 
|  | | E- Bulletin
November 2006
01. Your Voice
02. Regional Briefs
03. International Briefs
04. Vacancies
05. Call for Action
06. Calendar of Events
07. Call for Papers
08. Awards
09. Fellowship/Scholarship Opportunities
10. Resources
“YOUR VOICE”
Alex Kirui Wins FEMNET First-ever Cartoon Competition
By Boniface Manyala
 Eighteen year-old Alex Kirui emerged winner of the FEMNET-sponsored cartoon competition that was held at the Kenyatta International Conference Center , Nairobi , on October 27, 2006 . The competition was part of FEMNET's Cartoon Exhibition under the theme - Reflections on Nairobi +21. The Exhibition was a partnership between FEMNET and the East African Cartoonist Association (KATUNI) and was part of the activities around the Nairobi +21 Conference held on the same day.
The young man scooped the top prize of the chance to be a guest cartoonist for FEMNET's publications, and a year's subscription to FEMNET, which will entitle him to receive all publications, including newsletters and participation as an observer in FEMNET's Programming Conference/General Assembly. As a bonus, he got to walk away with a cash prize of Ksh1, 500. Kirui won with 42% of the total votes cast by the public, who voted at the Exhibition by secret ballot.
Speaking after receiving the prize, Kirui said he was so happy to win the top prize. “Before the tally, I was quite nervous, but I am happy now. I learnt about the competition from a friend who also took part in the completion. Unfortunately, he did not win anything, but I am grateful to him,” he said.
The second prize went to Festus Mateso, a cartoonist working with the Kenya Times Daily, who managed 23% of the votes, while Alphonce Omondi, a freelance journalist, won the third prize after managing 21% of the votes. The first and second runners-up received a cash prize of Ksh1, 000 and Ksh500 respectively.
The contest attracted seven competitors of whom one was a lady - Celestine Wamiru. While presenting the prizes to the winners, Maty Diaw, the FEMNET Executive Director, thanked the participants for showing interest in issues affecting women in Africa . “All of you who took part in this competition are winners and I am so proud of you all,” she said, adding that she looked forward to building close working relationship with the cartoonists while encouraging them to use their talent to highlight gender issues by use of cartoons
All the competitors were each presented with a gift of a T- shirt bearing the FEMNET logo with the message- Domestic Violence is a crime!
The competition organizer- Christine Butegwa, the FEMNET Communications Officer, congratulated the all the participants. The aim of the exhibition, Ms. Butegwa said, was to promote an appreciation of cartoons as communication tools for awareness creation and generation of debate on gender issues. She urged cartoonists to focus on themes such as equality, development and peace. “Cartoonists can use their creativity to highlight the great strides made by women and what has changed for women over the last 21 years”, she said.
The competition was organized to mark the achievements of African women since the international United Nations Women's conference held in Nairobi , Kenya in 1985. The Nairobi +21 Conference, which was organized to celebrate 21 years since the 1985 conference, was officially opened by President Mwai Kibaki
Voting for the cartoon competition was done by the public that attended the Nairobi +21 conference on October 27, 2006 , through a secret ballot.
Boniface Manyala is a Communications Intern with African Women's Development and Communication Network ( FEMNET)
REGIONAL BRIEFS
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Trade: Small Nations' Doubts About EPAs
A proposal by Senegalese Trade Minister Mamadou Diop to postpone the 2008 deadline for signing trade agreements with the EU found much support. The meeting was attended by ministers and ambassadors from the ACP group of countries ahead of EU ministers' trade and development talks next week. Some of the leaders from Pacific nations among the 79-member ACP group said they would consider opting out of the controversial Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) between the EU and ACP regions. Several ACP countries feel betrayed by the direction the negotiations have taken. The Cotonou text says EPAs should promote development, contribute to poverty eradication and foster the integration of ACP countries in the world economy. But that is not how things are looking now. For details, visit http://www.ipsterraviva.net/Europe/article.aspx?id=3932 Or the ACP-EU trade website http://www.acp-eu-trade.org/index.php?language=en&loc=frame_main.php/
Darfur : extra €40 million in humanitarian aid
The European Commission has allocated a further €40 million for life-saving humanitarian assistance to the victims of the Darfur crisis in Sudan . The funding includes €26 million in support of the efforts of the World Food Programme to meet growing nutritional needs in the crisis zone. Other activities being financed include protection and the UN humanitarian air services (UNHAS) which provide vital links to otherwise inaccessible areas. This new humanitarian aid builds on previous Commission decisions for the region. For details, visit http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/1299&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
INTERNATIONAL BRIEFS
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CSW Roundtable: The Role of the United Nations in Promoting Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women: Progress Made and Future Opportunities
2006 marks the 60 th anniversary of the Commission on the Status of Women. This important milestone in the work of the United Nations to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women is an occasion to assess the achievements of the United Nations in this area over the past 60 years. The roundtable discussion held on 10 November 2006 provided an opportunity for a broad exchange of views between experts and practitioners on the indispensable role of the United Nations in achieving progress over the last 60 years. It also examined how the current reform process underway in the United Nations offers a unique opportunity to discuss the vision for the future and accelerate efforts to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of women. For a summary of the discussion, go to http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/
United Nations Peacebuilding Commission Recommends Sierra Leone and Burundi for PBC Fund
On 12 October and 13 October 2006, the Peacebuilding Commission held its first two country-specific meetings on Sierra Leone and Burundi respectively. The meetings analysed the problems in the countries, specific needs for preventing conflict, and current approaches to address the problems. At the end of the two meetings, the PBC Chair, Ismael Abraão Gaspar Martins of Angola, recommended the two countries for support from the PBC Fund which was launched in October 2006. More information can be found at http://www.un.org/peace/peacebuilding/index.html
FOLLOW UP ON THE WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY (WSIS)
Focus on the First United Nations Internet Governance Forum (IGF), 30 October – 2 November 2006, Athens , Greece Workshop on ‘Exploring a Framework Convention on the Internet'
Date: 31 October 2006
Venue: IGF, Athens
Organisers: IT for Change, Bangalore; Hivos, Netherlands; Panos Institute West Africa - CIPACO project; Third World Institute, Uruguay; and Foundation for Media Alternatives, Philippines
The workshop explored the context, usefulness and possibility of a ‘Framework Convention on the Internet'. Panellists at the workshop addressed questions that included: how important is it to save the ‘global public nature of the Internet' by defining a broad global public policy regime for it? What do we think of the importance of the Internet as a key global socio-economic infrastructure of the future, and the nature of public policy regimes in this regard? What are your views on initiating a framework convention kind of a process, which incorporates due innovations, especially with regard to a greater multistakeholder involvement, for evolving global public policy principles for the Internet?
For more information, visit www.ITforChange.net
Accessibility For All Central To Internet Forum
Aside from 'access to the internet' - the single most important issue at the first Internet Governance Forum - was 'accessibility'. In fact, access to the Internet deals with submarine fiber-optic cables, gigantic satellite dishes and other infrastructure considerations. That has to come first. But when you break down the story of Internet access to the personal level, what is needed, is a strong commitment towards getting women, the underprivileged and people with disabilities on board. Read more - http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5043085
OPENNESS: In the activist's eye
The twist this IGF is giving to this old debate about 'openness' makes it that more relevant since it calls into life a confrontation, not only involving national law, but also market law. This is why corporations like Google have been taken to task at the IGF by those arguing that it is unacceptable that this advertisement firm - know for its flagship research engine - started operations in China, where restrictions on free speech are, to say the least, restrictive. Read more - http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5042912
Internet Governance Forum - What is it All About?
By Mavic Cabrera-Balleza
Internet Governance is a difficult concept to grapple with for many of us. Even those who have been keeping track of discussions on gender and the new information and communication technologies (ICTs). Naturally, people who know or who have heard about the Internet Governance Forum, are asking what this meeting is all about. Read more - http://www.genderit.org/en/index.shtml?apc=f--e--1&x=94976
VACANCIES
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Do You Blog About Human Rights?
If you have a human rights blog, please let us know. Human Rights Tools will list it on a special page called "Human Rights Bloggers Community", and add it to their public Bloglines account. All blogs are welcome, personal or institutional. For more details, go to http://www.humanrightstools.org/news/news/archive.htm
CALL FOR ACTION
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Mark the 16th anniversary of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence campaign!
Dates: 25 November – 10 December 2006
This year, the 16 Days campaign celebrates activists who have made the campaign a success and honors women human rights defenders who have suffered intimidation and violence for their activism and/or have given their lives fighting for gender equality . 2006 commemorates progress on addressing violence against women in our communities, nations, regions and around the world and calls for reflection on how to continue to advance this work. For more information, visit http://www.cwgl.rutgers.edu/16days/home.html
Join the 16 Days electronic discussion!
Join the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence email listserv discussion, which assists activists to share work against violence, to build partnerships with others worldwide, and to develop strategies and themes for the annual 16 Days campaign. To join the discussion, visit: https://email.rutgers.edu/mailman/listinfo/16days_discussion .
World AIDS Day 2006
Date: 1 December 2006
Thousands of campaigners around the world are preparing local and national events to raise awareness of HIV and to call on leaders to keep the promises they have made to tackle the AIDS pandemic. The World AIDS Campaign recently decided on the global theme for the forthcoming World AIDS Day: accountability. The theme of accountability has the slogan 'Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise'. For more information, see www.christiantoday.com/article/world.campaign.decides.on.theme.for.aids.day.2006/8080.htm
Stop Rape in Darfur Campaign
Date: 10 December 2006
This campaign is spearheaded by the Darfur Consortium, a group of Africa focused and Africa based NGOs, academics, independent legal experts and parliamentarians dedicated to finding a peaceful and sustainable solution to the crisis in Darfur, Sudan. The objectives of the campaign are: to draw attention to the situation in Darfur and push for a speedy UN transition; to draw attention to the levels of rape and sexual violence in Darfur; to provide media with a moment to focus on Darfur; to integrate popular mobilization and media with a lobby strategy.
Join the campaign – speak out against sexual violence in Darfur ! Organize activities in your own countries. For more information, email admin@femnet.or.ke . Also visit www.darfurconsortium.org
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
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NEPAD Capacity Building Workshop
Date: 22 – 23 November 2006
Venue: Johannesburg , South Africa
Website: www.nepad.org
Second Session of Human Rights Council (HRC)
Date: 27 November – 8 December 2006
Venue: Geneva , Switzerland (confirm this)
For more information: www. ReformtheUN.org
Knowledge Management Capacity for African Research Institutes and Networks: Southern Africa Workshop
Date: 29 November – 1 December, 2006
Venue: Johannesburg , South Africa
Deadline to submit applications: 25 October 2006
This is the second series of sub-regional workshop across sub-Saharan Africa organized by the Global Development Network (GDN) in cooperation with the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the World Bank Institute (WBI). For more information, visit http://www.gdnet.org/middle.php?oid=1094
Engaging Young Boys and Men in Reproductive Health, HIV and the Prevention of Gender Based Violence
Date: 4 – 7 December 2006
Venue: Dar es Salaam , Tanzania
Deadline for application: 31 October 2006
The workshop is organized by USAID's Interagency Gender Working Group (IGWG), the USAID/ESA Regional Mission, EngenderHealth and Instituto Promundo. The meeting is designed for NGOs, CBOs, PVOs, FBOs, and other organizations working in the area of RH/HIV and male involvement from East and Southern Africa as well as donors and government partners in the region interested in male engagement approaches and strategies.
For more information, email mmehta@engenderhealth.or
NEPAD Food Security Summit
Date: 4 – 7 December 2006
Venue: Abuja , Nigeria
Website: www.nepad.org
Merit Day Award Annual Celebrations
Date: 18 December 2006
Venue: Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
The Board of Governors of the Bill Clinton Foundation for Peace (BCFP) has the honour of inviting civil society to the Democratic Republic of Congo for the celebration of the Merit Day Award. The award goes to individuals and NGOs who have excelled in promoting peace, democracy and human rights in the world. The BCFP was founded on 18 March 1996 with an aim of identifying areas of conflict and finding means of settlement. To participate in this ceremony, please e-mail at fbcp97@yahoo.fr .
Vital Voices Pan-African Leadership Summit & Initiative for Women and Girls
Date: 13 – 19 January, 2007
Venue: Cape Town , South Africa
Website: http://www.vitalvoi ces.org/
The Summit will recognize the critical role that African women and girls can and must play in moving the continent forward to achieve greater health, welfare and more stable governments and economies. It will build the capacity of over 200 emerging women leaders and girls throughout Africa and create a powerful new network across sectors, while shining a spotlight on the advancements that African women leaders have made over the past decade and proven strategies they have employed for change.
World Social Forum 2007
Date: 20-25 January 2007
Venue: Nairobi, Kenya
The World Social Forum is an innovative process, which continues to expand and deepen itself through world, regional, national, local and thematic events as well as struggles, campaigns and actions that reaffirm commitment for another world that is possible, necessary and urgent. For more information, see http://wsf2007.org/
CALL FOR PAPERS/SUBMISSIONS
=====================
Call for 2007 CIVICUS World Assembly Workshop Proposals Application deadline: 20 December 2006
The overall theme for the 2007 CIVICUS World Assembly is 'Acting Together for a Just World'. This theme will be explored through a central focus theme 'Accountability: Delivering Results'. At the May 2007 CIVICUS World Assembly, CIVICUS will convene representatives of civil society organisations, government and international government organisations, media, business and donors to discuss and debate how to assist each other to be more accountable, and will encourage better engagement across sectors to achieve accountability. For more information, see www.civicus.org/new/media/CallforWA-WorkshopsProposals.doc or www.civicus.org/new/media/CallforProposals2007WAEng.PDF . The call for workshop proposals is also available in French ( www.civicus.org/new/media/CallforProposals2007WAFrench.pdf )
AWARDS
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World Awards for Best TV and Radio Programmes on HIV and AIDS
Deadline: 1 December, 2006
This awards competition, launched in conjunction with the "HIV and AIDS Global Media Strategies" conference to be held in May 2007, is open to all producers from private and public broadcasting organisations as well as to freelancers. The programme entered for the competition must have been broadcast between December 1 2004 and December 1 2006. For details, go to: http://www.comminit.com/awards2006/awards2006/awards-1493.html
Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health & Human Rights
Application Deadline: 15 January 2007
This award was established to honour Jonathan Mann and help to call continued attention to the vital links between health and human rights. The award is presented annually to a leading practitioner in health and human rights. The award comes with a substantial financial prize to allow its recipient a measure of freedom to pursue his or her work in the area of global health and human rights. For more information, see www.globalhealth.org/conference/view_top.php3?id=612
WSA Expert Panel 2007 – Call for Nominations!
Deadline for selecting the projects: July 2007.
The World Summit Award (WSA) is running a world wide call for nominations for the WSA '07 Expert Panel – a selection of most eminent experts from each of the 191 United Nations' member states. Only one expert per country will be selected to be responsible for the selection of the national best products and applications in quality e-Content for the WSA Global Contest 2007. The World Summit Award is a global initiative to select and promote the world's best e-Content, started in 2003 in the framework of the United Nations' World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
For more detailed information on the World Summit Award please refer to www.wsis-award.org .
FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
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Master of Arts Programme in Democracy Studies at Georgetown University
Application Deadline: 15 February 2007
The Center for Democracy and Civil Society has established a two-year Master of Arts Programme in Democracy Studies through the Department of Government. Intended to meet the diverse needs of all those who seek a deeper understanding of democracy and processes of democratisation, the ground-breaking programme will be of special interest for those seeking to develop careers working on behalf of democratic change in a wide range of professional and academic settings, in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. For more information, see www8.georgetown.edu/centers/cdacs/mawelcome.htm
Application Deadline: 1 December 2006
The goal of the Annual International Human Rights Training Programme (IHRTP) is to strengthen the capacity of human rights organisations to undertake educational efforts aimed at building a global culture of human rights. Participants will be asked to develop an individual plan for putting their learning into action as part of the training. Internationally recognised human rights experts are also invited to give presentations and participate in panel discussions throughout the three-week session. Candidates from qualifying organisations must be active members of their organisation for at least two years and be proficient in either English or French. For more information, see www.equitas.org
RESOURCES
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WSIS: Whose Information Society? Developing Country and Civil Society Voices in the World Summit on the Information Society - By David Souter
This paper summarises a study of developing country and civil society participation and influence in WSIS that was commissioned by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC). As well as analysing participation, the study looked at the impact of WSIS on international ICT decision-making in general and makes recommendations to all main actors about how future decision-making might become more inclusive of developing countries, nongovernmental actors and their concerns.
http://rights.apc.org/documents/wsis_EN.pdf (English)
Human Rights in the Global Information Society
In this book, a number of scholars, human rights activists, and practitioners examine the links between information and communication technology (ICT) and human rights, exploring the ways in which the information society can either advance human rights around the world or threaten them. It is part of a series published by MIT Press called "The Information Revolution & Global Politics"...http://www.comminit.com/materials/ma2006/materials-3015.html
HIV/AIDS, TB, sexual and reproductive rights - Responses from Candidates for Director General, World Health Organisation
In mid-October 2006, civil society partners from throughout the world sent a questionnaire to the standing candidates for Director General of the WHO asking for their input on critical questions regarding HIV/AIDS, TB, and sexual and reproductive health issues. To read the responses, please click here
http://www.pepfarwa tch.org/index. php?optionfiltered= com_content&task=view&id=98&Itemid=96
Brookings: Guide to International Human Rights Mechanisms for IDPs and Their Advocates
This Guide provides a comprehensive reference to the rights of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), conveniently organized by theme. It also covers all the mechanisms available to advance IDPs rights, from the UN Human Rights Council, to the World Bank. To access the Guide, go to http://www.brook.edu/fp/projects/idp/2006_guidebook.htm
Gendering the World Social Forum 2007 Process
Despite making some progress towards developing an inclusive process for women within the World Social Forum (WSF) movement, profound problems remain that are likely to manifest themselves in the lead up to the WSF meeting in Nairobi in 2007, says Onyango Oloo (National Coordinator for Kenya Social Forum), in this paper presented at a public forum on May 25, 2006 on “Gendering the WSF Process”. Oloo suggests that action can still be taken through which men can show solidarity with their women comrades.
http://wsf2007.org/calls/gendering-the-wsf-nairobi-2007-process-1
A handbook on issues of transition from the Commission on Human Rights to the Human Rights Council
The International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) have developed this handbook to facilitate the participation of NGOs and human rights defenders at the newly formed Human Rights Council. The handbook highlights the major issues of transition from the Commission to the Council. It briefly describes the old system under the Commission, what the Council needs to consider and do during its first year, and some of the key issues, and existing suggestions and choices. The handbook also identifies the main questions around each of these issues to generate discussion and reflection on what NGOs and defenders hope can be achieved through the system, what features they think would be useful, and better options. To access the handbook, visit http://www.ishr.ch/handbook/
UN Report on Violence against Women
In December 2003, the UN General Assembly for the first time mandated the preparation of an in-depth study on all forms and manifestations of violence against women (Resolution 58/185). This report is the result of the study which aimed to: highlight the persistence and unacceptability of all forms of violence against women in all parts of the world; strengthen the political commitment and joint efforts of all stakeholders to prevent and eliminate violence against women; and identify ways and means to ensure more sustained and effective implementation of State obligations to address all forms for violence against women, and to increase State accountability. For details, go to www.un.org
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