiveness (2-4 September 2008) in Ghana is fast approaching. GSI argues that a broader principle of ownership should be recognised in the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) to make the process of development under the Paris Declaration (PD) framework genuinely democratic. As an important element of this, CSOs must be systematically engaged in national development policy making processes; their proper inclusion will be critical if the PD is to be useful tool for policy-makers, rather than one that has little or no root in the realities of local communities. GuideStar International further argues that for this to become a reality, the capacity of policy-makers to identify and engage with CSOs must be increased. For more information, click here.  Australian Consumers Demand: Make choices easier to help us act on climate change! Source: AccountAbility, www.accountability21.net On 12 August, AccountAbility, Net Balance Foundation and LRQA launched the report "What Assures Consumers in Australia on Climate Change? The research findings, aimed at business and government, show Australian consumers are informed, inspired and demanding to be part of the climate change debate. The survey reveals Australians want government and businesses to remove obstacles which are preventing them from taking more action to address climate change. Consumers also want better assurance and proof of climate change product claims made by corporations. The report fills in the gap to formulate recommendations from consumers' opinions on how business and government can effectively harness citizen power to help Australia become a climate leader. For more information, click here.  CIVIL SOCIETY ACTIVISM AND GLOBAL INSTITUTIONS Behind world food crisis is a world water crisis says WWF-Canada Source: Market Watch, www.marketwatch.com World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada) Director General, James Leape, told the opening session of World Water Week in Stockholm that a world water crisis is a key factor behind current global anxieties over faltering food supplies and rising food costs. "Behind the world food crisis is a global freshwater crisis, expected to rapidly worsen as climate change impacts intensify," Mr. Leape said. "Irrigation-fed agriculture provides 45 percent of the world's food supplies, and without it, we could not feed our planet's population of six billion people," he added. For more information, click here.  China fails to approve 77 protest applications Source: Los Angeles Times China did not approve any of the 77 applications for protest it received in advance of the Olympic Games, leaving the three parks that China established in July for public protest empty. Smaller, unregulated protests, primarily organised by foreign organisations supporting a free Tibet , have been quashed and their organisers deported. Two other applications were suspended because they did not provide sufficient information and one was rejected because it violated laws against demonstrations and protests. For more information, click here. A new movement: Community Foundations in Romania By Christopher Worman, Board President, Odorheiu Secuiesc Community Foundation Since December 2007, Romania has witnessed the birth of two community foundations; one in Cluj Napoca, a city of 300,000, and another in Odorheiu Secuiesc, with a population of 37,000. The two foundations share many similarities, operating under commonly accepted definitions of what a community foundation is and does. Their differences, however, provide an example of how community foundations evolve to reflect local interests and circumstance. The two Foundations are developing during a particularly interesting time. A combination of abundant foreign aid in the 1990’s, lack of public trust in civil society due to early abuses, and scant NGO communications experience have led to a dependency on foreign aid which even increasingly sophisticated Romanian NGOs are struggling to overcome as foreign donors retreat in the wake of European Union accession. For more information, click here.   Oxfam sees climate change role for East Africa nomads  Source: Reuters Pastoralist communities like the Maasai could offer insights into coping with climate change in East Africa , but their political marginalisation means valuable knowledge is not being used, aid agency Oxfam said on Monday (18 August). Skills learned over generations, roaming with their herds across the hot deserts, lush green savannahs and rocky scrublands of Kenya , Uganda and Tanzania could be of huge value on a continent forecast to be hit hard by global warming. "All too often the direct economic value generated by pastoralists is not retained in their communities, and the indirect value is unrewarded and even unacknowledged by decision-makers," Paul Smith-Lomas, regional director for Oxfam International, said in a statement. For more information, click here. Migration and displacement: a growing and multifaceted problem in Iraqi Source: Jamal Al-Jawahiri, Iraqi Al-Amal Association In any country, human security involves far more than national security. It has economic, nutritional, social, gender and political dimensions, and encompasses individuals, local communities and the nation as a whole. Those who lack subsistence, are marginalised or subjected to violence, who have lost their freedom or face any kind of danger as individuals or as members of a group are all deprived of human security. The waves of migration from Iraq started in the early 1950s with the deportation of Jewish populations. For more than two decades in the 1970s and 1980s, the State pursued a policy of displacing the Kurds, not only as a punishment but also to change the ethnic composition of Iraqi Kurdistan, particularly in Kirkuk . For more information, click here.  CAPACITY BUILDING National Advocacy and Media toolkit for CSOs on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, Ghana Source: Better Aid, www.betteraid.org A Better Aid national advocacy and media toolkit has been developed for use in the run up to and during the Civil Society Forum and the OECD Third High Level Forum (HLF3) in Accra , Ghana on 2-4 September 2008. This is intended to support national advocacy and media activities, which can be conducted by the Better Aid position paper signatories and other concerned CSOs at the national level. The toolkit has a number of templates that can be used and adapted according to national activities, in the run up to the CSO Forum and the OECD HLF 3, in Accra . The media toolkit is available in English, Spanish, French and Portuguese. PROFILES DONOR: International Communications Foundation (ICF) The International Communications Foundation was established in 1988 with a purpose to contribute to harmonious and fruitful development of the world by promoting international communications through studies and grant making in a wide range of areas related to international telecommunications. Their applications are invited through public announcement. Grant-making areas include: Research Grant, Grant for holding International Conferences, Grant for Social-Contribution and Cultural Activities. For more information, click here.  MEMBER: National Foundation for Development (FUNDE) Founded on 10 September 1992 , FUNDE is an autonomous institution, without membership fees, located in El Salvador . Its mission is “to generate thought, analysis and proposals around development and to incite various social actors and centres of power to improve the living conditions of society within their scope, especially in excluded sectors.” FUNDE is organised into three departments: Citizenship, the State and Development; Macroeconomics and Development; and Economic Territorial Development. FUNDE has done considerable work towards strengthening the participation of citizens at the local, national and region levels; strengthening local governments; promoting spaces for agreement at the national and local level between civil society organisations and the corporate sector; promoting participative planning; and promoting democratisation as well as the decentralisation of the State. FUNDE also works at the regional level throughout Central America . For more information, click here.  BOOKS, REPORTS & RESOURCES Report: Working Together to Make Aid More Effective Source: UK House of Commons International Development Committee If the millions of people still living on less than $1 a day are to be lifted out of poverty, donors need to provide more effective aid, not simply larger quantities of aid. The UK has performed well against almost all of the targets in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, the central agreement in this area, but global progress has been patchy and slow. The Accra High Level Forum in September is an opportunity to shine a spotlight on this lack of progress. The UK ’s Department for International Development (DFID) should aim to make progress there in two key areas: the division of labour among donors; and developing country ownership of the development process. For more information, click here.  Building National Campaigns: Activists, Alliances, and How Change Happens Source: Oxfam International Labour Rights Team and written by Dave Dalton, Commonsense Communication  The Oxfam book 'Building National Campaigns' looks at five successful labour rights campaigns from across the world - Colombia , Morocco , Nicaragua , Sri Lanka , and the United States . The book describes the ups and downs, the steps forward, and the set-backs involved in running national campaigns. Learning points and good practice tips are provided throughout the book and will be of interest and use to all campaigning individuals and organisations, not just those working on labour rights. For more information, click here.  Participatory governance, civic engagement and conflict resolution in the Southern African Development Community By Kumi Naidoo, Honorary President of CIVICUS Participatory governance is essential for the consolidation and deepening of democratic culture. Unfortunately, in many places around the world, and in a lot of the literature on this topic, democracy is reduced to the holding of elections. Seemingly, countries can check a [symbolic] box called ‘democracy’ even if the elections are flawed, attract few voters and do not offer real choices to the electorate. Reducing the idea of democracy to the singular act of casting a ballot every four or five years is to undermine the power and potential of democracy. It is therefore not surprising that, in many countries around the world, civil society organisations are advocating participatory democracy. CIVICUS urges governments to recognise a victory at the ballot box as an opportunity for meaningful interface between elected officials and senior civil servants on the one hand and the myriad of civic formations on the other hand. For more infiormation, click here. Civil Society Development: An Indicator for Predicting Governmental Corruption? Source: Governance Development Gateway - By Jeremy Forbis, American Sociological Association This research paper examines the influence of civil society development on governmental corruption across 25 Eastern European and Central Asian countries from 1997 to 2004. The analysis builds upon previous research that analyses causes of governmental corruption by adding specific measures of civil society. To effectively measure civil society, the paper uses five indicators of non-governmental organisational performance as a proxy to civil society. Results show that civil society strength does have a significant impact on corruption over the seven year time period. These results remain significant when controlling for democratic development, gross domestic product and foreign trade. Further, democratic development looses it explanatory power when its non-linear relationship to corruption is established. This research provides an alternative explanation to understanding governmental corruption. For more information, click here.  Report: Poor countries lead in population growth Source: globeandmail.com and Associated Press The population of the world's poorest countries outnumbers that of the developed world by a factor of four, according to a report released by the Population Reference Bureau ( PRB ). Over the next several decades, the proportion of those living in poorer countries, the report predicts, will rise from 82% to 86% of the world's population. “Nearly all of world population growth is now concentrated in the world's poorer countries,” said Bill Butz, president of the Population Reference Bureau, an independent research organisation. Currently 1.2 billion people live in countries classified as developed by the United Nations, compared with 5.5 billion in less developed regions, PRB said in its annual Population Data Sheet. For more information, click here.  CONFERENCES & EVENTS UN High Level Event on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 25 September 2008, New York, USA The United Nations (UN) has called a heads of state meeting on the MDGs during the UN General Assembly. UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon said, “For the first time ever - governments, businesses, civil society organisations, NGOs and faith groups will all convene to mark the halfway point to the MDGs, take stock of progress, and agree on additional steps in which the international community will take to accelerate action.” For more information, click here.  Impact Community of Practice for Global Action Networks meeting 26-27 August 2008, The Hague Source: www.KeystoneAccountability.org  The second meeting of the Impact Community of Practice (ICOP) of GAN -Net is co-led by Keystone and GAN –Net, and is made up of people who represent global action networks– global, multi-stakeholder, inter-organisational change networks. It has the general objective, through research, peer-learning and capacity building of its members, to address the pressing issues of planning, measuring, monitoring, evaluating and reporting impacts faced by global action networks in a way that is inclusive of and responsive to their constituents. For more information, click here. Software Freedom Day  20 September 2008, Kampala, Uganda Software Freedom Day is a global, grassroots effort to educate the public about the importance of software freedom and the virtues and availability of Free and Open Source Software. In Uganda , this event has been hosted previously and has attracted varied participation from the community in Kampala . Last year, it was hosted at UICT-Nakawa and included workshops, an exhibition and training activities. This year, WOUGNET has been able to raise some funds to also enable the participation of up to 10 people from out of Kampala in order to generate a little more awareness of this event beyond Kampala . The event this year is being organised by a variety of partners including WOUGNET, East African Centre for Open Source (EACOSS) and Linux Solutions. For more information, click here. FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Community Foundation Funding: The Partnership for Equity Application Deadline: 15 September 2008 The Partnership for Equity (formerly The Washington Area Partnership for Immigrants and The Common Ground Fund) is a new collaboration between philanthropic organisations and representatives of key local jurisdictions who share a vision for equity, access, and opportunity for immigrant communities and other communities of color seeking social justice. The Partnership for Equity is seeking requests from locally-based nonprofits working in the greater Washington , DC area in the realm of social justice and racial equity. Grants of up to $30,000 are available to support both general operating needs of social justice for non-profits as well as direct technical assistance for non-profit leaders of these projects. For more information, click here. Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Prize for HIV/AIDS Programmes Application Deadline: 15 September 2008 The Asia-Pacific Broadcasing Union Prize for HIV/AIDS programmes honours outstanding reporting on HIV/AIDS in the Asia-Pacific region. The prize aims to recognise the efforts of broadcasters in creating programmes of a high standard that educate the public about HIV/AIDS, while at the same time help reduce the stigma facing those already living with the disease. The award recipient will win US$2,500 cash and will be flown to Bali , Indonesia , to attend the award ceremony on 24 November 2008 . For more information, click here. The Ginetta Sagan Fund Application Deadline: 1 September 2008 The purpose of the Ginetta Sagan Fund of Amnesty International USA is to recognise and assist women who are working to protect the liberty and lives of women and children in areas where human rights violations are widespread. The 2009 award will be given to a woman who works on behalf of the human rights of women. The Ginetta Sagan Award recognizes individual accomplishment, but also serves as a beacon of hope to women everywhere who are fighting for human rights. The creation of the Ginetta Sagan Fund emphasises that more human rights work must be done by and for women. The $10,000 award is announced and presented each year at the Annual General Meeting ( AGM ) of Amnesty International USA. The 2009 AGM will be held in Boston , MA , from 22nd to 29th March. For more information, click here.  Excellence in New Communications Awards Application Deadline: 8 September 2008 These awards recognise innovative organisations and individuals who are pioneering the use of new media and communications and social media (i.e., blogs, wikis, podcasts, collaborative tools and other forms of participatory communications) in the areas of marketing, public relations and internal communications, advertising, media, politics, entertainment, academics, and community and cultural development. Awards will be granted in 6 divisions and in 7 categories. In addition, the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) Fellows selects the following: Visionary of the Year; Innovator of the Year; and Brand of the Year. For more information, click here. WORKSHOPS & COURSES Participatory Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Training 15-19 September 2008, Thailand and Nepal Involvement of all stakeholders in the M&E process helps projects improve effectiveness. By the end of this five-day training, participants will be familiar with a variety of approaches in Monitoring and Evaluation. The training will encourage participants to develop their ability to facilitate PM&E, to involve different groups, to overcome barriers to participation, and acquire both knowledge and skills of applying various participatory tools in M&E. The training itself uses participatory learning methods, and provides frequent and realistic opportunities for practice. For more information, click here. Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability: Leadership and Organisational Change Colloquium 11-12 September 2008 - Cranfield University School of Management, London, UK This year’s Colloquium focuses on how businesses embed a deep commitment to Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability. What does existing knowledge and practice in leadership and organisational change have to tell about how to embed corporate responsibility and sustainability successfully? The Colloquium will a mix of business, business-stakeholder, civil society and academic participants. Fomore information, click here. CALL FOR PAPERS, SUBMISSIONS, SURVEYS & NOMINATIONS Call for nominations for Alternate Board member Application Deadline: 29 August 2008 The Developed Country NGO delegation is calling for a number of NGO representatives, including a Board member, Alternate Board member and Communications Focal Point. These representatives will be selected to serve up to 2 years, subject to a yearly conducted performance review. Nominated individuals need to prepare and submit a four page application and attach letters of reference. The Board meets two or three times a year. For more information, click here.  Call for entries - 3rd Nazariya Films for PEACE Festival Application Deadline: 30 September 2008 Nazariya is an initiative of DRISHTI Media, Arts & Human Rights to introduce alternative perspectives into our society by screening documentaries and short films that reflect a broader reality of people in our society. Nazariya acknowledges the possibility of another point of view, another version of truth, another way of viewing. It is an attempt to reach out to new audiences through film. The principal objective of the non-competitive Nazariya Film Festival for Peace is to promote and encourage awareness, appreciation and understanding of peace though films. It mandate is to present the most understanding and powerful films produced in every part of the world. Films are selected on the basis of theme, quality and originality. To complete registration form, click here.  APPOINTMENTS CURRENT JOBS Manager Application Deadline: 2 September 2008 Knowledge Management and Communication (KMC) Location: Washington , DC , U.S.A For more information, click here. Global Project Manager Applicatuion Deadline: 8 September 2008 ActionAid International Location: Nairobi, Kenya For more information, click here.  CONTACT e-CIVICUS e-CIVICUS is a free weekly online publication keeping tens of thousands of people, organisations and programmes informed of the many developments that are taking place in civil society organisations around the world, the many factors that are affecting the impact of civil society on creating a more just world. We value your comments and suggestions. Please send these to the Editorial Team at editor@civicus.org. Unsubscribe: To unsubscribe from e-CIVICUS, get a password reminder, or change your subscription options by entering your subscription email address: Click here.