NGO Pulse 06-Aug-08 #136

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 Issue No 136         ^-^-^  NGO Pulse  ^-^-^    06 August 2008
                                                                                          
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New on the Home Page: http://www.sangonet.org.za

The two articles we feature in this week's edition of NGO Pulse returns to some of the debates we have focused on recently: housing and funding for NGOs.

Proposing an approach to accelerating housing delivery, Ronald Eglin, senior project co-ordinator at Afesis-corplan writes that many of the debates around housing delivery in South Africa revolve around the need for government to adopt a land-first approach in order to increase the pace of housing delivery across the country.

He proposes a government-supported managed land settlement programme in which “land identified for managed land settlement would be land identified through proper planning procedures, and people would be able to start investing in their houses prior to government housing subsidies being provided.” He argues that the Department of Land Affairs should assume full responsibility for dealing with all land issues, including residential land. Click here to read the full article.

Aleta Armstrong, Indlu Finlandia Design and Training Centre’s project manager, questions the extent to which the current funding framework limits NGOs ability to be effective and innovative. She shares the experiences of Indlu Finlandia which have been captured in a recently launched publication, ‘A Practical Guide to Grassroots Training in Southern Africa’.

Donors, she argues “go two ways: for small local NGOs they think funding rent and wages is not necessary for some strange reason and yet the big aid organisations seem to have funding to rent entire office blocks and be staffed with too many overseas experts on huge salaries!”  Click here to read the full article.

In last month’s poll we asked whether you thought rising food prices impact on efforts to reduce poverty. Out of the 231 of you who responded, 77.1% believed this was happening, 19.5% thought that there was a significant impact, while 3.5% believe it had no impact. This month we want to know your thoughts about whether NGOs should use social networking tools for fundraising. To cast your vote, refer to the bottom right of the SANGONeT Portal where the poll is displayed.

As always we invite you to send us your comments.

- Janine Moolman, editor@sangonet.org.za

Jobs, Proposals & Events

Vacancies

• Women’sNet, a feminist NGO which promotes the strategic use of information and communication technologies, seeks to employ a Media and Information Manager to be based in Johannesburg. The application deadline is 15 August 2008. For more information, click here.
• The Africa Foundation invites applications from suitably qualified individuals for the position of Donor Relationship Manager to be based in Johannesburg. The application deadline is 15 August 2008. For more information, click here.
• Isandla Institute, an organisation that promotes integrated, equitable and sustainable urban development, invites applications from suitably qualified candidates for the position of Policy Researcher to be based in Cape Town. The application deadline is 22 August 2008. For more information, click here. 

RFPs and other Opportunities

• Entries are still invited for the Government Communication and Information System Awards 2008. The submission deadline is 30 August 2008. For more information, click here. 
• Entries are invited from young journalists for the FitzGerald Prize to do a Bachelor of Arts Honours degree at the University of the Witwatersrand's Journalism Programme. The submission deadline is 30 September 2008. For more information, click here.
• The National Endowment for Democracy invites journalists to apply to participate in the 2009-2010 Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellowship Programme. The submission deadline is 11 November 2008. For more information, click here. 

New Events

• The Democracy Development Programme is hosting a conference on Local Government Financing and Development in South Africa from 11-12 August 2008 in Durban. For more information and to participate, click here.
• Wits University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Loyiso Nongxa, in partnership with the Ruth First Trust, the Wits Journalism Programme and the Heinrich Boll Stiftung, is hosting the 7th Annual Ruth First Memorial Lecture on 18 August 2008 in Johannesburg. For more information, click here. 
• The Child Accident Prevention Foundation of Southern Africa, together with its partners, will host the Children and Injuries Conference from 31 August – 3 September 2008 in Cape Town. For more information, click here.

Training

• The Institute for the Advancement of Journalism is conducting a four-day course on Reporting and Editing Online from 16-19 September 2008 in Johannesburg. The deadline is two weeks before the course commences. For more information, click here.
• Community Computer Education Society is accepting registrations for its Information Communication Technology Literacy course. The course is conducted on weekdays and Saturdays starting this month in Johannesburg.  For more information, click here.
• The Overseas Development Group is conducting a two-week course on Management Information Systems for Monitoring and Evaluation from 1-12 September 2008 in the United Kingdom. For more information and to participate, click here.  
  
  Quote of the Week

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A house is a home when it shelters the body and
comforts the soul.
    
 - Phillip Moffitt.

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Top Local and International News Flashes

Recent LOCAL news items

• TAC Criticises New Medicines and Related Substances Amendment Bill
• FXI Takes a Close Look at the SABC Crisis
• Masebe Criticises NGOs Over Court Action
• CORMSA Condemns the Closure of Refugee Camps in Gauteng
• Poverty is Still Rife in Free State – Mbeki
• LRC Pledges to Oppose Eviction Against Rampeiwa
• SANEF Wants Journalists to Cover Zuma Trial

Recent INTERNATIONAL news items

• NGOs to Receive €10 Million in Funding
• Zimbabwe State-Sponsored Violence Destabilises Southern Africa – NGO 
• MSF Appeals for Improved Security in Darfur 
• UN Probes the Effects of Toxic Waste on Human Rights in Ivory Coast
• Online Social Networks Link NGOs with Donors – Gianotten
• NGOs Criticise the Controversial People’s Charter in Fiji
• IFJ Calls on Senegal to End Intimidation of Media

Nonprofit Analysis, Tools and Opinions

• Manual: HIV/AIDS and Human Rights Advocacy Resource NGOs to Receive €10 Million in Funding
• Book: Striking a Balance 
• Manual: Children and their Rights 
• Toolkit: A Guide to the Nonprofit Organisations Act 
• Guide: SANGONeT Development Calendar 2008 

Prodder Directory
Prodder is the most comprehensive directory of NGOs and development organisations in South Africa. To view the directory, please click here.

We encourage NGOs to review their entries and forward us information about changes and corrections that need to be made. Any feedback about the new platform in general, including additional features and information to be added, would also be appreciated. Please forward your comments to prodder@sangonet.org.za.

Order your copy of Prodder - NGOs and Development in South Africa 2008, here.

SANGOTeCH
SANGOTeCH aims to assist NGOs by providing software and hardware for very low or discounted fees in conjunction with ICT donor partners, as well as by supporting NGOs to make the most of their ICT purchases and infrastructure. This SANGONeT programme is open to South African non- profit organisations that have either Public Benefit Organisation (PBO) status or Non-Profit Organisation (NPO) status. For more information about SANGOTeCH, please refer to <http://www.sangotech.org.za>

BackaBuddy
SANGONeT supports BackaBuddy, an online fundraising website which combines the power of sport and the reach of the Internet in support of NGOs in South Africa. We provide potential donors with detailed information, through the Prodder NGO Directory , about the NGOs profiled for support on BackaBuddy.

For more information contact David Barnard or Matthew de Gale on 011 403-4935 or e-mail: info@sangonet.org.za

SN-Announce
SN-Announce is an e-mail advertising service that provides an invaluable service to the NGO sector in Southern Africa. With a potential readership of more than 10 000 people, it remains one of the most cost-effective and efficient ways to reach the NGO and development community in South Africa. The type of information distributed includes alerts for vacancies, campaign launches, conferences, training courses and development services. Subscription to the SN-Announce service is free. For more information about how to subscribe to SN-Announce or post an announcement on it, please contact Dora Moche at SANGONeT on (011) 403-4935 or dora@sangonet.org.za.

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From SANGONeT. Copyright 2003-2008, http://www.sangonet.org.za

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