30 October 2009 Edition No: 462  | Poll question This week's question: What form of representation is most important for the legitimacy of the CIVICUS Board of Directors? a. equal gender representation b. regional representation c. equal representation from the ‘North’ and ‘South’ d. representation from different sectors of civil society e. representation from the grassroots To answer the question, click here Previous question: Where do you think we’d be if the UN did not exist? a. better off b. right where we are now c. worse off d. in the apocalypse Results: a. - 13.3%, b. - 16.7%, c. - 53.3%, d. - 16.7% | |  Let your voice be heard! World leaders, meeting in Copenhagen this December, will be presented with the Climate Petition. The Climate Petition is a consolidation of global appeals for a definitive agreement on Climate Change. Choose this historic moment to make a difference. Add your voice to the Climate Petition. For details click here. | We Welcome
Contributions e-CIVICUS is 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 by Monday for publication in the coming week to editor@civicus.org. To read the contribution guidelines, click here. The content of e-CIVICUS may be translated into other languages and reproduced elsewhere, as long as due acknowledgment is made to 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 parties | |  Training on Monitoring & Evaluation of Developmental Projects 1 - 3 December 2009, New Delhi, India In the present developmental paradigm, project based approach has become the mainstay of developmental imperatives. This has enhanced efficacy of the developmental initiatives at the same time facilitated optimal allocation of the limited resources. However, design, development and implementation of effective project management systems holds the key for these projects so as to facilitate various project management functions. And the most critical function that has maximum bearing on the project outcome is the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) function. For details, click here. Whose responsibility? Decent work and multinational supply chains 17 November 2009, European Parliament, Brussels Workers in global food and clothing supply chains face some of the most exploitative conditions of work. And yet, supermarkets, retail chains, amongst others are making greater and greater profits. Are they, and can they, be made accountable for the denial of decent work to their workers? Come and hear testimonies from grassroots workers and join in the debate with experts from the EU institutions, NGOs, trade unions and progressive business on what steps the EU can take to ensure that companies are held accountable to decent working and how those facing abuses can access their rights. For details, click here. |  NGOs, IGOs, and the Network Mechanisms of Post-Conflict Global Governance in Microfinance Source: Amazon.com Partnerships between international organisations and NGOs are central to delivering services in post-conflict settings. This book examines how such partnerships and policy networks comprising large international organisations and NGOs generate policies to heal the wounds of war-torn communities and build institutions of the post-conflict state for long-term governance. Exploring the international community’s application of microfinance in post-conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina, this book follows how these policies were subsequently transferred to and modified for Kosovo and Afghanistan. Drawing on multiple, varied cases this book offers a new framework of policy analysis in post-conflict zones, and bridges global policy studies with conflict resolution. For details, click here. For more book reviews, click here |  Dear Editor, ICA Bangladesh organised an online meeting today on 25 October. Jo and Wayne from ICA Associates Inc. in Canada facilitated the meeting from Toronto, while Aziz co-facilitated. Farhad, Sarwat, Shipon, Habib, Fuad, Naimul, Selina, and Nurul took part from Dhaka. Maria and Richard also participated in the meeting from Sydney. The meeting focused on a reflective conversation on 2009 activities and accomplishments, and on what strategies ICA Bangladesh needs to focus on in 2010... read more. Mohammad Azizur Rahman Executive Director (Honorary)
ICA Bangladesh |  This week, new civil society job openings have been added to the CIVICUS website. Please click here. Should you wish to publish a New Vacancy, please click on Add job. Please add an expiry date for applications. Civil Society Index Senior Programme Officer (Application Deadline: 30 October 2009) CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa For details, click here. Civil Society Index Programme Officer (Application Deadline: 30 October 2009) CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa For details, click here. Civil Society Index Programme Officer (Application Deadline: 13 November 2009) CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa For details, click here. Resident Director National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)
Location: Khartoum, Sudan For details, click here. Resident Director National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)
Location: Juba, Sudan For details, click here. Internship Programme Africa in Democracy and Good Governance (ADG)
Location: The Gambia, West Africa For details, click here. Civil Society Advisory Committee Member (Application Deadline: 30 November 2009) Commonwealth Foundation
Location: International For details, click here. | | |
| | | This week e-CIVICUS brings you another article in the column ‘Hear from the CIVICUS Board’ from Anabel Cruz, the Chair of the Board. She writes about her representation of CIVICUS at an international seminar in Montevideo. You will also notice the Call for Nominations of individuals for the CIVICUS Board of Directors for the upcoming CIVICUS Board elections. The CIVICUS Board of Directors is the organisation’s governing body. It comprises 13 directors elected to serve three year terms. Any current or prospective member of CIVICUS may stand for election to the 13 seats. In our Opinion Poll this week, we ask for your feedback on the composition of the new board. Your feedback and support during the election process is crucial. For nominations details, click here. With faith, gratitude and solidarity, | Defining civil society: a never ending need? A couple of weeks ago, Addys Then, the dynamic Director of Alianza ONG, an NGO network from the Dominican Republic and a CIVICUS member, invited me to address a group of participants of the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Programme, which provides a year of training in universities in the United States for professionals from countries around the world. This year, there are 187 fellows from 94 countries participating in the programme. Addys wanted them to know more about CIVICUS, our mission, goals and activities and she proposed to use the opportunity of a seminar on global leadership attended by the fellows in Washington DC. Read more. Anabel Cruz
CIVICUS Board Chair | Noted Turkmen Environmental Activist Convicted Under Questionable Circumstances Source: CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation is deeply concerned with regard to conviction of noted Turkmen ecologist and environmental activist Andrey Zatoka. Due to severe restrictions on the freedom of information in Turkmenistan, information about the conduct of his trial which lasted just a few hours is extremely scarce. For details, click here. To volunteer or not: no longer a choice By: Devendra Tak, Communications & Media Manager, CIVICUS, reporting from UNV Consultative Meeting in Bonn With the global crises spiralling out of control, it is no longer for us (individuals, organisations and governments) to choose whether to volunteer and encourage volunteerism. It has become mandatory! The spate of new crises - the financial crisis, the climate change crisis, the water shortage crisis, the natural disasters, the man-made ones (armed conflicts) and the health epidemics – mean that the so-called developed nations are also part of the problem. No longer can we depend upon a pool of western volunteers to scurry off to remote parts of the world (such as most of the South) to help with the problems that recur with increasing rapidity and severity. The only way out is to bolster the spirit of volunteerism that exists in every culture and every region, so that communities are more self-sufficient to cope with crises and are equipped to provide an appropriate response to challenges that arise in their immediate neighbourhoods. For details, click here. Special Issue on International Volunteer Day (5 December 2009) CIVICUS participated in the Consultative Meeting on International Year of the Volunteers + 10 held at the United Nations Volunteers’ headquarter in Bonn, Germany, during 22-23 October 2009. A group of over 40 participants from different organisations, including volunteer sending organisations and NGOs, met and drew up an action plan leading up to the campaign year in 2011. CIVICUS was involved in the drafting of the Communications and Promotions Plan. Civil society is a target audience for the campaign and CIVICUS will work with its Members and partners to encourage volunteerism and support for this campaign. To start with, the first issue of e-CIVICUS in December will be dedicated to celebrating International Volunteer Day (5 December). Articles on the theme of volunteering, especially those that show the work of volunteers and their impact on civil society, should be sent to editor(at)civicus.org by 3 December 2009 French, Portuguese and Spanish version of Volunteering and Social Activism: Pathways for participation in human development now available! CIVICUS is excited to announce that new and improved translated versions of the publication Volunteering and Social Activism: Pathways for participation in human development are now available on its website in FRENCH, PORTUGUESE and SPANISH. Produced in partnership with the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) and United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme, the publication explores the role of social activism and volunteerism in promoting people’s participation in fostering social change and development. The publication is also available on World Volunteer Web, a clearinghouse for information on volunteerism hosted by UNV with the support of CIVICUS and IAVE, among other organisations. Homeless put their hope in handmade bricks Source: IRIN News The use of handmade bricks is revolutionising housing in Chinhoyi, 120km north of the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, where housing estates built by poor people have mushroomed in a development that has caught the attention of the housing ministry. "We hope to come up with a new dynamic housing policy that addresses the needs of the poor, together with enabling legislation on standards, as well as how the homeless can access affordable funding," housing ministry secretary David Munyoro told IRIN. For details, click here. We can afford to save the planet Source: The Washington Post Here is the good news on the climate front: The Europeans have ratcheted down their emissions targets, the Chinese are getting serious about solar power and energy efficiency, and Washington is lumbering toward a carbon cap. These are steps toward the long-held goal: cutting global warming pollution 80 percent by 2050. For details, click here. Children and families speak Out against poverty: 17 October, International Day for the Eradication of Poverty By Matt Davies, International Movement ATD Fourth World Thousands across the world joined an ever growing global movement of people refusing extreme poverty this October 17th, International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, bringing to the fore the experience and voices of children and families who refuse to accept that their fellow citizens continue to live in extreme poverty in both the global south and north. They united under the common message, "Wherever men and women are condemned to live in extreme poverty human rights are violated. To come together to ensure these rights be respected is our common duty." For details, click here. Nestlé under pressure to renew commercial ties with Mugabe Source: All Africa.com International food giant Nestlé has this week come under growing pressure from groups loyal to Robert Mugabe and his family, to renew its recently severed commercial ties with the First Family. The group ended its commercial link with the Grace Mugabe owned Gushongo Dairy Estate, a farm which was seized at the height of the land 'reform' programme, over international condemnation of the relationship. In petty retaliation, the company's bank accounts in Zimbabwe were frozen, but although that situation has been rectified, the pressure on Nestlé to reverse its decision has kept building. For details, click here. ZESN staff member arrested in Dete, Hwange Source: The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) staff members Thulani Ndhlovu and Ndodana Ndhlovu were arrested on the evening of 28 October in Dete, Hwange for conducting a public outreach workshop at 'Cross Mabale' allegedly without police clearance. Ndodhana Ndhlovu was subsequently released but Thulani has remained in custody and is being charged with contravening section 24 of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) which, as ZESN and many in civic and human rights circles as well as the legal profession have repeatedly criticized, is unjust and unfit for any civilized society. ZESN has in the past criticized partisan policing and this latest arrest is a worrisome continuation of the same trend. For details, click here. |  Are you one of the missing 83? One CIVICUS member for every UN member state, that's the goal of CIVICUS' 1 for 1 Membership campaign. Click here. | CIVICUS Member profile Kimmage Development Studies Centre Kimmage Development Studies Centre was established in 1974, in Dublin. While initially founded to provide training for missionaries to enable them to work more effectively in cross cultural situations, the new courses offered soon attracted interest a growing number of new secular NGOs also established around this time. Their mission is to promote critical thinking and action for justice, equality and the eradication of poverty in the world. They aim to achieve this mission by facilitating the education and training of individual practitioners and groups working for social, economic and political change in society and so enabling all practitioners to work effectively for the holistic development of all. This is done by offering courses in 3 main ways: full-time academic programmes, short specialised training courses (see website - the Dtalk programme), and a new distance learning programme called KODE (Kimmage Open and Distance Education). They work primarily in Ireland where they cater for up to about 100 students each year, but also in partnership with a training institute in Tanzania in offering their BA programme. They plan to offer courses through the KODE programme with partners in Kenya, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, and Zambia. They are most pleased with the work being done through the Kimmage East Africa office - an action research capacity building project for civil society groups to address Sustainable Environmental Management and poverty reduction in the drylands of Tanzania. For details, click here. |  One World Trust Source: One World Trust The One World Trust is an independent think tank that conducts research, develops recommendations and advocates for reform to make policy and decision-making processes in global governance more accountable to the people they affect now and in the future, and to ensure that international laws are strengthened and applied equally to all. To achieve this we develop practical tools and recommendations in support of organisational reform, identifying gaps in the accountability of governance systems, and highlighting opportunities for cross-sector learning. For details, click here. CSO SRI Portal Source: One World Trust The One World Trust, has launched a portal on civil society self-regulation which includes a database listing over 320 initiatives (codes of conduct, certification schemes, working groups, self-assessments and information services) across 80 countries. Each initiative has a unique page with summaries of its content; contact details; areas and types of activities the initiative addresses; a list of participant organisations; compliance, monitoring and sanctioning mechanisms; among others. The launch of our database provides the first ever detailed stock-taking of the content and mechanisms of CSO self-regulation worldwide. In addition, the portal offers an interactive map of CSO self-regulatory initiatives linking directly to the database, briefing papers, and the latest news on CSO self-regulation. The portal will be an important tool for civil society organisations, donors, researchers and the general public interested in the self-regulation of the sector. For details, click here. |  CIVICUS seeks nominations of individuals to stand for election to its Board of Directors Deadline: 29 January 2010 It is our pleasure to invite you to submit nominations for the upcoming CIVICUS Board elections. We sincerely hope you will take up this opportunity to participate in the governance of CIVICUS and that it will inspire you to renew your membership of our organisation. At the time of submitting your nomination, it is not vital that your membership is up to date. However, to be eligible to vote for the final candidates you will need to be a paid up member of CIVICUS. For details, click here. STARS Impact Awards Deadline: 19 January 2010 Established as an annual award, the STARS Impact Awards support organisations committed to achieving excellence in the provision of services to disadvantaged children and encourage the replication of effective approaches and practices. Each Award provides USD 100,000 of unrestricted funding as well as consultancy support tailored to meet the needs of the recipients. For details, click here. | Tell a friend Would you like to share this newsletter with a friend? Please forward their e-mail address to subscriptions@civicus.org. 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