Issue 30, September 2005
IN THIS ISSUE
EVENTS
DEVELOPMENT
§
“Disability Rights in a Changing World”, November 05 – Bahrain
§
Water,
Heath and environment 2005 - September 05 – Egypt
MEDIA
§
Global forum for media development (GFMD)
October 05 – Jordan
NEWS
§ New Arab environmental organization to
address overdue sector problems
GENDER/ THE
REGION
§ Activists in Lebanon campaign to grant women
equal citizenship.
§ African Women's Development Fund AWDF
§ Iraq, the Constitution and Women
§ Homosexual community in Lebanon.
§ Palestinian woman to reach Europe's highest peak
§ Rights group urges Afghanistan to protect women
candidates
§ Needs of blind women in Lebanon.
HUMAN RIGHTS
§ Prince Talal calls for reform and a
Saudi constitution
§ Reports blames Lebanon for Palestinian refugees'
plight
REPORTS &
BOOKS & ARTICLES
DEVELOPMENT/ THE
REGION
§ Economic integration among the League of
Arab states
§ Emerging trends in urban livelihoods
§ Inequality threatens MENA development
despite decline in poverty – United Nation 2005
§ The Tsunami's impact on women - Oxfam (2005)
§ MENA pension systems in dire need of
reform – World Bank
GENDER/ THE
REGION
§ Freedom of Iraqi women
§ Israel and the occupied territories: conflict, occupation
and patriarchy, women carry the burden Amnesty International (AI)
(2005)
§ Promoting Global sexual and reproductive
health - ICPD at Ten - (UNFPA) 2005.
§ Women's right and the meaning of
citizenship in Kuwait
– the Tharwa Project (2005)
§ Women in Afghanistan– ActionAid
International (2005)
TRAINING
MATERIALS/ TOOL KITS
§ Child Protection Policies &
Procedures
§ Engendering ICT Toolkit - World Bank
2005.
§ Gender and Training – Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation – SDC
(2005)
§ Measuring Empowerment: Cross
Disciplinary Perspectives
§ NGO-in-a-box
EVENTS
§
“Disability Rights in a Changing World”, Nov 14-16, 2005
- Manama - Kingdom of Bahrain
The Rehabilitation
International Arab Regional Conference affirms two important matters
of great importance; First is to work hand in hand to highlight and define the
basic rights of people with disabilities in a rapidly changing world, and
second, to put in mind the rights need cooperation and coordination of effort
of various sectors, including the input
and contribution of the disabled people themselves, their organizations,
families and members of the community.
More details and information about the conference: www.ri-arab.org
.
§
Water,
Heath and environment 2005 - Sep 13-15 2005 - Tanta,
Egypt
The conference is the first in a series of events initiated by the
Department of Water Engineering on "Remediation and Restoration of Water
Resources Ecosystems". This first event will present the most recent
technological and scientific developments associated with the health, water,
environment, hydrology, ecology and all water related sciences.
More details: http://topics.developmentgateway.org/water/calendar/showCalendarItemDetails.do~activeCalendarItem=15010185?intcmp=927
§
Global forum for media
development (GFMD) Oct
1-3 2005, Amman – Jordan
This forum seeks to address challenges and
opportunities facing the media development sector. Participants are expected
from over 100 countries, including independent journalists, broadcasters,
activists and representatives from media support non-governmental organizations.
More details: http://www.comminit.com/events_calendar/2005-events/events-3996.html
Contact: contact [at] gfmd [dot] info
NEWS
ENVIRONMENT
§
New
Arab environmental organization to address overdue sector problems
With the financial costs of increasing environmental
degradation reaching astronomic figures in Lebanon, the need for implementing
environmentally sound projects is becoming more and more of a pressing issue,
according to Arab officials gathered to form a regional body to address the
issue.
More details: www.dailystar.com.lb/articles.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=18286
GENDER/ THE
REGION
§
Activists
in Lebanon
campaign to grant women equal citizenship rights
With the aim of securing a Lebanese woman's right to
pass on her nationality to her children, a national campaign for equal
citizenship rights for men and women kicked off on August the 24th
at the Press Federation. Organized by the National Meeting to eliminate all
Forms of Discrimination against Women, the event was attended by representatives
of several non-governmental, human and women's rights organizations, alongside
independent feminists and human rights activists.
More
details: www.dailystar.com.lb/articles.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=17934
§
African
Women's Development Fund AWDF
AWDF
Funds local, national,
sub-regional and regional organizations in Africa
working towards women's empowerment.
The AWDF funds work in the areas of women's human
rights; political participation; peace building; health, reproductive rights
and HIV/AIDS; and economic empowerment.
Rolling Deadline: http://www.comminit.com/awards2005/scholarships2004/awards-1026.html
§
Iraq, the Constitution and Women
Drafting a constitution and presenting it for public
referendum is a critical step on the path to legitimate democracy. The language
contained in the preamble to the Constitution and in its articles will serve as
an anchor for the future direction of the country. As in many post-conflict
countries, Iraq
has the opportunity to firmly protect women's rights and ensure that gender
equality is at the foundation of all its laws and policies.
§
Lebanon's homosexual community speaks out
In a country that enjoys a rather relaxed attitude
toward issues concerning sex - at least, compared to the other, more
conservative countries of the region - Lebanese homosexuals still suffer from
prejudice and discrimination. "A day does not go by where I don't have to
deal with people who point me out and call me names.
More
details: www.dailystar.com.lb/articles.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=18052
§
Palestinian
becomes first Arab woman to reach Europe's
highest peak
A Palestinian woman has become the first Arab woman to
scale Mount Elbrus, which at 5.642 meters is the highest peak in Europe, and used her achievement to bring a message of
peace to the world. Mountain climber Suzanne al-Houby, who is originally from
Yafa but today lives in Dubai, reached the top
of Mount Elbrus on August 1st.
More details: www.dailystar.com.lb/articles.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=4&article_id=17987
§
Rights
group urges Afghanistan
to protect women candidates
"Afghanistan
must do more to protect women standing in next month's legislative elections
from attacks and threats by warlords and Islamic militants;" Human Rights
Watch (HRW) said in a report. The report came as Afghanistan launched a month-long
campaign period for the landmark parliamentary and local elections.
More
details: www.dailystar.com.lb/articles.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=17720
§
Workshop in Lebanon focuses on needs of blind
women
The Youth
Association for the Blind (YAB) organized a two-day workshop on August 25th – 26th,
2005, in Beirut.
The workshop was specifically for blind women and those with vision
impairments, and it discussed an informative report which highlighted the various difficulties the visually impaired
women face. It also focused on introducing skills, information and activities
which would enhance those women's ability to become involved in community
organizations and advocacy both in their local communities and, in the broader
perspective of national and international contexts.
More
details: www.dailystar.com.lb/articles.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=17966
HUMAN
RIGHTS
§
Prince
Talal calls for reform and a Saudi constitution
A senior member of the Saudi royal family has called
on Arab rulers to introduce change before they are forced to do so under
pressure and demanded the introduction of a constitution in Saudi Arabia.
More details: www.dailystar.com.lb/articles.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=2&article_id=18052
§
Reports
blames Lebanon
for Palestinian refugee's plight
According to a report from the Frontiers Association,
the Lebanese government and United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) are
strongly to blame for the "legal and practical gaps" in Palestinian
refugee status.
More
details: www.dailystar.com.lb/articles.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=2&article_id=18016
REPORTS & BOOKS & ARTICLES
DEVELOPMENT/
THE REGION
§
Economic
integration among the League of Arab states: an empirical evidence
This paper investigates the extent of
economic integration among five members of the league of Arab States namely Egypt, Jordon, Saudi Arabia, Sudan
and Syria,
by empirically testing the nature of intra-trade activities in the grouping.
Five of the major trading partners are included in this study: France, Germany,
Italy, UK and US.
Available
online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC19502
§
Emerging
trends in urban livelihoods
This paper
is part of a larger research project that aims at identifying indicators of
upward or downward movements in the continuum of poverty in Afghanistan, and to isolate characteristics and
determinants that shape and differentiate various situations of the urban poor
in Afghanistan.
It seeks to identify trends that have emerged from community discussions and
the first four months of empirical fieldwork in each city under study.
The three central and interrelated themes include:
1. Access to regular sources and different
forms of credit.
2. Security of housing and tenure
3. Maintenance and quality of social
relations.
Each of these major themes is elaborated upon in this
paper which is available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC19339
§
Inequality
threatens MENA development despite decline in poverty
According to a United
Nations Report on the World Social Situation 2005, the inequalities persist and
threaten development strides in the Middle East and North Africa despite sharp
declines in poverty from 1981 to 2001, The share of people in the region living
on less than $1 a day declined from 5% in 1981to 2% in 2001, and the share of
people living on less than $2 a day fell
from 29 % to 23 %. At the same time, however, per capita income levels in the
Middle East and North Africa have been
steadily declining relative to the average per capita income in the wealthier
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.
More details: www.dailystar.com.lb/articles.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=180529
§
The
Tsunami's impact on women Produced by: Oxfam (2005)
This briefing looks at the impact of the tsunami in Indonesia, India,
and Sri Lanka,
and in particular at how it has affected women. It seeks to promote debate and
awareness of the issues and to ensure that the recovery phase of the relief
effort integrates the problems raised. It concludes with some recommendations
about how the problems raised can start being addressed.
Available
online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC19284
§
MENA
pension systems in dire need of reform - World Bank
The World Bank said pension systems in Middle East and
North Africa are under growing financial
stress and urgently need reform. In a report released today entitled Pensions
in the Middle East and North Africa, the World
Bank called for a series of measures that would allow governments to gradually
their unsustainable pension systems.
www.dailystar.com.lb/articles.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=17901
GENDER/ THE
REGION
§
Don't
stifle the freedom of Iraqi women
The future of Iraq now in the hands of the Iraqi
National Assembly after the writing committee of the Iraqi constitution
submitted its draft Monday August 22nd evening. The document will
serve as the foundation of the future Iraq.
www.dailystar.com.lb/articles.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=17894
§
Israel and the occupied territories: conflict, occupation
and patriarchy, women carry the burden Amnesty International (AI) (2005)
This report – which is part of the global Amnesty
campaign to stop violence against women – deals with the impact of violence
against women in the Occupied Territories in the context of conflict, including
violence committed by the Israeli state or its agents; the collapse of the rule
of law within the Occupied Territories leading to a lack of implementation of
existing laws; and the worsening effects of existing discrimination in both law
and practice.
Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC19353
§
Promoting
Global sexual and reproductive health - ICPD at Ten: the world reaffirms Cairo (United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) 2005.
This
document reviews and appraises progress on meeting the goals and targets set
out at the International Conference on Population and Development.
The authors
examine progress on these goals in the context of various international
meetings that occurred in 2004, including of which the United Nations Economic
and Social Commission for Western Asia and League of Arab States, 19-21
November 2004, Beirut, Lebanon.
Available online: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC19297
§
Women's
right and the meaning of citizenship in Kuwait – the Tharwa Project 2005
This paper
examines the feminist campaign in Kuwait to bring women the right to
vote, particularly in the context of the struggle for power between religious
and secular political groups.
The author traces the history of the feminist movement and the tension between
various religious and secular factions in the monarchy and government. The
paper concludes that governmental reform will open the possibility of changing
the Kuwaiti political universe in a positive direction.
Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC19323
§
Women
in Afghanistan:
challenges and opportunities for women's organizations in Afghan civil society
– ActionAid International
(2005)
This report offers a brief overview of
some of the key challenges and concerns faced by women's NGOs within Afghan
civil society as women's rights and opportunities are pursued in the context of
national reconstruction and development. The authors explore issues including
how much international aid actually targets women, capacity building programmes
aimed towards women, leadership opportunities for women, relationships between
local and international NGOs, as well as examining how various facets of
international trade and development are affecting opportunities for women in Afghanistan.
Available
online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC18655
TRAINING MATERIALS/
TOOLKITS
§
Child
Protection Policies & Procedures Toolkit: How to Create a Child-Safe Organization
This toolkit includes: information and guidelines on
the recommended principles and steps involved in developing organizational
child protection policies and procedures; a set of exercises which are designed
to help users understand and work through the steps described; and guidance
notes for facilitators to enable the material contained within the toolkit to
be adapted into a training course.
http://www.comminit.com/materials/ma2005/materials-2330.html
§
Engendering
ICT Toolkit (World Bank) 2005
The purpose
of this toolkit is to identify opportunities, highlight innovative projects and
activities, and suggest how the World Bank and other agencies can help realize
the
potential for gender equality in access to and use of information and
communication technologies. This toolkit should also interest development
practitioners and researchers interested in gender-equitable development within
their respective fields.
Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC19324
§
Gender
and Training: Mainstreaming gender equality and the planning, realization and
evaluation of training – Swiss Agency for Development and
Cooperation (SDC / DSC) (2005)
This paper
provides detailed information and practical incentive for mainstreaming gender
equality in the planning, realization and evaluating of training programmes. It
is based on the concept of didactics that promotes gender equality. Following the
introduction, the second section of this paper describes the five levels of
gender equality upon which the paper is based, and the third section contains
practical tips and suggestions for dealing with this issue.
Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC19236
§
Measuring
Empowerment: Cross Disciplinary Perspectives
This book explores aspects of empowerment and its
relationship to poverty reduction by outlining a conceptual framework that can
be used to monitor and evaluate programmes centered on empowerment approaches.
It presents the perspectives of 27 researchers and practitioners in economics,
political science, sociology, psychology, anthropology, and demography, all of
whom are grappling in different ways with the challenge of measuring
empowerment. http://www.comminit.com/materials/ma2005/materials-2294.html
§
NGO-in-a-box
NGO-in-a-box is a physical box of CDs consisting of a
complimentary set of peer-reviewed and selected Free and Open Source Software
(F/OSS) solutions tailored to the needs of not-for-profit, non-governmental organizations
(NGOs). In order to keep the product current and adapt to changing and regional
user needs, the Tactical Technology Collective recommends establishing
"a community of regional point people" to review use and make
recommendations on how to adapt the box to suit the needs of their users.
http://www.comminit.com/materials/ma2005/materials-2370.html