DPKO Vacancy Announcement: "Jobs in UN Peacekeeping Operations"

Rest in peace: "Collaborateur de RFI depuis 1990, âgé de 48 ans, Jean HELENE a occupé successivement les postes de correspondant à Nairobi pour l'Afrique orientale et l'Océan Indien (de 1990 à 1998) et journaliste au service Afrique à Paris de 1998 à 1999. Il était, depuis 1999, Envoyé Spécial Permanent à Libreville (Gabon), chargé de l'Afrique centrale."

Jean was a well-liked and well-respected veteran among Africa correspondents and it's a sad morning that we hear he was shot in Abidjan possibly because of anti-French and anti-RFI feeling.

New website for United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea .::

Another science publishing thing...: "A new on-line journal wants to radically alter the exchange of scientific information by making vital research available for free to anyone who logs on the Internet.
If the Public Library of Science's on-line journal succeeds, it could break the stranglehold that expensive, subscription-only journals have on the publication of many scientific breakthroughs."

More initiatives on scholarly and scientific journals for developing countries:

INASP | Information Page: "International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications"

Scientici journals for developing countries: "The food and agriculture organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has launched an initiative to help students, researchers and scientists from developing countries gain free and low cost access to scientific literature.

The initiative, known as AGORA (access to global online research in agriculture), will provide access, via an online web portal, to more than 400 scientific journals in food, nutrition, agriculture, as well as biological, environmental and social sciences. "

Comment: There seem to be a large number of these initiatives. Do they work? Which are the best?

Connectivity Africa approves funding for four projects :: Connectivity Africa Website :: Connectity in Africa

Petersberg Prize: "The Petersberg Prize will recognize the most exemplary contribution in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for development during the last ten years. The awardee will receive the €100,000 Prize. Nominations are due by February 1, 2004."

The Rafto Prize 2003

The Professor Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize for 2003 is awarded to Paulos Tesfagiorgis, Eritrea, former head of the Eritrean Relief Association. (via www.eritrea1.org)

oneworld.tv * OneWorld/Staying Alive World AIDS Day 2003 Competition: "OneWorld/Staying Alive World AIDS Day 2003 Competition

A GREAT opportunity... to use your video skills creatively to get a winning message on HIV/AIDS to a global audience.
MTV Staying Alive and One World are looking for the best 30 second or 60 second PSA (public service announcement) in either video or audio..."

FAO: SD : Knowledge :Setting-up a News Agency on Development Issues in Africa: "Partly thanks to a partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) has set-up a news agency on development issues, including food security. Called the Simbani1 News Agency, it will reach all of Africa and will make use of FAO's technical information on food security, editing it into radio format, thus making it accessible to a wide audience, including to people in the most remote rural areas. Information dissemination will rely on the adaptation to rural populations' needs, on the use of local languages and on the vast community radio network, radio still being the most popular communication medium in Africa."

Africa jobs - - Director of Field Operations - Africa - Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

Jobs in Africa - USAID Administrative Project Manager - Congo Basin Forest Partnership

Web Spends: SA publishers still in search of the perfect stats package : "[ITWeb, 7 Oct 2003] The SA Online Publishers' Association (OPA) says it has chosen RedSheriff for the supply and delivery of a Web analytics infrastructure to its members. The OPA was formed earlier this year to collaborate on adopting a standardised Web site traffic measurement system."

More jobs: Country Director - Journalists for Human Rights - Ghana

Job - Director - Africa Now - UK

Another NGO with a silly name...: "Stop It Now! seeks a CEO to report to the Board of Directors and oversee the development and management of Stop It Now!, including its mission and policies, operations and programs, financial status and all aspects of the organization's administration. Upon joining the organization, the CEO will work closely with the founding CEO during a period in which the Founder is available to support the transition, particularly in the areas of external affairs and fundraising."

Job Posting - Donor Coordinator - AMREF: "Donor Coordinator

The African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization organization (NGO) whose mission is ‘to improve the health of disadvantaged people in Africa as a means for them to escape poverty and improve the quality of their lives”. AMREF has over 500 employees throughout Africa, its Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, and programmes in Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda, and is in partnership with 12 National Offices in North America and Europe that build awareness and support fundraising for AMREF Africa. AMREF continues to focus on retaining its position as a leader in health development in Africa.

THE POSITION
Based in Nairobi, and reporting to the Director of Programmes, the Donor Coordinator will provide support to AMREF project and programme staff as they prepare grant proposals and report on grants received and will work through AMREF’s country and Programme senior management. In addition the donor coordinator will coordinate the preparation of grant proposals and reports to institutional donors. The donor coordinator will also liaise with the Director of Communications and Fund Raising to ensure that appropriate PR support is available for grant submissions"

Global Knowledge Partnership: "GKP/PANOS Media Award - Reporting on the Information Society

The inaugural GKP/PANOS Media Award, given jointly by the Global Knowledge Partnership and Panos, aims to encourage and bring to international recognition thoughtful and incisive reporting on developing countries' progress to becoming 'Information Societies.'
Four awards of $2,000 each will be made for published journalism by developing country journalists (print, radio, TV or web) that goes beyond describing projects or new investment initiatives to analyse broader questions such as the social impact of ICTs, particularly on rural or disadvantaged groups, or national and global communication policy issues.
The winning entries will be disseminated internationally and honoured at the World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva, December 2003.
To submit a piece of work for consideration, send a clipping, audio or video tape, transcript or web reference by email to: award@panoslondon.org.uk; or by post to: Kitty Warnock, Panos Institute, 9 White Lion St, London N1 9PD, UK
Deadline for submissions: Oct 15th 2003"

African Post Offices in trouble: "At a recent meeting of the West African regional organisation of postal services (CPAO), delegates shared the pain they were taking from the impact of e-mail on their business. Business losses of between 5-15% were discussed. Although letters will never completely disappear, African postal services are a great deal more vulnerable than their developed world counterparts to e-competition: they have much lower volumes and the level of security they offer is often far from impressive. But all was not doom and gloom for these monopoly postal companies. Several pointed out that the revenues from their own cybercafes now exceeded those from their traditional post office activities." (Balancing Act)

Congratulations to Corinne Dufka for her $500,000 MacArthur grant.

AFROMET - The Association for the Return of The Maqdala or Magdala Ethiopian Treasures: "AFROMET - The Association for the Return of The Maqdala (or Magdala) Ethiopian Treasures - is an international organisation dedicated to retrieving priceless treasures looted during the British invasion of Ethiopia in 1867-8. "