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Collective for Research and Training on
Development Action (CRTD.A)
Independent Resource and Information Services (IRIS)
Development e-Brief
March3, 2005: Issue 22

The Women’s Learning Partnership for Rights, Development and Peace (WLP)
“The Symposium will be held on 1 March, 2005 in New York in conjunction with the 10^th anniversary of the Forth World Conference on Women in Beijing. The WLP Symposium will enable activists from Muslim-majority countries to come to the table and share best practices on one of the critical areas in the Beijing Platform: protecting women from violence and ensuring full achievement of women’s human rights. For event details: www.learningpartnership.org/events/2005/vawsymposium.html

Iraq: NGO Conference- FOB Danger (Tikrit)
27 February 2005 With the advent of democracy in Iraq it is time to explore new horizons. Come and join other international governmental and non-governmental agencies in planning and protecting Iraq's future developments. www.topics.developmentgateway.org/ngo/rc/ItemDetail.do~1030277?intcmp=700

"Small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in industrial development. They have the flexibility to respond quickly to market changes and opportunities, to develop specialized product niches, and to rapidly absorb technological innovations." www.topics.developmentgateway.org/gender/rc/ItemDetail.do~1030305?intcmp=700

Audit: U.S. Lost Track of $9 Billion in Funds for Iraq
"Nearly $9 billion spent on reconstruction in Iraq is unaccounted for because of inefficiencies and bad management, according to a watchdog report." For more details: http://topics.developmentgateway.org/aideffectiveness/rc/ItemDetail.do~1030061?intc =700

Wetlands that once sheltered the people living there and a host of wildlife in southern Iraq are being partially restored and could offer a haven once again for a animals, plants and humans if done right. It could also mean that the 5,000 year old culture of people living in the marsh lands would be revived.

Morocco- Basic Education Reform Support Program
US $80 million to support government efforts to boost the quality of basic education for all children ages 6-14 in a financially sustainable manner. The actions to be supported are to generalize access to basic education to most school- age children by 2008, improve the quality of education through reducing dropout and repetition rates and improving student’s learning, and reinforces institutional capacity in association with the sector’s decentralization process at the central, regional, provincial and local levels. www.web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:20347925 ~menuPK:34468~pagePK:40653~theSitePK:4607,00.html

4. MACHREQ-MAGHREB/GENDER:
Making Motherhood Safer in Egypt
"While Egypt's maternal mortality remains relatively high by international standards, it has significantly dropped in the last fifteen years, this paper reports. It describes Egypt's positive steps and failures in providing a safe public health environment for expectant mothers. It also outlines the various criteria necessary for good maternal health, and examines the causes of maternal deaths in Egypt." www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC17198

5. MACHREQ-MAGHREB/ICT:
Lebanon: E-Caravan to Hit the Road Soon
"In cooperation with Fondation Saradar, ESCWA is developing a project called "E-Caravan" to empower the local community through teaching computer and IT skills. The E-Caravan is a mobile IT school that will travel to 12 villages in couth Lebanon. It is equipped with 10 PCs, a laser printer and a LCD Projector. The project targets the training of 1,664 people through 208 training sessions a year." www.escwa.org.lb

Morocco: Developing Competition in Telecommunications
"Competition is the cornerstone of successful telecommunications development. Morocco's telecommunications reforms in 1995-1999, which among other changes introduced competition in mobile phones, led to fast growth and improved sector performance." http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ict/rc/ItemDetail.do~1029636?intcmp=700

This report was put out by the Feminist Press in New York. It argues that women, all over the world, have long occupied a pivotal place in social and economic life yet the international development programs of the mid-twentieth century have largely ignored women’s ideas and contributions.

2. MACHREQ-MAGHREB/GENDER:
Dwindling Gender Gap Sparks Entrepreneurial Spirit
Nadereh Chamlou, the Bank’s leading coordinator on gender for the region, believes women in the Middle East have an image problem- not with themselves but with how they are viewed by the rest of the world. Contrary to popular belief women have been successful in bridging the gender gap between health and education. But that does not transfer into an advance of numbers in the workforce. The World Bank is focusing on women’s economic rights including access to public resources, access to wage employment and non-wage benefits. http://message.worldbank.org/www-int-404.html

"This briefing document summarizes some of the main policy options used for securing women's inclusion in all Iraqi governing bodies. These strategies can be adopted for election or appointment to the Governorate Election Caucus and the Transitional National Authority."

New Publication: "Knowing Out Rights: Women, family, laws and customs in the Muslim world."

"Knowing Our Rights is designed as a tool for activists engaged in lobbying and advocacy related to women's rights within the family at the policy level as well as in communities. It covers twenty-six topics relevant to marriage and divorce, including the status of children. The study is a cross comparative analysis of the diversities and commonalities of laws and customs across the Muslim world."

Program of Action to Reach Rural Women in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) Region
Under the Program of Action to Reach Rural Women in the NENA region, the Near East and North Africa Division in IFAD recently undertook a study of challenges, lessons learned and guidelines for future work to integrate rural women as full partners into development programs in the region. The study is available on the Program of Action website: www.ifad.org/nena

The Pursuit of Gender Equality in Post-War Iraq "Recently released report by Women for Women International, based on a 2004 survey intended to represent the three largest governorates, Bagdad, Mosul, and Basra in Iraq, excluding the provinces of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah and Dohuk." http://topics.developmentgateway.org/gender/rc/ItemDetail.do~1029817?intcmp=700

Globalization in the Information Age: Arabic Writing Systems This article maintains that writing systems have provided an infrastructure for economic, political and cultural expansion since ancient times. It examines how and why writing systems such as Arabic are advancing in media technology. http://topics.developmentgateway.org/culture/rc/ItemDetail.do~1030667?intcmp

Choosing Open Source: A Decision Making Guide for Civil Society Organizations

This online document discusses the benefits of open source software for civil society and non-profit organizations. It provides an introduction to the topic, with questions: 'what is open source?' and 'how will it benefit my organization?'

World Youth Report 2005 "The report presents and overview of the global situation of young people. It highlights the following issues: the use and access to ICT; the impact of HIV/AIDS; the active involvement of young people in armed conflict.” www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC17281

This resource offers insights and examples of how non-profits are building their organizational skills and contributing to the dialogue of how to help non-profits become stronger. It also includes important practical assessment tools that NGOs can use to measure their own organization capacity.

The conference was held in Toronto, Canada from July 11-14, 2004. It is part of ISTR’s mission to disseminate research findings. Some papers included: ‘Global Civil Society, Globalization and Nation-State’ by Kameshwar Choudhary, ‘Roots of Funding Roots of Trust: The Struggle for Survival and Credibility among the Religious NGOs in Bangladesh’ by Mokbul Ahmad.

A Guideline for NGOs for Active Participation in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) 2005 in Tunis

The diploma thesis available here studies the impact of civil society on the WSIS. Based on an analysis of the Youth Caucus work, it describes which practical steps are necessary to provide for NGO interests into global summit processes.

Who Deserves Aid?: Equality of Opportunity, International Aid and Poverty Reduction

The study is on the allocation of aid based on equality of opportunity concerning poverty. The equality of opportunity principle also takes into account structural disadvantages in areas of growth rather than the quality of past policies."

Development e-Brief receives and comprises of material from various sources for its publication. Should you wish to refer to these sources/ sites directly, the list includes publications from: AVIVA, www.aviva.org , AWID: www.awid.org , Democracy Digest: www.freedomhouse.org , Development Gateway: www.developmentgatway.org, Dignity: www.dignity.org, e-Civicus: www.civicus.org, Eldis: www.eldis.org, ESCWA: www.escwa.org.lb , GDB: www.developmentex.com , Global Knowledge Partnership: www.globalknowledge.org , IGTN: www.IGTN.org , ILO: www.ilo.org One World: www.oneworld.net , Siyanda: www.siyanda.org , The Daily Star: www.dailystar.com.lb , The Drum Beat: www.comminit.com , The Soul Beat: www.comminit.com , The World Bank: www.worldbank.org , UNDP: www.undp.org, Wicejilist: www.wicej.addr.com , WLP: www.learningpartnership.org

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