World Alliance for Citizen Participation

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

05 September 2008 ISSUE No. 405 PUBLISHER CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Ingrid Srinath MANAGING EDITOR Eric Muragana EDITORS Mandeep Tiwana Katsuji Imata OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS Carmen Malena Carol Baloyi Julia Sestier Karena Cronin 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. Human rights education at the UN DPI NGO conference in Paris By Ingrid Srinath, CIVICUS Secretary General Dear friends and colleagues, In many countries, 60 is the age at which people are deemed to have served their purpose and required to retire. Clearly the Universal Declaration at 60 faces no risk of having outlived its purpose. One of the key reasons this is so, as Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has pointed out in his remarks, is the lack of awareness of its contents especially among those who most need their protection. Perhaps it is also a casualty of the tyranny of low expectations - from the governments who signed it with no realistic intention of turning it into reality, to us in civil society who have failed to take a solidly human-rights-centric approach to our work. We know that an individual’s or community’s awareness of their rights can multiply the effectiveness and the efficiency of development work and policies. To read more on this week's column, click here. NB: Next week focus on e-CIVICUS will be on aid effectiveness. We have invited several prominent civil society leaders to contribute articles on their participation in Accra aid effectiveness meeting. Iran’s Women’s Rights Activists: Courage in the face of Adversity By Mandeep S. Tiwana and Tanzilya Salimdjanova, CIVICUS Civil Society Watch Programme  This year at the CIVICUS World Assembly, the cases of seven women’s rights activists, all of whom have been prosecuted under vaguely worded security laws were profiled. They are pioneering the One Million Signatures Campaign calling for repeal of discriminatory laws that require women to obtain their father’s consent before marriage; allow men to kill their wives if they find them in bed with another man; and give women unequal rights including in respect of witness testimony, divorce, inheritance and citizenship for children. Women in Iran are denied access to key positions in government and cannot become judges even though they have a higher level of education than men - the majority of university students are women and 94% girls are enrolled in secondary schools as compared to 80% boys. For more information, click here. Building Skills for Participatory Governance CIVICUS Participatory Governance (PG) Programme teams up with PRIA to organise the first of a global series of PG skills-building workshops By Carmen Malena, Director, CIVICUS Participatory Governance Programme There is growing consensus that in order to achieve crucial goals of poverty reduction, development and social justice, citizens must be empowered to influence decision-making processes that affect their lives. The goal of the CIVICUS Participatory Governance (PG) Programme is to support the political empowerment of citizens and to enhance the capacity of southern civil society practitioners to promote participatory and accountable governance of public institutions. The PG programme, in collaboration with a global network of regional partners, is currently supporting skills-building programmes for PG practitioners from some twenty countries around the world. In partnership with PRIA, Society For Participatory Research in Asia, a leading centre for citizen learning and empowerment in India and South Asia, the first of a global series of Regional PG Skills-Building Workshops took place in New Delhi from 20-26 August. For more information, click here. CIVICUS Poll Question This week’s question: What do you believe is the main reason human rights education is not as widespread as it ought to be: Lack of will on the part of governments Lack of emphasis on the part of CSOs Both the above To answer the question, click here. Previous question: The current mechanisms for improving the effectiveness of aid: a. Can be reformed to deliver equitable outcomes b. Are intrinsically flawed and cannot possibly deliver equitable outcomes c. Is unlikely, but possible Results: a. - 63.3%, b. - 30%, c. - 6.7% 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  Civil society urges donors to ensure aid effectiveness By Judy Waguma, Business Daily More than 1.4 billion poor people in Africa have no clue what donor effectiveness is all about. But the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) argue that for real results to be delivered, there is need for clear time-bound commitments from the donors and greater citizen involvement to hold governments accountable. At the 3rd High Level Forum on Aid effectiveness, over 600 representatives from 325 civil society organisations met in Accra, Ghana, to debate what action could be taken to reform aid. “We need the donors to reduce the burden of conditionality by 2010 so that aid agreements are based on mutually agreed objectives,” they said in a joint statement. The CSOs want donors to stop short-term aid and commit to ensuring that a greater percentage of aid is committed for at least three to five years by 2010 to achieve the intended results. For more information, click here. Foundations must enter commercialisation debate says GuideStar International By Buzz Schmidt, Chief Executive of London-based GuideStar International and chair of The FB Heron Foundation Readers of Mike Edwards’ recent Financial Times (FT) article ('Misguided calls for 'business thinking', 7 June 2008)  might expect me to rebut his thesis about the dangers of applying business thinking to philanthropy and non-profits. My organisation, GuideStar International, reports on non-profits worldwide to support an effective philanthropic “marketplace”. Despite the business-like nature of this work, I agree with Mr Edwards. The pressure to “commercialise” social activity erodes the integrity of non-profit initiative by promoting the “concentration of activities with the greatest revenue-generating potential rather than the biggest impact on social change”. For more information, click here. CIVIL SOCIETY NEWS Civil society statement in Accra warns urgency for action on aid   Source: Better Aid, International CSOs Steering Group (ISG) 2008 is an important year for development financing and an opportunity to move the international community to a more equitable, people-centred and democratic governance system. Today 1.4 billion people live under the new poverty line of US$1.25, and the majority of them are women. The current financial, food, energy, and climate change crises make evident the urgency for action. Over 600 representatives from 325 civil society organisations and 88 countries have met here in Accra to debate what actions must be taken to reform aid, and finalise their recommendations to the Third High Level Forum (HLF3) on Aid Effectiveness. CSOs have engaged energetically with the preparatory processes for Accra over the last year. For more information, click here.  Million Georgians rally against Russian "aggression" Source: Reuters More than one million Georgians across the ex-Soviet republic protested on Monday against Russian military action and the Kremlin's backing for the country's two separatist regions. With many waving the red-and-white Georgian flag, protesters linked arms in the capital, Tbilisi in a 'human chain' that snaked through the city under cloudy skies. Flags flew from balconies and protesters chanted "Long Live Georgia!" and "Stop Russia!" Countrywide, police said over 1 million people took part in what authorities said was a show of unity after Russia this month crushed a Georgian bid to retake breakaway South Ossetia from pro-Moscow separatists. For more information, click here. Civil society invited to public hearings by Parliament Select Committee in Malta By di-ve.com - editorial@di-ve.com The select committee of the House of Representatives, which was appointed to discuss issues related to national importance, is inviting members of civil society to a series of public hearings. The public hearings will be grouped according to a number of issues, which are: strengthening of Parliament, updating of the Constitution, and the strengthening of transparency and accountability through the Commission against Corruption and Office of the Ombudsman. For more informatiobn, click here.  Great victory for civil society says media law approval in Afghan Source: redOrbit The mass Media Law is one of the laws that took more than one year to be approved. The draft of the media law after being sent to parliament, by the government, remained there for nine months until the Religious and Cultural Committee of parliament presented a revised version to the general assembly. Journalistic institutions and associations defending the freedom of speech, in their consultations with MPs, reaffirmed the independence of the state-run Radio and TV [RTA] from the framework of the Ministry of Information and Culture. They also reaffirmed that the head of the Supreme Media Council should be elected. For more information, click here.  MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS & GLOBAL CALL TO ACTION AGAINST POVERTY GCAP calls Accra Forum an opportunity Source: Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) “Here in Ghana we know what it means when aid is spent effectively. We can meet our Millennium Goal targets if the pace is vastly improved and the current restrictions around aid are lifted once and for all,” said Rev. Albert B. Kwabi, GCAP Ghana and Christian Council of Ghana. “Concrete action is urgently needed. We have no time to lose with just three weeks before the High Level Meeting on the MDGs in New York (25 September). We want to see specific and time-bound commitments to make aid more predictable, transparent and poverty-focused. If Accra is just more warm words, it will be a failure for the world's poor,” said Kumi Naidoo, Honorary President of CIVICUS and GCAP Co-Chair. For more information, click here.  Where women can't thrive, MDGs are in Jeopardy Interview with Ines Alberdi, executive director of UNIFEM Ines Alberdi has worked for over 25 years on gender issues. She comes to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) from her previous position as professor of sociology at Madrid University where she has taught political sociology and sociology of gender since 1993. Prior to that, she was director for research at the Centre for Sociological Research. Her main interest has been gender-based violence. "It is crucial to see the women's rights movement in this context of creating more democratic, equitable, and just societies that benefit the population as a whole. And I devoted my professional life to this cause," she says. Alberdi spoke to Inter Press Service ( IPS ) Editor- in- Chief, Miren Gutierrez about the role of UNIFEM. For more information, click here.  Churches call aid programmes to truly help poverty Source: Spero News Church-based organisations say poverty in the developing world will remain high if developed countries tie aid to economic interests. African Churches and international faith-based organisations say levels of poverty in the developing world will remain unacceptably high if aid reform does not address the central question of its impact on the poor. In joint statements, Caritas Internationalis, the Symposium of Episcopal Conference in Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), the International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity (CIDSE), and ACT Development expressed fear that the interests of the poor have not been reflected in draft documents produced for Accra. For more information, click here.  GET INVOLVED! Get involved with BEYOND 2008 - NGO implementation of the Political Declaration and Action Plans adopted at the General Assembly Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) "Beyond 2008" is a project of the Vienna NGO Committee on Narcotic Drugs (VNGOC) which was originally established in 1983 to provide a link between NGOs, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND). The objective of the Committee is to support the work of the UNODC, provide information on NGOs activities and involve a wide sector of civil society in raising awareness of global drug policies. For more inmformation, click here.  Drop the Debt: Civil Society Action United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service Since the adoption of the Millennium Declaration, civil society organisations (CSOs) have strived to contribute and influence the discourse relating to the Millennium Development Goals. Through this process, the view points emanating from these groups have varied: some have expressed disappointment in the lack of political commitment coming from governments, while others have remained more hopeful on the achievement of the Goals by 2015. Whether critical or optimistic, it is evident that the nature of CSO engagement has served to enrich the dialogue and debates surrounding the Millennium Development Goals. For more information, click here.  ACCOUNTABILITY Aid will fail if corruption is not tackled, Transparency International warns global south Source: Joy Online Transparency International, the global watchdog on anti-corruption, on Tuesday, (2 September) warned that all the efforts at ensuring aid effectiveness would be fruitless if measures were not put in place to tackle corruption effectively. It reminded participants at the Third High Level Forum (HLF3) on Aid Effectiveness of their commitment in the 2005 Paris Declaration to boost aid effectiveness through citizen participation, greater government accountability and transparency in the development process to stem corruption. “Corruption will continue to undermine aid effectiveness and poverty reduction efforts without immediate action on transparency, accountability and citizen participation by aid recipients and donor countries,” TI warned in a statement. For more information, click here.  Transparency, Accountability should start from the home Source: This Day (Lagos) Nigeria urgently needs national growth, but not quick fixes. There is a clamour for a reversal of the so-called resource curse, with oil revenue channeled into development projects across the country, especially at the grassroots. This, analysts believe, will ensure equitable benefit of the dividends of democracy. Abimbola Akosile spoke with the Executive Director of Ajegunle Community Project (ACP), Alhaja Roli Raliat Daniju, in Lagos, on grassroots empowerment, among other related issues. How has the Ajegunle Community Project (ACP) fared this year? We have done a lot, firstly providing micro-credit and assisting grassroots women, which are yielding a lot of results. The women can now access loans, there is no default, and their businesses are booming. For more information, click here.  CIVIL SOCIETY ACTIVISM AND GLOBAL INSTITUTIONS Civil society reaffirming human rights for all, UN officials tell Paris meeting Source: UN News Service Top United Nations officials have highlighted the important role played by civil society in advancing human rights around the world, as a major United Nations conference bringing together some 2,000 representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from 90 countries got under way in Paris. The annual conference, organised by the UN’s Department of Public Information (DPI), is usually held in New York. At this year’s event in Paris, the President of the General Assembly highlighted the contributions of civil society to advancing human rights. “NGOs have played an important role in putting human rights at the centre of humanity’s agenda,” Srgjan Kerim said in a video message. For more information, click here.  Treaty Conference seeks to regulate global arms trade Source: Alisha Ryu, VOA News, www.voanews.com Ministers and civil society leaders from 18 African countries, U.N. disarmament officials and arms-control advocates are meeting in the Kenyan capital Nairobi to try to form a united position on a proposed treaty to regulate the global arms trade. As VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from Nairobi, the arms treaty is viewed as a critical element in international efforts to reduce the human and economic cost of conflicts, especially in Africa. For more information, click here.  Food, fuel and water crises converging By Thalif Deen, Inter Press Service (IPS), Source: truthout A spectre is haunting the cities and villages of most developing nations, warns a senior official of a World Bank-affiliated organisation. "It's the spectre of a food, fuel and water crisis," says Lars Thunell, executive vice president of the Washington-based International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group. "I believe we are at a tipping point," he said, because the scarcity of water poses a threat to the food supply just when the agricultural sector is stepping up production in response to riots over food prices, growing hunger, and rising malnutrition. Speaking at the conclusion of the weeklong Stockholm International Water Conference, Thunell said the growing demand for water is outpacing supply. For more information, click here. PROFILES DONOR: Open Society Institute ( OSI ) and Soros Foundations The Open Society Institute ( OSI ), a private operating and grant making foundation, aims to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform. On a local level, OSI implements a range of initiatives to support the rule of law, education, public health, and independent media. OSI initiatives award grants, scholarships, and fellowships on a regular basis throughout the year. Applicants can determine their eligibility and view relevant initiatives and application guidelines at www.soros.org/grants. Soros Foundations consist of national foundations in 29 countries, foundations in Kosovo and Montenegro, and two regional foundations, the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA) and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA). OSISA and OSIWA, which are governed by their own boards of directors and staffs from the region, make grants in a total of 27 African countries. For more information, click here. MEMBER: Development Action Without Borders - NABA’A Naba’a, a civil society organisation in Lebanon, aims to empower communities so that they uphold the rights of children, and so enable children and young people to play a healthy and active role in their communities. Naba'a applies a holistic approach in its strategy and program implementation by targeting several groups: children aged 0-18, parents, teachers and the community as a whole as well as NGOs and governmental agencies. Naba'a operates from north to south Lebanon through six programs: child rights, community development, inclusive education, training and capacity building, emergency, and advocacy. For more information, click here.    BOOKS, REPORTS & RESOURCES UNV/World Volunteer Web civil society survey 2008 Source: United Nations Volunteer (UNV) and CIVICUS Volunteerism is at the heart of citizen action, which CIVICUS seeks to strengthen. In 2001, CIVICUS undertook a number of activities to celebrate the International Year of the Volunteer, including focusing the CIVICUS World Assembly on ‘the role of voluntary action in shaping social and economic change.’ The 10th anniversary of the International Year of the Volunteer will be marked in 2011 (IYV+10). As this anniversary draws closer, the United Nations Volunteer (UNV) programme and CIVICUS are interested in learning what civil society organisations are planning for this year's International Volunteer Day on 5 December and the subsequent lead-up to 2011. CIVICUS encourages its members and supporters to fill out this survey to help UNV as well as CIVICUS in its planning. The survey should be completed before end of business on 19 September. It should not take more than 20 minutes of your time. For more information, click here.  Civil Society Development: An Indicator for Predicting Governmental Corruption Source: allacademic research To effectively measure civil society, five indicators of Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) performance as a proxy to civil society. Data are analyzed using a pooled time-series, cross-sectional (TSCS) analysis with an ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model, including fixed effects to control for inter-country variation. 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 and alternative explanation to understanding governmental corruption. For more information, click here.  Participatory Water Monitoring: A Guide for Preventing and Managing Conflict Source: Office of the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) Participatory monitoring is a powerful tool to prevent and solve conflicts. The CAO gained extensive experience in this field during its involvement in the Yanacocha Project in Peru. Participatory water monitoring has an especially important role to play in reducing or avoiding water-related conflict in large-scale, intensive development projects. Conflict tends to arise in situations where expectations are not being met, information is not available, stakeholder engagement is not equitable, or where there is an actual adverse impact. Participatory water monitoring can help address these causes of conflict by actively engaging stakeholders, by addressing their concerns in the design and implementation of the monitoring program, by generating credible information, and by informing solutions that can mitigate or remedy any adverse impacts. For more information, click here.  Resource: ILO - "Unprotected Employment in the West Bank and Gaza Strip: A GenderEquality and Workers' Rights Perspective"  Source: Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) The nature of employment is rapidly and dramatically changing around the world, including in Arab States. The increasing flexibility of labour markets at global and local levels has led to a rise of informal employment, self-employment and typical forms of employment. This process, termed as informalisation, has been accompanied by an increase of insecurity and poverty. Informalisation also has a gendered nature with differential earnings, choices and locations of activities, level of competition, and time allocated to work, with significant implications for women, especially young women in Arab States. While employment is the main path out of poverty, International Labour Organisation (ILO) Decent Work Agenda underscores the significance of quality as well as quantity of jobs generated. For more information, click here. Building National Campaigns: Activists, Alliances, and How Change Happens Source: Oxfam International For many organisations, campaigning is a new type of activity and few have had the opportunity to help each other build capacity to campaign. Oxfam International’s book, ‘Building National Campaigns’ draws on it’s experience in supporting national labour-rights campaigning initiatives at local and national level. This companion online resource provides you with inspiration for planning your own campaigns and feature photos and campaign materials from Colombia, Morocco, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, and USA. For more information, click here.  CONFERENCES & EVENTS 2009 Annual International Conference 26-30 May 2009, Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C., USA The Global Health Council conference on advancing technology, information and communication technology (ICT) has been the hallmark of this new millennium. A message that once took two weeks by mail now takes mere seconds. A phone transmits not only voices, but music, text and video, evolving into one of the most important tools for social media, education and action. The dawn of smart phones and other mobile technology has allowed for more facile and cost-effective ways to share information, provide training and mobilize constituents instantly. Certainly, the global health community has taken advantage of and thus benefitted tremendously from these developments in increasing access and providing better services to a broader audience. In short, ICT has and will continue to change the way we do business. For more information, click here. Ad hoc meeting: Trade Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) of the EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (FTA) 11 September 2008, Brussels The draft global analysis report of the Trade Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) of the EU- ASEAN FTA will be subject of this meeting. The consultants carrying out this study represent an international consortium led by Ecorys. During this meeting representatives of the consultants will present the draft global analysis report and give an answer to questions and comments with a view to the elaboration of the draft mid-term report. If you are registered in External Trade‘s Civil Society database, please book on line as usual by using your login and password. If you are not registered, please send an email with your name and organisation at trade-civilsociety@ec.europa.eu. Closing date for registration: 10/09/2008 at 12:00 (noon). For more informati, click here.  13th International Conference on Violence, Abuse and Trauma 12-13 September 2008, San Diego, USA This conference is a unique forum for people from all disciplines and philosophies to gather together to exchange current information on what we know and do not yet know, and discuss differences and similarities in what we do and how we do it. The conference covers all aspects of violence, abuse and trauma prevention, intervention, and research. This includes intimate partner violence, child maltreatment, youth violence, judicial issues, sexual assault, disabilities, treatment of victims and offenders, elder abuse, trauma, and more. The special theme this year is Integrating Research, Practice & Policy. For more information, click here.  FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES 2009 Gates Award for Global Health Submission Deadline: 31 October 2008 The Gates Award for Global Health was established by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to reward and showcase organisations that have made major and lasting contributions to the field of global health. The award includes an honorarium of $1 million. The Council invites you to nominate an organisation from any country in the world that has substantively improved the health and the lives of people in need. The organisation may be a charitable institution, a private company, or a public entity. Nominations will be considered by an international jury consisting of health professionals from developing countries and the Global Health Council's Board of Directors. The award will be presented in Washington, D.C., at a special Awards Ceremony during the Global Health Council's Annual International Conference. For more information, click here. The Catharine Stimpson Prize for Outstanding Feminist Scholarship Application Deadline: 20 September 2008 The University of Chicago Press is pleased to announce the competition for the 2009 Catharine Stimpson Prize for Outstanding Feminist Scholarship. The Catharine Stimpson Prize is awarded biannually to the best paper in an international competition. Leading feminist scholars from around the globe will select the winner. The prize-winning paper will be published in Signs, and the author will be provided an honorarium of $1,000. All papers submitted for the Stimpson Prize will be considered for peer review and possible publication in Signs. Feminist scholars in the early years of their careers (less than seven years since receipt of the terminal degree) are invited to submit papers for the Stimpson Prize. For more information on guidelines for submission, click here. Small Grants Programme: Environmental Projects in Developing Countries Global Environment Facility Application Deadline: Open pending on specific programmes The Global Environment Facility's Small Grants Programme is rooted in the belief that global environmental problems can only be addressed adequately if local people are involved and that with small amounts of funding, local communities can undertake activities that will make a significant difference in their lives and their environment. The programme supports organizations in developing countries in the areas of climate change abatement, conservation of biodiversity, protection of international waters. For more information, click here.  WORKSHOPS & COURSES Partner Capacity Building course 6-10 October 2008, Oxford, UK The International NGO Training and Reserach Centre (INTRAC) course helps you to understand capacity building at different levels in the context of inter-organisational and social partnerships. It looks at cutting edge issues such as reverse accountability, transparency, and how donor power affects relationship dynamics. Learn a range of models and tools associated with designing and implementing organisational capacity building initiatives with partners. For more information, click here.  Civil Society Building course October 2008 - April 2009, New Delhi, India Recent years have witnessed dramatic changes in the social, political and economic arrangements throughout the world. It is increasingly being recognised that the state as an intervener in society to bring about growth and development, has its limits. Similarly the role of private sector as a way of organising society and economy is restricted. The collective power of Civil Society (CS) in building social, economic and political agendas -both locally and globally. PRIA Education is launching the current course, in a distance education mode, for development organisations and actors engaged with or interested in working with civil society actors and associations. The course seeks to strengthen understanding on the concept of civil society and on strategies for strengthening civil society, in its pursuit of addressing issues of poverty, democratisation and sustainable human development". The last date for receiving filled in application form is 10 September. For more information, click here.  Environment Management Systems course 29 September-1st October 2008, Johannesburg, South Africa During the programme, delegates will experience all aspects of Environment Management Systems ( EMS ) implementation, from the initial identification of environmental aspects and impacts, through to the internal audit programme and management review. Successful completion of the course and exam will contribute to Continual Professional Development (CPD) requirements for auditor registration under the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment's (IEMA) Environmental Auditor Registration Scheme. For more information, click here. CALL FOR PAPERS, SUBMISSIONS, SURVEYS & NOMINATIONS 2008 Call for Ambassador Nominations Application Deadline: 15 September 2008 Nominees must be U.S. leaders in global health research who have demonstrated an understanding of, and commitment to, advocacy for global health research. All nominations will be reviewed by the Society's Advisory Council, which includes leaders in global health research, public policy and communications. Nominees are not limited to those holding a senior leadership position overseeing or conducting public or private funded global health research. The nominee's availability, willingness and time commitment to attend and participate in meetings with policy makers, thought leaders and the media in their own states and in Washington, D.C. Nominations should be in the form of a letter on institution, industry or organisation letterhead. For more information, click here.  APPOINTMENTS CURRENT JOBS Project Coordinator Participatory Governance Application Deadline: 15 September 2008 CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation Location: Johannesburg, South Africa For more information, click here. Resource Mobilisation Coordinator Application Deadline: 26 September 2008 CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation Location: Johannesburg, South Africa For more information, click here. Grants Accountant  Application Deadline: until the position is filled Freedom House Location: United States (Washington, DC) 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.