Jobs: FilmAid Kenya-Sudan

"FilmAid International (FilmAid) is looking for a qualified Kenyan to fill the position of Project Officer – Repatriation for its Kenya program. The position is responsible for collecting information on conditions in South Sudan to be disseminated among refugees in Kakuma, and for providing support to the repatriation project and overall programs. FilmAid is seeking a committed individual who can ensure the efficient collection and organization of information on South Sudan. "

Jobs: Western Union African diaspora marketing - London 

"Western Union, one of the world's leading money transfer companies, helps businesses and consumers to send and receive money by transferring their funds within minutes among 250 000 locations in 200 countries. As part of our aggressive growth plans over the next five years we are seeking to grow our UK business and have an exciting career opportunity for an Assistant Marketing Manager — Africa Diaspora, based in Hammersmith, London."

Free one-size-fits all text books

"Leading professors worldwide will be invited to contribute chapters that will then be compiled into up-to-date texts using the software behind Wikipedia, the popular free-access online encyclopaedia.

An international advisory board drawn from universities in Colombia, Egypt, Malaysia, South Africa, Uganda and the United Kingdom has been set up to oversee the books' creation."

[Is this another fabulous way to save Africa? And the reference to oh-so-hot wiki software is worrying. These could have been done at any point since the invention of WordPerfect (or WordStar) and the floppy disk. What has wiki-ness got to do with anything?]

Jobs: Knight International Journalism Fellowship
The International Center for Journalists and The Knight International Journalism Fellowships program are pleased to announce that the program is now accepting applications from qualified media professionals of any nationality.

Private military contractor for Somali transitional government?

 

An American private security company, Select Armor, has been planning military operations in support of President Abdullahi Yusuf's Transitional Federal Government in Somalia and raising questions about an attack on Mogadishu, according to documents obtained by Africa Confidential. The documents refer to Uganda's willingness to secure arms supplies using its own end-user certificates (in contravention of the UN arms embargo) and makes disparaging remarks about 'the fucks' in the United Nations who have been 'snooping around' Select Armor's personnel.

Gapminder

 

[While trying to figure out what TED is... I came to this. Impressive animation of World Bank data.]

TED Africa registration now open

 

TED Africa will be in 2007. Apply for the 100 scholarships that will be available to attendees from Africa.

Last moments of Steve Irwin, Crocodile Hunter

REPORTER: How close would he have been to the ray at the time?

JOHN STAINTON: Umm, probably, a metre maybe? Coming over the top of it.

REPORTER: Did Steve say anything before died?

JOHN STAINTON: He was underwater.

Job: Regional Advocacy and Campaigns Co-ordinator, Oxfam, Pretoria

 

"Working with the Policy and Campaigns departments in Oxford as well as local regional programmes, you'll be responsible for the development and delivery of regional advocacy and campaigning strategies. You'll provide regional policy analysis on relevant institutions and partners and will support advocacy and programme staff, in six Southern African countries, in the development of direct lobbying and campaigning."

So Many Fabulous Ways to Save Africa!

 

"You won't be left out if you take one of the new Safaris for Saviors. Forget the traditional Big Five tour to see elephant, lion, rhino, leopard, and buffalo. (So 2004.) The latest Fashionable Five are the crowded hospital, a smelly urban slum, the school without a roof, a basket-weaving shop run by the disabled, and (to end on a high note) a micro-loan project for big-bottomed women in colorful clothes. All available, with air conditioning. You can book online."

Brain Drain: 51% of Kenya's doctors are abroad. 81% of Liberia's nurses have left.

 

"How many doctors and nurses have left Africa? Which countries did they leave? Where have they settled? To answer these questions, CGD's Michael Clemens and Gunilla Pettersson have compiled a dataset of the cumulative bilateral net flows of African-born physicians and nurses to the nine most important destination countries."

 Full report from CGD: http://www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/9267/

 

Jobs: Bloomberg reporter, Lagos: "Bloomberg News is seeking an experienced reporter for general assignment duties in our Lagos bureau."

Jobs: World Bank Senior Financial Specialist - Africa Water and Sanitation Progame - Nairobi, Kenya

ICT: 4,000 CDMA subscribers in Kenya: The CCK announces: "Out of the total 25,038 new fixed phone subscribers, the two active local loop operators, Flashcom and Popote Wireless, contributed a total of 3,995 subscribers, representing a contribution of 15 per cent."

Money: DeniAfrica: "It is estimated that sub-Saharan Africa receives about $7.7 billion in inward remittances, with Nigeria accounting for nearly $3 billion."