Southern Hemisphere is currently offering two new exciting courses in Negotiation Skills and Human Rights Indicators. Both courses offer the most up to date material, with facilitation by experts in the fields. Due to popular interest, and demand Southern Hemisphere is also running its Project Monitoring and Evaluation Course for a third time this year. This course is currently on offer as an in-house programme.

The Internet Society (ISOC) has recently launched a new series of papers directed to their members. You can see some of the briefings on their web site (primarily very technical papers on Internet development). It is currently soliciting papers on any digital divide issues.

The Youth Developments Network (YDN) is a national network of seven youth development NGO's and currently seeks a Project Co-ordinator: Research and Documentation.

Tanzania is determined to see to it that no child is denied the right to education just because parents cannot afford to pay, and the government has committed itself since July to providing basic primary education free of charge to all, Tanzanian envoy Christine Kapalata told a UN General Assembly debate on child rights on 26 October.

African groups call for a new debt initiative to tackle the continent's crippling debt crisis. Structural Adjustment Programmes and the HIPC Initiative have failed sub-Saharan Africa, creditors must now donate debts to non-governmental organisations for developing local communities.

Using Ghana as a case study, this report shows why rapid enrolment expansion in many developing countries, and subsequent concerns over worsening educational quality, has prompted renewed interest in teacher education.

This school near Durban has excelled itself in more ways than one by providing special care for children with special needs.

Children who have been through traumatic events need special care and attention. Here is a brief on a workshop where handy tips on dealing with such children were discussed in New York.

West Africa's first pontifical university is to be inaugurated later this month. Located near Enugu, Nigeria, the varsity will offer courses in theology, philosophy, social science, human resources, entrepreneurship, agriculture among others.

A Ugandan government diplomat to the United Nations, Catherine Otiti, on Tuesday told a committee of the General Assembly that "the rights of children are the supreme priority in all programme processes in Uganda", and that the government was particularly
concerned about their situation in northern and western parts of the
country.

The State Department's annual report on international religious freedom has failed to single out a number of egregious violators that are members of the U.S.-led "anti-terrorism" coalition, Human Rights Watch said today.

The Scholarship Application form for the XIV International AIDS Conference is now available on the web.

The Certificate in Managing NGO Resource Centres will provide participants with the opportunity to gain or improve skills in managing information, as well as to analyse the dynamics of indigenous knowledge, appropriate media, information sharing and networking. DATE: 13 May - 7 June, 2002; VENUE: Antigonish, NS, CANADA

Distance Volunteering is open to all those willing to contribute virtually through the Internet in philanthropic, humanitarian and social issues by means of links, exchange of thoughts and related information that can serve to encourage and help others in this field.

As the preparations for the 23rd session of our International Human Rights Training Program go ahead we can expect an inspiring three-week program, and the opportunity to meet more than 100 participants from approximately 50 countries who will attend the IHRTP in 2002.

The Global Partnership (GP) for NGO Studies, Education and Training is the outcome of co-operation between BRAC, the Organization of Rural Associations for Progress (ORAP), Zimbabwe and the World Learning's School for International Training (SIT), Vermont, USA. It offers Postgraduate Diploma and Masters Degree program. In the past GP had students from about 30 countries from around the world.

USAID is pleased to announce a Request for Applications (RFA) for an endowed fund tentatively entitled Local Initiatives for Tolerance and Stability (LIFTS) in Southeastern Europe. LIFTS will complement existing USAID programs in the region by awarding small grants to local entities to implement projects that promote peace and ethnic tolerance in the region. Activities to be supported by LIFTS will include, but are not limited to, the areas of conflict prevention and resolution and minority rights. USAID will contribute approximately $10 million denominated in Euros to LIFTS, which the partner(s) will be required to match with a contribution of at least $10 million.

According to information collected by RSF, on 18 October 2001, Mr. Barre, head of Sogapresse, asked that shipments of "Le Gri-Gri International" be stopped. Yet, a week earlier, Sogapresse had ordered more copies of the newspaper because of high demand for it in Gabon.

According to reports, on 19 October Mr Tiogo, publication director of the weekly Le Canard Liber was sentenced by a court in Niamey to six months in jail and ordered to pay fines and damages totalling 5.1 million CFA francs for "defamation". He was immediately imprisoned.