Mois : mai 2007

ESCRnet.org links Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) advocates around the world so they can strengthen their own work through the use of human rights tools and approaches; strengthen each other’s work through joint actions, campaigns, and information-sharing; and build the field of ESCR globally though the development of new tools, strategies, knowledge and advocacy.

Working Groups;
Activities & Actions;
News & Events;
Caselaw & Database;
Contact.

ESCR-Net seeks to strengthen economic, social and cultural rights by working with organizations and activists worldwide to facilitate mutual learning and strategy sharing, develop new tools and resources, engage in advocacy, and provide information-sharing and networking. (full text).

The main objective of the Confederation is to enhance the impact of European development NGOs vis-à-vis the European Institutions by combining expertise and accountability.

Report 2007 on Development aid: Europe fails to live up to its promises;
Rising trends in the Development co-operation;
Publications;
Press;
Interesting links;
Contact.

NGOs want European governments to:

• Provide genuine increases in European aid;
• Agree clear and binding year-on-year timetables to reach, at a minimum, the 2010 and 2015 targets; with genuine aid resources;
• Stop including refugee, student costs and debt relief in official aid reporting;
• Improve transparency in aid reporting;
• End all tied aid;
• Ensure aid is focused on helping the world’s poor;
• Take further steps to make aid more effective.

About: CONCORD is the European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development. Its 19 international networks and 22 national associations from the European Member States and the candidate countries represent more than 1600 European NGOs vis-à-vis the European Institutions.

Linked with Bibek Debroy – India, with Body mass politic, and with ‘We are 30 years behind China in terms of development‘.

The Manthan Award is an Indian initiative by Digital Empowerment Foundation, India as the national initiative of World Summit Award, to select and promote the best practices in e-Content and Creativity in India. It involves representatives from each state and union territory of India and visualizes the bridging of digital divide and narrowing of the content gap as its overall goal.

A message of empowerment, by Bibek Debroy;
News, press coverage;
Contact.

Digital Empowerment foundation works in the area of Development in relations to Information Communication Technology with especial focus in research and assessment and recognizing the un-recognised. Ironically, most of the movements in the ICT for Development sector are more about technology and less about final deliverables or content in general. DEF observed that most of the innovative initiatives at the grassroots level using ICT do not get attention and recognition which could easily enable them to move forward.

Continuer la lecture de « The Manthan AIF-Award »

Linked with Jo Wilding – England, http://word.world-citizenship.org/wp-archive/1287

Circus2Iraq C2I is a Circus going to different countries with traumatised children. there is no explaining homepage, but pages showing all the famous projects, like the following:

• Circus2Mongolia;
• in Bethany and Jerusalem Suburbs;
• Palestinian Shiraa Circus;
• Masrah Al Arab-Beirut;
• Wishlist;
• Want to run away with the circus?;

… and many other pages.

Linked with Yanar Mohammed – Irak, and with Honor Killings in the New Iraq, The Murder of Du’a Aswad.

In 2003, Yanar Mohammed founded the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), which shelters Iraqi women targeted in honor killings and sectarian violence (both on the rise since the war and occupation). It also monitors women in jail and assists formerly detained women, such as prostitutes. And, most visibly, OWFI speaks out loudly and insistently for women’s legal rights and secular law in opposition to Iraq’s growing Islamism. Her demands shed light on the precarious position of women under radical Islamism but, perhaps more to the question at hand, they confirm the disastrous consequences of the Iraq war and the political repercussions of occupation, which, according to Mohammed, has unleashed militant fundamentalism that is proving impossible to subdue. (full text).

Yanar Mohammed tells about OWFI: « We mainly work out of our main office in Baghdad and also in the southern city of Nasiriyah. In Kirkuk we have representatives but we couldn?t maintain the office. We still have our representatives working from their homes. They open their homes when a woman needs sheltering ». (full text May 11, 2007).

See the organisation on wikipedia. See also a better article on the french wikipedia.

Continuer la lecture de « the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq OWFI »