African Events and
Initiatives
Organisations
were told that "it would be helpful [to] provide information about
any events or initiatives you yourselves are involved in that you think
the Commission should know about."
These
comments are collated below.
Capacity Development Consultancies
(CADECO)
Chiku Malunga, zoe@clcom.net Malawi
We have been involved in development practice for
the past 10 years as researchers, managers and consultants. During this
time we have been seriously reflecting on the question, “How
can the development process in Africa be accelerated?” Our
10 years of reflection has led us to the conviction that empowerment
will happen when:
-
People use their
culture as a tool for development
-
People take responsibility
for their own development at the individual, family, organizational,
community, national and continental levels. People must be helped
to see how their conscious or unconscious negligence of responsibility
has created their current undesired situations. They should also
be shown why it is almost impossible to realize new visions as long
as the issue of responsibility is not resolved.
From the above conclusions and as
our effort to contribute to the acceleration of the development
process in Africa, we have written 3 books that we strongly believe
would be of interest to the Commission. These books are:
Ghana
Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana)
Dr
Baffour Agyeman-Duah, cdd@ghana.com
CDD has been involved
in various programs and projects in the following fields:
- Research
studies into governance, market reforms and corruption
- Policy
and institutional reforms
- Monitoring,
observation, and evaluation
- Training
and capacity building
- Consultation
with stakeholders
- Forums
to increase awareness and debate on topical areas
CDD has come up with
various recommendations and programmes of action in this area of political
and economic development in Africa through our participation in networking
on the continent, for instance the Afro barometer research.
CDD is involved in the NEPAD APRM self-assessment on the aspect of Good
Governance and Democracy of the Kuffour Administration of Ghana Government.
The Center can bring to bear experiences and lessons leant from this
assessment to the good of the Commission.
CDD can thus provide a wealth of information
already gathered, and provide assistance in work to be done by the
Commission.
Announcing The first African International Youth Summer Camp for
young activists
22nd to 28th August 2004, at the Kenya Technical Teachers Training
College Nairobi, Kenya
part of the YOUNG PEOPLE change the world! programme organised
by the National Youth Organisation, Kenya.
Young people aged 13 to 35, and groups of young people from
youth organisations and also youth leaders aged 35 upwards and
youth professionals are invited to join us at our summer camp
in August 2004. This will give you the opportunity to meet with
other young people from around the world to discuss issues, share
ideas, see development in practice, enhance your practical skills,
develop collaborations and make contacts that will continue beyond
the Summer camp.
The Summer camp is being organised by young people from the National
Youth Organisation of Kenya, and has the support and good wishes
of the new Government of Kenya. The main venue will be KTTT college
Nairobi. Other venues include the Club sikiliza, the Pan Afric,
Lake Bogoria Resort.
The programme will consists of:
-
skill workshops (fundraising, advocacy, communication,
project planning, IT, etc.)
- theme workshops and discussions
- visits to see selected local projects
- visits to Nairobi national parks and other tourist attractions
- Awards ceremony at club sikiliza village market
- There will be fun events such as a Gala Night
- Sports Challenge
- Swimming at Village market
- Cultural events at Village market
There will also be the opportunity to stay on for a further 3 weeks
to work with a youth project. Those interested in this part of the
programme will need to meet the costs of the extra stay, but these
will be kept as low as possible by using host families, cheap hostels
and hotels in town. Further details will be posted on the summer school
website.
Cost: From Europe and America, $260. From Africa, $150. From the
rest of the world, $200. Cost includes airport pick up and full
board and lodging for the duration of the Camp.
To find out more: Whether you would like to come on your own or
as part of a group, if you are interested in attending the summer
camp please contact Solomon Ligaga for further information and an
application form by telephone on 00-254 7 2284 8475 or 00- 254 7
2276 2906 or 00-254 7 2163 9779 or by e-mail to summercampkenya@yahoo.com
or youthkenya@yahoo.com.
To find our more, you can also visit the YOUNG PEOPLE change the
world! website www.younginfluencers.com.
It is important
to note that I run an adult education initiative as part of my effort
at helping to achieve the millennium development goal 3 (Promote Gender
Equality and Empower Women) The initiative involves teaching adults
mostly women and girl who come to classes in the evenings after their
daily routine. They are taught how to read and write and also act
as problem solving participants on reproductive health, parenting
education and Agricultural development. Issues. They have also been
helping in the area of collating folk tales from African culture helping
us preserve our cultural heritage.
The initiative has been on for 3 years now with funding from my
parents and I and also volunteers involvement from youths in the
community. It has its impact in the areas of:
-
Child
nutrition improvement
-
Women’s
economic empowerment
-
More
schooling opportunities for girls
-
Women
having skills and opportunities
-
I
am presently involved in a parenting education initiative with the
Parents Forum in Massachusetts, the aim of this initiative is to teach
parents on good parenting education skills, I was at the just concluded
world assembly in Botswana where I hosted a workshop on this initiative
with the founder of Parents forum and other collaborators titled Family
literacy and parenting education (www.civicusassembly.org) I will be
hosting another workshop on parenting education with the title The
root of Education grows in the home a look at parenting education
through folk tales coming up in south Africa:( www.ee4.org/programme)
Also
I am presently working on an initiative with the Institute for Cuban
studies, University of Miami an initiative, which bothers on good
governance in relation to Cuba and Nigeria. Based on the ties between
Cuba and Nigeria it is pertinent at this point to relate the Cuba
transition project to the Nigerian situation. Our first discussion
in this regard has been fixed tentatively for September 26-30,2004.
Participants at this discussion have been working closely on information’s
on the Cuba transition project website and will all be coming up with
their concerns as it bothers on Nigeria.
My involvement
is also in the African citizens forum an initiative of the African
Citizens Development forum, which aim at bringing African citizens
together through a process of dialogue in the setting of a forum
to combat our failings in Africa and fashion solutions. (www.acdf-assefad.org).
The initiative aims to reverse the conditions of Africa’s grim
picture and a distress economy. I have been working on youth involvement
in my community and at present there is a youth forum comprising
of 30 active members meeting every Sunday evening to discuss issues
in this regard where I preside as the state coordinator.
Institute
for Security Studies (ISS)
Jakkie
Cilliers, jkc@iss.co.za South
Africa
Recently the Institute organized
a meeting of 7 African partner think tanks (on 28 June) that collectively
constitute the African Human Security Initiative (AHSI) where it
was recommended that the Commission for Africa should widely consult
with African non-governmental organisations for ideas on how to
deal with an array of the continent’s challenges. The following
organisations attended the meeting and are part of AHSI:
-
African Security
Dialogue and Research - Ghana
-
African Peace
Forum - Kenya
-
Human Rights
Trust of Southern Africa - Zimbabwe
-
Institute for
Human Rights and Development in Africa - Senegal
-
Institute for
Security Studies ? South Africa
-
South African
Institute for International Affairs
-
West Africa
Network for Peace - Ghana
Events/Initiative
PDA is involved in
-
GNETPAD: Ghana
Network of Participatory Development. PDA is a founding member
of this organisation which is a network of professionals in development
work.
- DFID Civil Society Strengthening
Fund: This fund is to help increase capacity of Civil Society in
policy formulation and decision-making regarding forestry . PDA
is involved in the management of the fund.
- DFID Civil Society Rights and Voice
Fund: The fund, which is to come into effect in September, is for
capacity building of civil society to lobby and negotiate for their
rights and benefits as citizens.
Our particular areas of competence are:
SAIIA is running
a number of projects that would be of value to the Commission.
-
Nepad and governance project – This aims to help set NEPAD priorities by focused examination
of African best practice in key reform areas such as trade,
privatisation, agriculture, education, and infrastructural development.
The monthly eAfrica: Journal of Governance and Innovation,
focuses on a wide range of development and political challenges,
examining new ideas and shortcomings in African politics and
economic development. One of the issues has focused on Agriculture,
another on the APRM, constitutionalism and the diaspora. These
are available on the SAIIA website.
The project has also conducted a number of workshops
on the continent to promote SAIIA’s research findings and galvanise
civil society support for reform. These workshops focus primarily
on engaging with civil society in countries that are preparing to
be peer-reviewed in terms of the APRM. SAIIA participated in the
drafting of the peer review questionnaire.
-
Development through trade project – This
project has been providing policy input into the trade strategy
development processes of the South and Southern African governments.
The project is also looking at the processes of economic integration
on the continent. Work has been done on Africa’s negotiating
position after Cancun.
-
Business in Africa project – This project looks at the experience of
South African businesses in Africa, using them as a case study
to develop policy recommendations on creating a sustainable
business environment on the continent. Among the areas it focuses
on is the role that the private sector, both domestic and foreign,
is or can play in Africa’s development and the goals of
Nepad. A preliminary report and the first country study on Mozambique
are available on the SAIIA website.
-
Global and African Best Practice project – This examines a number of case studies from
around the world including Africa and aims to draw lessons for
success or ‘best practice’. Some of the cases studies
include Senegal and Uganda on their HIV/Aids policies; Mozambique
and Ghana on their successful engagement with the external community;
Israel and India on agriculture; Singapore and Botswana on public
sector governance; and South Korea on skills and education.
The project looks at the role that leadership, political and
social infrastructure, the external environment, and the macro-economic
environment, play in determining success.
We have been carrying
out advocacy and enlighten campaigns towards the effective use of
ICTs for e-democarcy,economic empowerment and sustainable livelihoods.The
role of ICTs in education has been part of our task as well.We are
sensitizing the whole segment of the population on the World Summits
on the Information Society,and how to better position themselves
for the challenges posed by ICTs,how to bridge this digital gap
and enhance "Southern participation"We held a series of
nationwide consultations in three main cities in Nigeria between
October and November 2003 tagged "WSIS Youth Nigeria Policy
Train" to harp on these issues.Visit the website at:www.ycdo.net/policy/wsis-nigeria.
We were recently
chosen by the World Bank Group/British Council(youth Connect) to
participate in the "Debate To Action" programme between
September 6,2004 to 2005.The aim of the project is to sensitize
the populace on the MDGs and how to accelerate development using
these vehicles.Please visit the website at:www.worldbank.org/depweb/english/debate.htm
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