World Alliance for Citizen Participation

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

29 August 2007 ISSUE No. 354 PUBLISHER CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Micha Hollestelle COPY EDITOR Margaret Fish MANAGING EDITOR Eric Muragana OCCASIONAL CONTRIBUTORS AF-AIDS eForum Caitlin Blaser Carol Baloyi Julia Sestier Ken Flemmer Tania Gobena Vicente García-Delgado 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, please visit www.civicus.org/new/media/ e-civicuseditorialguidelines-finalDraft.doc 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. Similarly, links provided in e-CIVICUS may point to Internet sites that may be of interest to our readers; however CIVICUS does not take responsibility for, nor necessarily endorse their content. Stories are provided for information purposes only, and readers who intend to rely on information provided through such stories are strongly recommended to double-check its accuracy by reference to other sources first. 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. 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.civilsocietywatch.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 You can make an on-line donation at www.civicus.org/new/donatev2.html Join CIVICUS Join or renew your CIVICUS Membership on-line now at www.civicus.org/new/joinv2.html 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.civilsocietywatch.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 We must plug the leaks: Civil Society and Aid Effectiveness By Kumi Naidoo, CIVICUS Secretary-General Dear e-CIVICUS Subscriber, I am writing this from Sweden where the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) is hosting a conference on “Civil Society, Governance and Aid Effectiveness”. This conference was inspired by the adoption two years ago of the Paris Declaration by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a grouping of developed countries headquartered in Paris, France. Previously, in a column in e-CIVICUS 349, I introduced to you the issues of Aid Effectiveness, the Paris Declaration and ‘the road to Accra'. This conference is seen as preparation for the crucial conference on Aid Effectiveness to be held in Accra, Ghana in October next year. A civil society advisory group has been working for some time now looking at how to ensure that civil society has a legitimate and relevant space to participate in shaping an agenda that improves the way in which aid flows from rich to poor countries. To read more on the column, please see www.civicus.org/new/content/deskofthesecretarygeneral79.htm Civil society and Aid effectiveness This concept paper is intended as a reference document of the Advisory Group on Civil Society and Aid Effectiveness (AG). Its role is both to define and help circumscribe the issue agenda on which AG-sponsored analyses and consultations are expected to shed light and to help lay the groundwork of a shared conceptual and analytical framework on aid effectiveness issues relating to the role of civil society in development in the run up to the Accra High Level Forum (HLF3) scheduled for September 2008. The paper is meant to evolve over time as civil society understanding matures. For more information, see www.civicus.org/new/media/CSAEconceptpaper.pdf 2006 Survey on Monitoring the Paris Declaration - Country Chapters 34 countries that receive aid participated in a groundbreaking survey to measure the effectiveness of aid. Generally encouraging, the results show that developing countries and donors are working hard to made aid work better. Volume 2 of the 2006 Survey on Monitoring the Paris Declaration includes a detailed analysis for each of the 34 countries that undertook the survey. For more information, see www.oecd.org/document/52/0,3343,en_2649_3236398_38542068_1_1_1_1,00.html   USAID recipients face terror screening The Bush administration plans to screen thousands of people who work with charities and nonprofit organisations that receive U.S. Agency for International Development funds to ensure they are not connected with individuals or groups associated with terrorism, according to a recent Federal Register notice. The plan would require the organisations to give the government detailed information about key personnel, including phone numbers, birth dates and e-mail addresses. For more information, see www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/22/AR2007082202847.html?hpid=topnews CIVICUS Poll Questions Each week, a new question is posted on the CIVICUS website. Let us know what you think. If you have a poll question you would like to ask, please email editor@civicus.org. This week’s question: Do Northern CSOs have any added value apart from grant making? Answer the question at www.civicus.org/new/poll.asp?c=048451 Previous question: Do you think that civil society should forge a new moral crusade to ensure that governments deliver pledges to tackle poverty and disease in the developing world? Results: Yes - 89%, No - 4%, Don’t Know - 7% e-CIVICUS DIALOGUES What Freedom? What Democracy?  By Siv O'Neall, an Axis of Logic columnist, based in France The idea that the United States is the freest and most democratic country on the planet has forever been force-fed into the minds of Americans. Where is the democracy in a country and in a world that is being run by transnational corporations? Where even the Congress is tied down by bonds of dependency to Corporate America, Republicans and Democrats alike. Where the rulers have not even been freely and honestly elected by the people? For more information, see www.countercurrents.org/oneal260807.htm Greed, hypocrisy and the persistence of extreme poverty in the world By Zeki Ergas, scholar, writer and social activist, Secretary General of International PEN’s Swiss Romand Centre and the founder of Millennium Solidarity Geneva Group Extreme poverty is one of the half dozen or so major scourges afflicting humanity today. The others are (not necessarily in order): nuclear weapons and their proliferation; environmental deterioration of the planet owing to pollution and over-exploitation; humiliating and offending the human dignity of the poor and powerless; the various forms of violence and their terrible consequences: wars, civil wars, genocides, ethnic cleansing, emigration and the refugee problem; and, last but certainly not least, international terrorism. For more information, see www.mediaforfreedom.com/ReadArticle.asp?ArticleID=3902 Andrew Gumbiner '08 Researching Democracy and Education in Middle East Living in America, we tend to take the existence of democracy and the separation of church and state as a given. Gumbiner, a world politics major, was awarded a Levitt Fellowship this summer to research the current culture of democracy in the Middle East . Gumbiner hopes to prove a connection between education and social involvement or what he refers to as civil society, "any organised or non-governmental organisation that encourages individuals to organise around a group." Gumbiner hypothesised that a more liberal education would encourage a more civil society. For more information, see www.hamilton.edu/news/more_news/display.cfm?ID=12584 CIVIL SOCIETY NEWS Civil society groups playing a key role in promoting peace in India The Central Government and leaders of a rebel Naga outfit may have initiated a process of normalisation and peace in remote Nagaland, but the role of civil society groups in this campaign can never be underestimated. Civil society has been instrumental in bringing the National Socialist Council of Nagaland - Isak-Muivah (NSCN) (IM) and the Central Government to the negotiating table. L. Kari Longchar, Nagaland Baptist Church Council Peace Director, said: "Through our initiative all the fighting groups, especially in Nagaland,will take the path to a permanent peace. One day, they will come to us to reconcile and to be united and whatever mistrust exists will be sorted out." For more information, see www.dailyindia.com/show/168847.php/Civil-society-groups-playing-a-key-role-in-promoting-peace-in-Nagaland Civil society activists and Protestant pastor under seige in Homyel, Belarus Several civil society activists were grabbed by police during their meeting with the pastor of an outlawed Protestant church in Homyel on 26 August. Ernest Sabila, pastor of the Belarusian Evangelic Church , had come to the city in southeastern Belarus to meet with members of the Francisak Skaryna Belarusian Language Society. Held at the city's office of the United Civic Party, the meeting was attended by some 20 people. Seven people, including a member of the pro-government Belarusian National Youth Union, were taken to a district police department after the document check. They were released without charge a few hours later.For more information, see http://naviny.by/rubrics/inter/2007/08/27/ic_news_259_275994 Ukraine is 16: civil society lessons learnt and prospects Over 16 years, the authorities have not established a single state registry of anything that matters, from the land cadastre to the voter registry instrumental to holding fair and free elections. All these years various ministries and public agencies have been wrangling over the privilege to keep public registries. Society might say it does not make any difference since the registries, with very few exceptions, should be open. Not in Ukraine . The emergence of NGO movement started during the incumbent First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Mykola Azarov back at the time when he headed the State Tax Administration of Ukraine. For more information, see www.mw.ua/1000/1550/60263 African civil society warns Microsoft on OOXML African Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) may be spoiling for war with the global software giant, Microsoft Corporation, over its bid to have its DIS 29500 'Office Open Extensible Markup Language (OOXML)' endorsed by the International Standard Organisation (ISO). African CSOs are of the opinion that it is not in the best interests of the continent for any country to endorse OOXML, in line with the United States, Spain, South Africa and Kenya who have already voted 'No' to the OOXML. The CSOs squabble borders on the fact that OOXML has many flaws disqualifying it from being globally applicable and acceptable, especially by ISO. For more information, see www.africanews.com/site/list_messages/10937 Russian Union of Journalists expresses doubts on the killing of Anna Politkovskaya By Shaun Walker in Moscow "It's good that there has been progress in the case," said Igor Yakovenko, secretary-general of the Russian Union of Journalists. "If we believe everything that the Russian prosecutor-general, Yuri Chaika says then this is the end of the sad tradition of the murders of journalists in Russia going unsolved." But, he said, there were several doubts about the allegations. "It's worrying that, even before the investigation has been officially completed, they are pointing the finger at people abroad," he said. For more information, see http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2901005.ece Civil society expectations from Abdullah Gül’s presidency of Turkey The highly popularised election of the 11th president of Turkey has increased the people's expectations of the presidential office, and this despite the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) determination to curb some of the authority and duties of the president. Expectations from Abdullah Gül’s presidency include such a long list that it is almost impossible not to envision future clashes between the president and government. Civil society anticipates a president who will be active in promoting human rights, environmental issues and social coherence. For more information, see www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=120527&bolum=103 Stand Up to Corporate Power: Fall 2007 By Sarah van Gelder The Strategic Corporate Initiative ( SCI ) teamed up to produce ‘Stand Up to Corporate Power’. The Fall 2007 edition shows how society can reclaim the power that corporations have seized. It's a bold call to action that tells the stories of people and organisations that are expanding and protecting the commons, achieving a separation of corporation and state and asserting the superiority of community rights over corporate rights. Corporate power is an old problem in the United States . Corporate power lies behind nearly every major problem society faces - from stagnant wages and unaffordable health care to overconsumption and global warming. For more information, see www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?id=1826 Civil society and politicians join hands in praising head of state in Angola Politicians and members of Angolan civil society last Saturday in Luanda considered the head of State, José Eduardo dos Santos , as a "tireless and remarkable figure" in his effort to develop sports in the country. Speaking to Angola Press Agency shortly after the end of the 24th African Basketball Championship for men held from August 15-25, Sebastião António Fernandes (unionist), Armando Mabanza (political ana lyst) and Domingos Kolombo (politician) expressed satisfaction at the feat of the Angolan players in responding to the efforts of the head of state and all parties involved in the process. They said the head of state has been a "tireless" man, not only in leading the country's political affairs but also in cultural, sporting and social matters. For more information, see http://allafrica.com/stories/200708270796.html ACCOUNTABILITY Governments should prioritise anti-corruption measures Transparency International (TI) called on governments to give priority to the fight against corruption and to reach consensus on concrete proposals to review whether countries covered by the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) are taking sufficient action to fulfil their commitments. “Signing up to treaties is a relatively easy step in most countries; the hard part is to ensure that words are followed by deeds. A solid review mechanism is vital if government pledges are to produce results,” said Gillian Dell, Conventions Programme Manager at Transparency International. For more information, see www.civicus.org/new/media/anti-corruption-commitments-TransparencyInternational.doc New collaboration between the Center for Political Accountability and the Wharton School The Center for Political Accountability (CPA) and the Wharton School 's Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research recently announced a new collaboration focusing on corporate political accountability and corporate governance. The new partnership will study how directors execute their oversight responsibilities and examine political accountability and disclosure frameworks at both the country (US and foreign) and corporate levels. For more information, see www.socialfunds.com/news/archive.cgi/briefs.html GET INVOLVED! Petition for Greater Investment in Microbicides & Prevention Options for Women Every day approximately 14,000 people contract HIV. Half of them are women. Annually, there are 340 million new cases of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) around the world. (UNAIDS, 2004; World Health Organisation, 2001). In the third decade of the AIDS pandemic, we rely on prevention strategies that depend on a partner’s willingness to use condoms. Existing prevention methods are inadequate in the face of the rising infection rates in many parts of the world, especially for women. To get involved or sign a petition, see www.global-campaign.org/petition.htm Vote online to change World Bank policies! The World Bank is the world’s largest multilateral development bank and one of the most powerful international organisations, providing financing and promoting policy paths which affect the lives of hundreds of millions of people across the developing world. The official main goal of the institution is to reduce poverty world wide. After Paul Wolfowitz was forced to leave and Robert Zoellick was selected as new president, the World Bank still faces a severe institutional and political crisis. To change the World Bank policies, see www.civicus.org/new/media/change-WorldBank-policies.doc Online discussion: Women, political participation and decision-making in Africa Participate in the online discussion on the theme "Women, political participation and decision-making in Africa", which is being  organised by the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women/Department of  Economic and  Social Affairs and the Economic Commission  for  Africa in cooperation with the E-Network of National Gender Equality Machineries in Africa. The purpose of the online discussion is to contribute to a better  understanding of women’s political participation in Africa. To get involved, see www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/forum/forum-daw-politicalparticipation2007 PERSPECTIVES ON THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND THE GLOBAL CALL TO ACTION AGAINST POVERTY Strategy to achieve the MDGs a mystery in Peru The plan to alleviate poverty in Peru remains a mystery both to experts and to the poor in the country who are supposed to reap its benefits, the National Institute of Statistics and Info rm ation Technology ( INEI ) has found. While it is often pitched as a programme, whose aim is to help Peru achieve the Millenium Development Goals, in practice it is a bureaucratic coordinating mechanism for social investment projects. The INEI has found that since the programme started, Peru ’s progress towards the MDGs has been insufficient. For more information, see www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38987 Composers from all over the world meet to prepare for the Poverty Requiem About twenty countries have already joined the Poverty Requiem’s global chain. They are all preparing one or more performances on the 17 October. Among the participating countries are Cameroon, with no less than ten performances, Portugal and the Philippines. The Argentine Coral Cantique will enchant Buenos Aires and in Palestine the Jenin Choir is staging performances in Jenin and refugee camps. A number of conductors will gather in The Netherlands from 29 August to 2 September  to attend workshops and master classes. They will rehearse the Poverty Requiem with a choir, soloists and percussionists and get a taste of what the 17 October could look like. During the conductors meeting, each participant will share their view on conducting the Poverty Requiem and show their peers original ideas from around the world. For more information, see www.povertyrequiem.org 4,600 preventable child deaths each year in South Africa A new study by the Medical Research Council (MRC) claims that of 23,000 babies that die each year in their first month of life, 1 in 5 of these deaths could be prevented with basic education and easily implemented changes in health care. The MRC pointed out that there were glaring disparities between provinces, with the Eastern Cape and Limpopo being in places twice as high as Gauteng and the Western Cape. “Issues of socio-economics and education are key to child survival." The lack of progress on infant mortality is clearly inhibiting progress on the Millenium Development Goals Four and Five. For more information, see www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=73864 CIVIL SOCIETY ACTIVISM ON GLOBAL INSTITUTIONS Momentum building for a new climate deal - UN in Vienna At a climate meeting that opened in Vienna this week, the United Nations says momentum is building for broader long-term action to fight global warming beyond the UN's Kyoto Protocol. With about 1,000 delegates from more than 100 countries at the 27-31 August meeting, talks are seeking common ground between industrial nations with Kyoto greenhouse gas caps until 2012 and outsiders led by the United States and China, the top two emitters. "Momentum is very much building," for global action, Yvo de Boer, the UN's top climate change official, said of the meeting of senior officials, scientists and activists. "The coming week will give us an indication of whether the political community ... is willing to move beyond well-intentioned platitudes towards real negotiations," he told a news conference on the eve of the talks. For more information, see www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/43947/story.htm The UN Human Rights Council a year later By Kathambi Kinoti The United Nations Human Rights Council has now been in existence for a year. The Council replaced the Commission on Human Rights which had become disreputable for a number of reasons. The Commission was notorious for its reluctance to probe the human rights records of its member countries. Some of these countries were themselves known to be gross human rights violators yet they were not barred from membership of the Commission; in fact some were even allowed to chair it. The Commission was also noted for its slowness to respond to emerging crisis situations in member countries. For more information, see www.civicus.org/new/media/UNHumanRightsCouncil-YearLater.doc Intolerance mars climate change debate in New Delhi By Christopher Lingle, research scholar at the Center for Civil Society in New Delhi and professor of economics at Universidad Francisco Marroquin in Guatemala What's up with journalists in the mainstream media? In most cases, they tend to be unconditional supporters of free expression and strive to report on controversial views. However, reporting on issues relating to global warming has become strikingly one-sided. With no need to persuade using rational argument, a new conventional wisdom is being formulated that is beyond challenge by "sensible" people. Creating group-think and mass behavior should be anathema to honest journalists. Along these lines, there are signs of a growing intolerance in the debate on global climate change. For more information, see http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20070827a1.html The impact of globalisation and trade on HIV/AIDS in Africa By Wasai Jacob Nanjakululu, a policy and advocacy officer at the Agency for Cooperation in Research and Development (ACORD) It may seem odd to link globalisation with HIV/AIDS in Africa . After all, one is about open markets and trade policies and the other is simply a health issue, right? Wrong. The ability for African countries to respond to HIV/AIDS themselves is dependent on their ability to better control the terms of trade, elicit more favourable patent policies on medications, and climb out of poverty. For more information, see www.civicus.org/new/media/GlobalisationTrade-AIDS-Africa-IRIN.doc CAPACITY BUILDING TOOLKIT New Gender & Sexuality Toolkit This toolkit provides a resource aimed at enabling individuals and organisations working on HIV and AIDS issues to address gender and sexuality effectively. The toolkit contains participatory activities which enable groups of men and women of different ages to explore how gender and sexuality affect their lives and identify changes which they wish to make to improve their relationships and sexual health. It aims to establish the ongoing involvement of key stakeholders such as chiefs, traditional advisors, teachers, health workers, civil society organisations and religious leaders. For more information, see www.civicus.org/new/media/Gender-SexualityToolkit.doc PROFILES DONOR - KIOS, The Finnish NGO Foundation for Human Rights  KIOS is an independent, non-profit human rights fund that receives financial support from the Department for International Development Cooperation of the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The Foundation focuses on the prevention and promotion of human rights in developing countries and supports local and national human rights projects organised and carried out by local NGOs in developing countries. The geographical priorities are in East Africa and South Asia, and the thematic priorities cover democratic rights, right to education and gender equality. KIOS pays special attention to the promotion of human rights of women, children, minorities and the poor. In addition to project support, KIOS supports institutional development of human rights NGOs. For additional information see, www.kios.fi MEMBER - Tribal Media Group (TMG)  Tribal Media Group (TMG)n is an organisation of media and social workers who volunteered in 1988 after the popular uprising was suppressed by Burma 's military leadership. TMG helps to promote democracy through supporting media and the press in remote areas and operating news services (including photo, radio and television services). TMG seeks to report the truth and defend the suffering by providing media support combined with social services. For more information, www.wango.org BOOKS, REPORTS & RESOURCES A Voice for Human Rights By Mary Robinson, leader of Realizing Rights: The Ethical Globalisation Initiative A Voice for Human Rights offers an edited collection of Robinson's public addresses, given between 1997 and 2002, when she served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. This volume is a unique account in Robinson's own words of her campaigns as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The book, edited by Kevin Boyle, also provides the first in-depth account of the work of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. With a foreword by Kofi Annan and an afterword by Louise Arbour, the current High Commissioner for Human Rights, the book is of interest to all concerned with international human rights, international relations, development and politics. For more information, see www.upenn.edu/pennpress/book/14200.html New UN handbook aims to help countries in Asia-Pacific respond to AIDS Countries in the Asia-Pacific region received a new United Nations handbook that focuses on the role of human rights in responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Produced by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Handbook on HIV and Human Rights is designed to assist the region's national human rights institutions to integrate HIV into their human rights mandates. For more information, see www.civicus.org/new/media/NEWUNHANDBOOK-COUNTRIESASIA.doc The World Health Report 2007 The report shows how the world is at increasing risk of disease outbreaks, epidemics, industrial accidents, natural disasters and other health emergencies which can rapidly become threats to global public health security. The report explains how the revised International Health Regulations (2005), which came into force this year, help countries to work together to identify risks and act to contain and control them. The regulations are needed because no single country, regardless of capability or wealth, can protect itself from outbreaks and other hazards without the cooperation of others. The report says the prospect of a safer future is within reach - and that this is both a collective aspiration and a mutual responsibility. For more information, see www.who.int/whr/2007/whr07_en.pdf Making Aid Work Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee is the Ford Foundation Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab. Banerjee challenges aid donors to do better. Building on the model used to evaluate new drugs before they come on the market, he argues that donors should assess programmes with field experiments using randomised trials. In fact, he writes, given the number of such experiments already undertaken, current levels of development assistance could focus entirely on programmes with proven records of success in experimental conditions. For more information, see http://bostonreview.net/BR31.4/banerjee.html The Fidelity Fallacy: The link between HIV infection and marriage A recent study funded by the National Institutes of Health and published by the American Journal of Public Health found that while sexual fidelity is often an ideal, what fidelity means to individuals may vary and is not seen by all married people in all cultures as necessary to achieving a satisfactory marriage. This study underscores the need to fix dangerous deficiencies within U.S. global AIDS policy, and particularly the programmes that do not address these realities. For more information, see www.civicus.org/new/media/FidelityFallacy-HIVandMarriages.doc Aid, Debt Relief and Trade: Making Commitments Work Developed countries can help developing countries’ progress toward the MDGs by delivering on commitments of more (and more effective) assistance and by improving market access for these countries. The 2007 Global Monitoring Report examines progress toward the MDGs: while halving of extreme poverty is on track for 2015 globally, there is less progress in the human development MDGs (education, health, access to sanitation, etc.), and regional differences of both Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia tend to lag further behind. For more information, see www.sarpn.org.za/documents/d0002516 CONFERENCES & EVENTS The Multi-Fibre Arrangement Forum 17-19 September 2007, London, UK The event will allow for different stakeholders to meet in person and will offer the opportunity to discuss the work that has been carried out by the industry, government and all stakeholders to sustain the textile and garment industry over the past six months since the last meetings held in Toronto. The meeting will consist of a number of working group meetings on Lesotho , Morocco , Romania , Bangladesh and Americas and the Forum will meet as a whole to discuss Strategy and Planning of the Forum for the next 6 months. For more information, see www.mfa-forum.net 2007 Annual Meetings 20-22 October 2007, Washington D.C. , USA The Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group normally meet once a year in the autumn for a two-day plenary session to discuss the work of their respective institutions. The Annual Meetings are preceded by the ministerial-level meetings of the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC), the IMF's policy-guiding body, and the Development Committee, a joint IMF-World Bank forum. For more information, see www.imf.org/external/am/2007/index.htm?cid=EXTEAPPhl1 People to People: International Documentary Conference 13, 14, 15 September 2007 - Johannesburg, South Africa The high profile and well established festivals, the Tri Continental Film Festival and the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival, together with the Southern Africa Communications for Development (SACOD), a long standing network of industry practitioners from 11 southern African countries, are the joint initiators of the conference. The conference arises from the need of its sponsoring organisations to take forward their respective work to fulfill the critical role of documentary film in Africa and in the South. For more information, see www.civicus.org/new/media/PEOPLE-PEOPLE-InternationalDocumentaryConference.doc 60th Annual DPI/NGO Conference Climate Change: How It Impacts Us All 5-7 September 2007, New York , USA The 60th Annual Department of Public Information/Non-Governmental Organisations (DPI/NGO)  Conference at the United Nations Headquarters title “Climate Change: How It Impacts Us All.” This year an international group of climate scientists has concluded for the first time that global warming is unequivocal. Society can make changes to slow down the climate patterns that are in place. For more information, see www.un.org/dpi/ngosection/annual-conf.asp FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Civil Society Practitioners Programme (CSPP) Application Deadline: 26 September 2007 Applications are invited from the Global South to fill two places in the Civil Society Practitioners’ Programme of the Oxford Internet Institute ( OII ) at Oxford University. This visitor programme is intended for civil society practitioners of distinction or outstanding promise who wish to visit the Institute for a period of 6 weeks between February and December 2008 to undertake research concerning the social impact of the internet and related information and communication technology (ICT). For more information, see www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/CSPP_Application_Information.pdf 2007 Integrity Award Application Deadline: 30 September 2007 This award honours the "unsung heroes of the fight against corruption." Three awards recognise individuals and organisations from around the world who have risked their lives and their livelihoods in the name of justice, transparency and integrity to unmask corruption and challenge people and institutions that wield enormous power. For more information, see www.transparency.org/news_room/award/integrity_awards/call_for_entries Communications for Sustainable Development Award Application Deadline: 30 September 2007 This award recognises excellence in the field of communications, demonstrated through clear impacts and real changes in support of sustainable development. Two awards of US$10,000 will be presented in December 2007, one award for a campaign that communicates science for people and the planet, and the other for a climate change campaign. For more information, see www.cgiar.org/awards/awards_communications.html 2008 Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize Application Deadline: 06 November 2007 You can nominate organisations that have made extraordinary contributions toward alleviating human suffering anywhere in the world. The US$1.5 million prize is presented annually to an established non-profit, charitable, or non-governmental organisation. The prize is not a grant based on future goals, but an award for recent and historic accomplishments. For more information, see www.hiltonfoundation.org CALL FOR PAPERS, SUBMISSIONS & NOMINATIONS Nominate a University to receive a free copy of CIVICUS’ Global Report on the State of Civil Society, Volume 1: Country Profiles Application Deadline: 30 September 2007 The Civil Society Index ( CSI ) programme is currently distributing 30 copies of the CIVICUS Volume 1 Global Report on the State of Civil Society : Country Profiles to universities around the globe, free of charge. This groundbreaking work examines the state of civil society in 44 countries by looking at the structure, values, environment and impact of civil society. The nominated university will receive a programme and/or project about civil society, or a department, in political science, development studies, or sociology that teaches civil society issues. The donated book will be sent out to the university library or specific department for use by all students and faculty. For more information, see www.civicus.org/new/media/CIVICUS-CSI-volume1-NominationUniversities20070824.doc Call for Expressions of Interest: CIVICUS seeking institutional partnership for Civil Society Index Programme Application Deadline: 9 September 2007 As one of its central programmes, CIVICUS has designed and implemented the Civil Society Index ( CSI ), a participatory needs assessment tool for civil society at the country level. The CSI uses multiple research tools and consultation processes to generate an assessment of the state of civil society in a given country. Based on the programme’s findings, CIVICUS has issued a number of publications, most recently the Global Survey of the State of Civil Society ( Bloomfield : Kumarian Press, 2007). For more information, see www.civicus.org/new/media/CSI-call-institutional-partnership-(July2007).doc. You can also download the call in Spanish at www.civicus.org/new/media/Llamado-contrapartes-institucionales(Julio 2007).doc Call for Applications: Partner organisations for the implementation of the CIVICUS Civil Society Index Application Deadline: 18 September 2007 The CIVICUS Civil Society Index (CSI) team is pleased to announce its call for applications to implement the CSI in five African countries in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The CSI is initiated and implemented by, and for, civil society organisations at the country level. It also actively involves and disseminates its findings to a broad range of stakeholders including government, donors, academics and the public at large. For more information, see www.civicus.org/new/media/Call-forApplications-CSI-Partnerorganisations.doc APPOINTMENTS This week 6 new civil society job openings have been added to the CIVICUS website. Please visit www.civicus.org/new/jobs.asp JOB OF THE WEEK Secretary General Application Deadline: 01 October 2007 CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation Johannesburg, South Africa For more information, see www.civicus.org/new/jobs_info.asp?id=1095 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 CONTACT e-CIVICUS We value your comments, suggestions and contributions. Please send these to Editorial Team at editor@civicus.org  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. Subscribing to e-CIVICUS: For a free subscription to e-CIVICUS, please fill out the form at www.civicus.org/new/content/ecivicussubscription.htm. To unsubscribe from e-CIVICUS, get a password reminder, or change your subscription options by entering your subscription email address: Click here