Lwati February 2006, Number 20

The monthly e-newsletter of the Southern African Non-Governmental Organisation Network (SANGONeT)

February 2006, Number 20

www.sangonet.org.za

"Lwati" is an isiSwati word meaning information.

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<> EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S COMMENTS
<> STAFF NEWS
<> EVENTS
<> CIVIL SOCIETY INFORMATION SERVICES
<> TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
<> NETWORKING AND OUTREACH
<> CONTACT DETAILS

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<> EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S COMMENTS

Dear reader

Welcome to the 20th edition of SANGONeT's monthly e-newsletter!

As part of SANGONeT's broader focus on development and civil society issues on the African continent, I had the opportunity to participate in the African Civil Society Consultation on Engagement with the African Union (AU) from 13-14 January 2006 in Nairobi, Kenya. More than 50 African NGOs and human rights organisations attended the meeting.

One of the key issues discussed was the AU Summit that was held the following week in Sudan, especially the plans by African leaders to confer the AU Presidency for 2006/7 on Sudan; and in particular to President Omar El-Bashir. Participants felt that this development, especially against the background of the human rights and humanitarian situation in Sudan¹s Darfur region, would undermine and erode the credibility of the AU and compromise the authority of its institutions.

Participants adopted a resolution in this regard which was send to all African heads of state and government and members of the AU. In the end, common sense prevailed and Bashir was not given the AU leadership role, with the collective voice and efforts of African civil society playing a critical role in this outcome.

Starting today there is exactly one month to go before the second SANGONeT “ICTs for Civil Society” conference. The event will be held from 7-9 March 2006 at the Indaba Hotel in Fourways, Johannesburg.

During the past few weeks we have made significant progress with the development of the conference programme and finalisation of the speakers. Participants can expect an exciting event with much opportunity for learning, debate, information-sharing and networking.

Some of the confirmed speakers include Edward Viltz, President and CEO of Public Interest Registry; Tebogo Klaas, President of the SMME Forum; Michael Gilbert, Founder and Director of the Gilbert Center; Hilton Theunissen, tuXlab Project Manager at the Shuttleworth Foundation; Dwayne Bailey, Director of Translate.org.za; Alan Levin of Future Perfect; Heather Ford, Director of Creative Commons South Africa; Nhlanhla Mabaso, Open Source Centre Manager at the Meraka Institute; Anna Badimo, Director of Linuxchix; and Prof John van Zyl, Managing Director of ABC Ulwazi.

An interesting feature of the conference will be the focus on free and open source software and open content issues. Day two (8 March 2006) will be entirely dedicated to the topic of open source. We hope that this intervention will assist participants in making informed decisions about their software choices and content strategies in future.

We expect more than 300 delegates to attend this event. The ultimate aim of the conference is to expose participants to a wide range of ICT-related issues that impact on the work of civil society organisations and the environment in which they operate.

For detailed information about every aspect of the event, including registration procedures, visit the conference website - www.sangonet.org.za/conference2006.

South African NGOs are reminded that they have until 17 February 2006 to enter the South African NGO Web Awards 2006. We are running this competition in conjunction with the SANGONeT Conference and the winners will be announced at the gala dinner on 8 March 2005. Entry forms and background information are available on the conference website.

For detailed information about the South African NGO sector, please refer to the SANGONeT NGO portal - www.sangonet.org.za

As always, we are very interested in how you think we could best serve the NGO sector with relevant information and ICT products and services. Please send us your views, comments and suggestions.

Best wishes

David Barnard (dbarnard at sangonet.org.za)

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<> STAFF NEWS

# Vacancies

PRODDER Project Manager.

SANGONeTis looking to appoint a project manager for PRODDER, a web-based database of South African NGOs and development organisations. This position will focus on the technical expansion, content compilation and quality assurance of the project. It requires a highly driven individual with a thorough understanding of development issues from a civil society perspective to manage multi-stakeholder requirements coupled with astute database management skills.

Fax or e-mail your CV to SANGONeT's Deputy Director, Fazila Farouk, at (011) 403-0130 or fazila at sangonet.org.za.

Visit the “Vacancies” section on the SANGONeT portal - www.sangonet.org.za - for more details about the requirements of this position.

SANGONeT offers a competitive remuneration package based on qualifications and experience. The deadline for applications is Friday, 17 February 2006.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

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<> EVENTS

# Second Annual SANGONeT “ICTs for Civil Society” Conference and Exhibition

SANGONeT will host its second annual “ICTs for Civil Society” conference from 7-9 March 2006 at the Indaba Hotel in Fairways, Johannesburg.

For detailed information on the programme, speakers, registration procedures and other relevant information, please refer to the conference website – www.sangonet.org.za/conference2006

# South African NGO Website Awards 2006

This competition aims to raise awareness amongst South African NGOs about the benefits of having a web presence, stimulate interest in the application of web solutions and applications, and showcase best practices in website creation and maintenance.

SANGONeT is organising this competition in conjunction with the 2006 SANGONeT Conference, and the winners will be announced at the conference gala dinner on 8 March 2006.

The competition is open to South African NGOs with a website. Organisations must be able to demonstrate their non-profit status and involvement in development work in South Africa. NGOs stand the chance to win prizes to the value of R50 000.

The closing date for entries is Friday, 17 February 2006.

The application form is available on the SANGONeT Conference website - www.sangonet.org.za/conference2006

Please complete the entry form online, or fax it back to SANGONeT at (011) 403-0130.

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<> CIVIL SOCIETY INFORMATION SERVICES

It is just over three months since the launch of SANGONeT's NGO Development Information Portal and a fitting time to take stock of our impact.

More than 38 000 visitors came to the portal in the period from 24 October 2005 to the end of January 2006, viewing a total of 378 000 pages. In spite of the sluggish post-holiday start to the New Year, 14 195 people visited the portal in January alone. We are extremely honoured by the attention paid to the portal and see this growing interest as a validation of our efforts.

Moreover, our weekly alerting service, NGO Pulse, which is released every Tuesday and intended to inform subscribers about new postings on the portal, has attracted almost 3 000 subscribers. This number is increasing on a weekly basis.

To subscribe to NGO Pulse, send an e-mail request to ngopulse at sangonet.org.za with the subject "subscribe me".

This interest in the portal places a great deal of pressure on us to populate all sections urgently. However, by its very nature, the defining feature of a portal is its organically evolving nature which depends on external partnerships and information that constantly influence its form and content. Accordingly, we appeal for your patience as we proceed in a consciously reflective and receptive manner. Our goal is to provide the foundation for the growth of all the portal's sections by the time SANGONeT’s ICTs for Civil Society Conference takes place in March 2006.

The outcome of our January online poll has produced surprising results - both from a participation and results perspective. A disappointing 47 people participated in the poll that sought to interrogate views about the so-called NGO donor funding crisis.

More than half of our respondents believe that the NGO sustainability problem is not funding related, but management related. Also, a small percentage of these particular poll-takers are unusually optimistic about donor support in the immediate future. While the issue of NGO management and governance begs some attention, this outcome tends to go against the grain of our experience on the ground, which suggests that shifting global priorities and a variable development terrain also affects the nature of donor support, even diminishing it. Should you wish to comment on this issue, do send a letter to the portal's editor - editor at sangonet.org.za.

For more information about the SANGONeT portal, kindly send a query to SANGONeT's deputy director and editor of the portal, Fazila Farouk (fazila at sangonet.org.za).

Queries may also be submitted to the newly appointed CSIS manager, Diane Babak (diane at sangonet.org.za). Sheis responsible for ensuring the ongoing implementation of the portal's goals and objectivesin relation to managing its structural and technical developmentas well as managing the CSIS team.

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<> TECHNOLOGY SERVICES

# NGO.ZA

Online access carries the risk of compromised security due to the exponential increase in the number of viruses and spyware embedded into malicious e-mail, spam and web pages. In view of this threat, the www.ngo.za site now features a PC Security section which carries news feeds on current and potential threats to security, as well as information on how to respond in this regard.

The NGO.ZA portal is an electronic ICT procurement facility that enables online shopping through a shopping cart. Additional ICT products and services will be added to the current offerings this year.

For more information on NGO.ZA, please visit www.ngo.za

# Demo Passwords for the Central Case Management System (CCMS)

The online version of the Central Case Management System for the paralegal sector in South Africa has been augmented with the addition of default demo access passwords. This enables users to the CCMS site to fully access the system and test it at their leisure without having to request specific passwords from SANGONeT.

The CCMS online demo can be accessed at www.ccms.org.za

# Technology Consulting

SANGONeT offers a wide range of customised technology solutions, including open source software consulting, facilitation of website workshops and developing a technology plan for your organisation.

For more information on how we can assist you, please contact Joseph George on Tel: (011) 403-4935 or joseph at sangonet.org.za

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<> NETWORKING AND OUTREACH

# SANGONeT's Technology Support Assistant, Mzwakhe Makhalemele, participated in the Africa Source II camp that was held from 8-15 January 2006 in Kalangala, Uganda. Africa Source II was an eight-day hands-on workshop aimed at building the technical skills of those working with and within NGOs on the continent. It focussed on how technology, in particular Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), can be integrated into the work of NGOs.

# SANGONeT's Executive Director, David Barnard, attended the African Civil Society Consultation on Engagement with the African Union (AU) from 13-14 January 2006 in Nairobi, Kenya.

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<> CONTACT DETAILS

SANGONeT P O Box 31392 2017 Braamfontein SOUTH AFRICA

29th Floor, UCS Building 209 Smit Street Braamfontein

Tel: (+27) (11) 403-4935 Fax: (+27) (11) 403-0130 E-mail: newsletter at sangonet.org.za WWW: http://www.sangonet.org.za

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CopyLeft. 2006. SANGONeT.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and modify this document. Please provide an acknowledgement to SANGONeT.

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