Evaluation of CTA web2.0 and social media trainings 2008-2010

One of the most interesting piece of work we carried out in 2012 was an evaluation for CTA of its web2.0 related capacity building events (2008-2012). The goal of this study was to learn from three years of this web2.0 and social media training programme; to understand which demographic is the most enthusiastic adopters of web2.0 tools, and the impact that digital tools have in terms of personal development and institutional changes.

CTA Web2forDev Training Opportunity - Photo credits: Web2forDev website

Today, a blog post on Web2forDev summarises the main findings of the study:

• Between 2008 and 2010, CTA delivered 20 web2.0 related capacity building events, reaching a total of 510 trainees from over 20 ACP countries, mainly in Africa
• Not surprisingly, trainees under 36 are more likely to adopt web2.0 applications, except for online social networking, which interestingly was not affected by age;
• Female trainees have higher adoption rates than males for almost every web2.0 application;
• Trainees working for NGOs and national and international organisations are more likely to adopt web2.0 tools than those in educational and research institutions;
• Nearly 90% of trainees have improved their capacity to search for, access and share information;
• The use of the iMark module is the preferred way chosen by trainees to introduce colleagues and co-workers to social media;
• Bringing about systematic adoption of social media in institutions is much more challenging.

The article has generated some interesting comments and discussions, both on the Web2fordev website as well as in Web2forDev community on Dgroups.

A follow up post will soon be published to presents some of the recommendations included in the final report.
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Global Perspectives on a Nuclear Free World, Human Rights and the Economic Crisis

In the light of the latest nuclear bomb test in North Korea the cover story of the latest issue of the magazine 'Global Perspectives' sums up the latest initiatives and developments on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

Furthermore a report from the UN Human Rights Conference in Geneva and on the recent elections of the USA to the UN Human Rights Committee looks at the future role of the world power in this area. According to the author the US is committed to fight the dominance of human rights violators in the UN organ in the upcoming 3-years term.

Further a report of the Commission on Climate Change and Development, chaired by the Swedish Development Minister Gunilla Carlsson, urges donors to honor their commitment to climate change adaptation in developing countries and demands an additional 1.2 billion US-$ to support the most vulnerable that already suffer from the effects of climate change.

The recent report on the African Economic Outlook says that although the Financial Crisis has dramatic effects on Africa, the continent is better prepared than 10 years ago.

"...we should not despair." says Kasekende (chief economist of the African
Development Bank), "The decade of reform has introduced efficiency in macroeconomic management and made African economies more competitive. Countries should therefore desist from implementing policies that restrain further integration of the continent into the global trading and financial environment."

Global Perspectives is a bi-lingual (English/German) joint production by IPS Inter Press Service Europe and the Global Cooperation Council, published by Globalom Media. The monthly editions on various themes of international cooperation and development are downloadable for free.

See also the Euforic newsfeeds on IPS Europe, security, human rights, climate change, and the financial crisis

by Martin Behrens

EVS promotes 'Fair Politics'

On 25 April, the Evert Vermeer Stichting (EVS) celebrated its annual Africa day in The Hague with over 50 events staged by a wide variety of Dutch development organizations and their partners. Among the prominent guests was Paul Rusesabagina, who saved the lives of many people during the civil war in Rwanda.

In a workshop organized by NIMB (Netherlands Institute for MultiParty Democracy) Ministers Welshman Ncube and Elton Mangoma of the MDC talked about the recent developments and the renewal of the democratic process in Zimbabwe.

Max van den Berg, former member of the European Parliament and chairman of EVS launched the 'Fair Politics' concept. Fair policies intend not to frustrate the development of poor countries but provide opportunities to achieve development goals. Fair Politics is about fostering policy coherence, emphasizing the unfairness of incoherence. According to Van den Berg “In Europe we cannot live and prosper in splendid isolation. Yes, we should be proud of our success, but we also have the responsibility to make sure our success is not achieved at the cost of others”.

Part of the Fair Politics program is an analysis of the programs of Dutch political parties for the upcoming European Parliament elections to see if they include (un)fair policy propositions. This analysis looks at trade, agriculture, fisheries, pharmaceutical products, arms trade, migration, illegal forest products, bio-fuels, fossil fuels, human rights, and at policies to address the economic and financial crisis. Some Dutch political parties explicitly aim for fair policies in general, others include fair policy objectives for specific issues. Trade policies of the Liberal/Conservative party (VVD) do not excel in terms of fairness, nor do the agricultural policy objectives of the Christian Democrats (CDA). Liberal/Democrats (D66) are considered to be quite unfair in their migration policies and the Social/Democrats (PvdA) and Socialists (SP) have a fairness problem regarding their policies addressing the economic crisis. Details can be found at http://www.fairpolitics.nl/.

A debate featuring candidates for the European Parliament was broadcasted from the site of the EVS event. All Euro-parliamentarians agreed that Europe was potentially a strong global actor in terms of foreign policy and security issues, provided member states agreed on a common position. While Hans van Baalen (VVD/Liberal Democrats) and Wim van der Camp (CDA/Christian Democrats) seemed quite positive about past achievements in this respect (Georgia and Ukraine were mentioned as examples), Thijs Berman (PvdA/Social Democrats) and Sophie in ‘t Veld (D66/Liberal Democrats) felt too often that a common position was lacking, for instance on important issues such as the Middle East.

Policy coherence was touched upon indirectly by the candidate EP-members. “Do not touch the budget”, was a clear message on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) from Van der Camp, while Berman emphasized the need for a CAP that includes social, food security and environmental considerations.

See also Euforic's newsfeeds on policy coherence and the Evert Vermeer Foundation

Global Perspectives on the ICC and Sudan

The cover story of the latest issue of the magazine 'Global Perspectives' sheds light on discussions around the International Criminal Court's warrant to arrest Sudan's President al-Bashir.

The president is accused of masterminding mass murder and crimes against humanity in the crisis region of Darfur. Since Sudan is not a member of the ICC treaty, the case was brought to the Court by the UN Security Council.

The controversial arrest warrant, while supported by the international human rights community, caused wide criticism in developing countries as well as among experts on Sudan. According to them, the Sudanese President is the only one holding the fragile peace process in Sudan especially in the Southern provinces together. His arrest would therefore destabilize a country that plans to hold elections in February 2010.

The African Union is going to investigate the case itself before it wants to take a position. Nonetheless, some of the 30 African signatories to the ICC charter have threatened to withdraw their membership if the al-Bashir Case is not withdrawn. They accuse the ICC of only investigating crimes in weaker countries while shying away from crimes committed by Western powers. In fact, all 13 warrants issued by the ICC deal with crimes in Africa. All but the Sudan case were referred to the ICC by African countries themselves.

The Sudanese government reacted by expelling humanitarian organisations from the country, accusing them of espionage. According to the UN, this will leave 1.1 million people, especially in the western region of Dafur, without food, 1.5 million without health care and more than a million without drinking water.

The issue also has an article on the Palestine Conflict. Baher Kamal argues that even if the Palestine State would be founded according to US and European wishes, it would cause new conflicts since their idea of Palestine is what the author calls a 'Cheese State'. The holes comprise Israeli settlements in the West Bank as well as other pieces of the West Bank and Gaza seenby Israel as necessary to its security, including water resources and fertile land.

Referring to the state security doctrines of some Arab countries and Israel, which depend on foreign enemies to ensure internal coherence, Baher Kamal doubts a fast solution of the conflict.

Global Perspectives is a bi-lingual (English/German) joint production by IPS Inter Press Service Europe and the Global Cooperation Council, published by Globalom Media. The monthly editions on various themes of international cooperation and development are dowloadable for free.

See also the Euforic newsfeed on IPS Europe.

by Martin Behrens

Natural resources - blessing or a curse?

Speaking at the GDN conference in Kuwait, Albert Zeufack argues that natural resources can be a blessing for development, but most of the time they are a curse:

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Global Perspectives on what the financial crisis means for the poor

The December 2008 issue of the magazine 'Global Perspectives' looks at the consequences of the global financial crisis for the poor.

Prof Zhang Zhongxiang's analysis shows three main effects of the financial crisis in Africa. Obviously, the crisis will have a negative effect on the direct foreign investment rate in African countries. Secondly, Prof. Zhang expects a decrease in raw material exports and low revenue in the tourism sector. Last but not least the remittances from the African diaspora, sometimes as important in quantity as donor development assistance, will be lower.

Nonetheless the author points at the positive action of the African Regional Blocks and the African Union to deal with the financial crisis which would lead to deeper regional integration and, by consequence, strengthen Africa's economic position in the world.

This issue of the magazine contains also several articles that give regional perspectives on the finanical crisis from Asian and African countries.

Another report deals with the impact of the crisis on big NGOs. A mixed picture is presented with more dramatic losses in fundraising by the US NGO sector and a so far unpredictable situation in Europe.

Furthermore in this issue an editorial by Ramesh Jaura who sheds a critical light on the involvement of the European Investment Bank in Africa.

An essay by Daisaku Ikeda (Soka Gakkai International) pleading for a stronger role of the world youth in the UN institutional framework.

Global Perspectives is a bi-lingual (English/German) publication by IPS Europe. It releases monthly editions on various themes of international cooperation and development and is dowloadable for free.

See also the Euforic newsfeed on IPS Europe.

by Martin Behrens

The food prices 'crisis' in Africa

Last week, the 7th Brussels Development Briefing discussed 'Rising food prices: an opportunity for change?’

This week in Addis Ababa, we asked Dr. Kwadwo Asenso-Okyere, Division Director at IFPRI to reflect on the underlying reasons for the crisis in rising food prices in Africa.

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He also examined some consequences of the rising food prices in Africa and outlined priorities to tackle them:

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German experts call for a different development policy towards Africa

In a concise appeal (in German), senior experts of German development cooperation have called for a revision of German development policy towards Africa.

They criticize the belief that the West could develop Africa. The fact that development workers take on too much power would paralyze self-initiative and African ownership. Furthermore they criticize the assumption that redistribution of wealth via increased aid would improve the situation. According to the critics, more money tends to have inverse effects and if distributed via budget aid would additionally increase corruption and bad governance.

The authors call for:

• Decentralization of German aid to country embassies and the liquidation of the current multiple aid structure with various government agencies responsible for development cooperation
• Strong orientation towards non-state actors
• Concentration on education, micro-finance and work-intensive infrastructure improvements
  

The appeal, which was signed by former German ambassadors, high-ranking politicians and scientists, provoked harsh criticism (in German) by Germany’s development community. They accuse the critics of painting a cut and dried picture of a rather complex environment that ignores the importance of good governance and the role of the state as well as international trade structures.

Willing to kick-off a comprehensive discussion on German aid, the authors of the appeal agreed to further elaborate responses on the criticized issues in a second paper.

See the Euforic newsfeed on German Development Cooperation

Africa in 2048

On 17 June 2008, STT (Stichting Toekomstbeeld der Technologie/STT Netherlands Study Centre for Technology Trends) celebrated its 40th anniversary in The Hague. As a short introduction to his ongoing project on technology in Africa, project leader Jasper Grosskurth (grosskurth@stt.nl) presented a thought-provoking flash forward to 2048, when Africa would be the boom region worldwide.

* North Africa produces 200 giga watts of energy with solar thermal systems. Part of the energy is exported to Europe, and the rest is used to provide local electricity and desalinate sea water to resolve the drinking water shortage. After the installation of the third fibre optic cable in East Africa in 2010 and unrest in India in 2023, the local ICT sector exploded. In 2048, East Africa has become the hub for international service provision. From 2020 onwards, Nigeria heavily invested in flora technology, profiting from the viodiversity of neighbouring Cameroon. The technology caused an enormous economic stimulation for West Africa. *

During the next 18 months, the project will bring together experts from business, NGOs and research to develop scenarios on the future of technology in Africa.

See also euforic newsfeeds on Africa and the EU-Africa relations.

by Birthe Paul

Global Perspectives focus on Japan-Africa Relations

The June issue of the magazine 'Global Perspectives' focuses on the recent Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD).

According to Ramesh Jaura (IPS), who reported from the conference, Japan's priorities in Africa are to boost economic growth, ensure human security and give attention to environmental and climate issues.

Civil society organisations criticized the weak participation of NGOs in this African-Japanese dialogue. It was the first time in a 15 years long history that a Civil Society Forum took place during the conference. However only a few NGO representatives were allowed to contribute directly to panel discussions.

Furthermore, Japanese civil society criticized the government's focus on economic growth by provision of new loans instead of explicitly targeting the MDGs. NGO's called on the government to assume leadership in the light of the upcoming G8 summit in July.

In an opinion article Mario Lubetkin (IPS) talks about the role of the media in global discussions on climate change:

“That which has been achieved is without doubt attributable to the members of the scientific community who, cast at the beginning in the undesirable role of prophets of calamity, were able to explain, convince, and orient the public and the media in particular.”

However he calls on the international media to assume a proactive role in the fight against climate change. For developing countries, the media should explain the connection between environmental sustainability and the fight against poverty and hunger.

Also in this issue is an article by Els Hortensisu (ICCO) on progress in women's rights protection in Latin America and an article by Thalif Deen (IPS) on the UN Food Summit in Rome.

Global Perspectives is a bi-lingual (English/German) publication by IPS Europe. It releases monthly editions on various themes of international cooperation and development and is available for free download.

See also Euforic newsfeed on IPS Europe.

by Martin Behrens

African churches take position on aid effectiveness

Source: EU News no. 4, May 2008

Under the umbrella of AACC (All Africa Conference of Churches) and SECAM (Symposium of Episcopal Conference in Africa and Madagascar) and with the support of their European NGO partners, the African churches gathered in Nairobi from 21 to 23 May to share knowledge, exchange views and adopt a joint statement on Aid Effectiveness in view of the Accra HLF where they intend to be present in number.

The statement was forwarded to AFRODAD that makes the link between African CSOs and the official Accra HLF organising secretariat.

The African Church recognizes development as horizontal and bottom up rather than top down. The African Church views "aid effectiveness should be measured in its contribution to sustained reduction of poverty and inequalities; and its support of human rights, democracy, environmental sustainability and gender equality". It must be a transformational development that is based on the theological affirmation that all persons are created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27) with the potential to live just, humane and dignified lives in sustainable communities.

The full statement is available on request from Karine Sohet

See also CIDSE’s "Views on the Paris Declaration and Recommendations for Positive Changes in Accra" (May 2008). (French version)

Check also the Euforic newsfeed and dossier on aid effectiveness

Afrikadag 2008: One Laptop per Child

During the Afrikadag 2008 in The Hague, IICD organized a workshop on “The 100$ Laptop: how can you make innovative solutions work in developing countries?” Professor Gerd Junne of the University of Amsterdam chaired the debate between Inneke Aquarius (Butterly Works), Prabhu Kandachar (Delft University), Stijn van der Krogt (IICD) and Petra Wentzel (Atos Origin). Discussion mainly focused on two questions: What are the preconditions to introduce a 'One Laptop per Child Programme' (OLPC)? What could be problems for the introduction of such a programme?

Concerning the preconditions, Inneke Aquarius argued that the 100$ laptops should just be distributed to see what happens, because changing the educational system is too complex and slow. Stijn van der Krogt and most other discussants disagreed and put more emphasis on the integration of the OLPC initiative in a comprehensive educational programme. Government, business, teachers and parents of participating schools have to accept, embrace and shape the idea. The national educational system has to be adapted, and teachers have to be trained by other locals (and not Europeans) how to incorporate laptops in their lessons and to develop their own content and software.

“We need to trust in their capabilities, and they will do it!”, Stijn van der Krogt argued. Only a bottom-up instead of a top-down approach will prepare the way for a 'OLPC success.

As for the challenges, Prabhu Kandachar identified affordability, acceptability and accessibility. A solution could be to gradually introduce the 100$ laptops in participating countries so that local lessons could be learned. Other challenges such as the plastic waste or maintenance of the laptops could also be opportunities as they will stimulate local entrepreneurship and create new business models and employment.

Other issues raised from the discussants and the audience: Will the laptops be used for an educational purpose, or just for personal communication? Won't the laptops be taken away from the children to be sold to much higher prices, and is that even more likely when the laptops are given away free? What is the hidden agenda of competing products, such as the Intel Classmate PC?

See also euforic newsfeeds from IICD and on education and ICTs.

Story by Birthe Paul

Dutch Africa Policy - On the Right Track?

In 2007, for the second year running, the Netherlands was ranked top of the Commitment to Development Index. How good are the policies in practice?

In February 2008, the Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported on its evaluation of Dutch Africa policy between 1998 and 2006. Download the report (PDF, in Dutch).

The February issue of The Broker featured some of the findings and several reactions to them:

Nils Boesen: ‘The point is not whether what the Netherlands did was partly good, partly less good – the point is that the donor community tends to move in the same direction until they discover that this was not exactly working as expected, whereafter they run collectively into a new direction. Herd behaviour, frankly’.

Stephen Ellis: ‘A point often overlooked is the degree to which the development policy of a rich country like the Netherlands has, in the end, to satisfy a domestic constituency. This is the main reason for some of the twists and turns of Dutch policy, such as the decline in support for rural development in favour of other policy areas that appeal more to the development lobby in the Netherlands itself or even to the broader public’.

Read more reactions in the special issue; sign up to submit your comments and reactions.

Euforic newsfeed on Dutch cooperation policy

More news from The Broker

Reviewing the Dutch Africa Policy

In February, the Policy and Operations Evaluation Department (IOB) of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs published the report of its evaluation of Dutch Africa policy between 1998 and 2006. The report contains several hard-hitting conclusions on the direction of Dutch development policy.

The February issue of The Broker features an exclusive report on this IOB evaluation and the first external reactions to its findings.

The issue highlights the good policy intentions, points to the mixed results, and examines results in areas including budget support, sectoral approaches, education, agriculture-urban, governance, ownership, coherence, conflict management, debt, and knowledge and research.

Register online to obtain a print version of this special edition of The Broker.

As lead-in to an online discussion, the issue presents comments on the report from Africa development specialists including: Ernest Aryeetey (ISSER, Ghana), George Ayittey (American University), Joan Boer (OECD), Nils Boesen (Denmark), Solveig Buhl (OECD), Anders Danielson (Sweden), Han van Dijk (Wageningen University), Stephen Ellis (ASC), Leo de Haan (ASC), Paul Hoebink (CIDIN), Wil Hout (ISS), Simon Maxwell (ODI), Nadia Molenaers (University of Antwerp), Oliver Morrissey (University of Nottingham), Steven Ndegwa (World Bank), Francis Nyamnjoh (CODESRIA), Brian Pratt (INTRAC), Joseph Semboja (REPOA, Tanzania), David Sogge (Netherlands), Marian Tupy (Cato Institute), and Doris Voorbraak (World Bank).

At The Broker, you can also sign up for the online discussion on the Dutch Africa policy.

Read the evaluation report (PDF, in Dutch)

More news from The Broker

More about Dutch cooperation policy

Euforic dossier on the Netherlands; also our news in Dutch

Do mobile phones make a difference?

The 5th edition of Fill the Gap organised by Hivos, OneWorld Netherlands, IICD and debating centre De Balie, focused entirely on how mobile phones can really make a difference in African development. And more in particular on social, economic, and political aspects.

The case studies about small enterprises and farmers livelihoods clearly indicated a positive impact on their respective sectors. In the private sector, mobile phones are being used to increase sales and for management purposes. In rural areas, the mobile phone is used to collect market information and prices of goods and products, complementary to the traditional ways of information dissemination via notice boards, images, and radio. Obviously, issues such as illiteracy, cost, and connectivity are important factors in the introduction and use of new communication tools.

In the political arena, mobiles are a powerful mobilisation device for civil society – for instance during elections - allowing people to produce their own news and avoid the mainstream media and even censorship. Provided that governments or operators do not close the communication networks!

This all sounds very positive and stimulating, but there is a big proviso. For mobile phones to be effective in fostering development, a series of preconditions need to be fulfilled. People need mobile networks that are reliable, affordable, and have a high coverage. And they need to know how to use them properly for specific purposes. As one speaker phrased it ‘There’s nothing magic about the mobile phone. The pencil has revolutionised more !’.

It was generally concluded that the current market solutions and lack of favourable government policies only widen the technological and economic gaps and undermine solidarity in society. In that perspective, NGOs need to put a lot of pressure on companies and governments to make sure that information and communication technologies become within reach of all Africans.

See also Euforic’s dossier on information, knowledge and communication, the posting by Ethan Zuckerman of Global Voices Online, and the article by IICD

Story by Jacques van Laar

Voices from the field: how climate changes agriculture in rural ACP countries

In the context of the European Development Days 2007, DG Development of the European Commission, CTA, UNITAR, Euforic, and IIED will organise a parallel event on the challenges of climate change for development with particular reference to the ACP countries. Session 1 will examine: “The challenges of climate change for agricultural policy and some adaptation strategies” highlighting adaptation strategies in Nigeria, Mali and Malawi. Session 2 will focus on “Increasing knowledge and sharing best practices” introducing approaches and tools to enhance information flows and access to the knowledge base.

Objectives of the workshop are to:
- Raise awareness on the potential impacts of climate change on the agricultural sector and rural communities;
- Exchange information and expertise sharing among policy-makers, researchers and practitioners;
- Provide updated information and a platform of discussion on the various experiences on the field through Information and Communication Technologies.

Target audiences are ACP-EU policy makers, civil society groups, researchers and development practitioners. An emphasis will be made on giving the voice to the experts in the field.

Input and comments will be included in the Briefings blog: http://brusselsbriefings.net/.

Wednesday 7th November 2007, 14h00 – 18h00
Faire Internacional de Lisboa
Rua do Bojador, Parque das Nações -Lisbon
Room 4 (French and English interpretation provided)

The new web and the production of local content

After taking part in the panel discussion on 'The Core Aims of Knowledge Exchange and the Challenges of Using New Technologies to Meet Them', Dorothy Mukhebi reflected on some of the issues:

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The 'new' web opens up incredible opportunities for people to share information, knowledge and communicate with each other. Nevertheless, especially in Africa, content production is still a fundamental issue to be addressed. It is therefore crucial to work on capacity building, to give people the tools and the confidence to produce and disseminate their own content, saving all the local knowledge that we are losing out.

Read related stories.

See also relevant articles from the following sources:

- web2fordevblog
- ICTlogy
- crisscrossed blog

Can Europe lead where G8 failed? One million voices call on European leaders to end poverty now!

As EU leaders gather in Brussels to discuss the future of Europe, campaigners are reminding them of their obligations in the fight against global poverty.

Over the past few months,in a petition coordinated by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), more than one million people have demanded German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other EU leaders take urgent action on aid, debt cancellation, trade justice and climate change. Last week, despite intense public pressure, many of these same leaders failed to make any meaningful progress on the issues when they met at the G8 summit in Germany

Alison Marshall, Advocacy Manager at BOND, said:
"Europe is so important in the worldwide battle against global poverty. EU countries currently provide 52% of all development aid. Europe is also the world's largest trade block, so is pivotal to efforts to make trade fair and just for developing countries."

In 2005, European and G8 governments pledged to increase aid dramatically, particularly to Africa, and 80% of this new aid was to come from the EU. Yet overall aid increases have been very slow, and aid volumes to Africa have been static since 2004.

In 2007, Europe aims to conclude trade negotiations with 76 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific - the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) -. A number of countries have made it clear that more time is needed for pro-development trade agreements to be negotiated, and campaigners are asking the European Commission to stop using aggressive negotiation tactics to push unfair trade deals.

Alison Marshall, Advocacy Manager at BOND, added:
"G8 leaders have already responded to campaigners with a disgraceful lack of urgency. For millions of people around the world, giving up the fight against poverty is not an option. In Africa, 6,000 people die of AIDS every day. A woman dies in childbirth every minute. Our message to EU leaders is clear: play your role in the world and act against poverty now."

Source: BOND press release.

Civil society participation in the African Union

The preamble of the African Union's constitution states to "build a partnership between governments and all segments of civil society" and aims to make Africans actors and beneficiaries of the continental development. However the vision of the young all-African organisation lags behind its current achievements.

The study, "Towards a people-driven African Union: Current obstacles and new opportunities", published by the African Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD), the Open Society Institute Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project (AfriMAP) and Oxfam analyzes the current state of civil society involvement in the AU.

Focal points of the study are the AU 2006 summit preparations. It assesses member state actors, the AU Commission and the Economic, Social and Cultural Council regarding their ability to collate, analyse and distribute information for qualified decision making.

The authors conclude that "inadequate institutional capacity and inappropriate policies and procedures have hindered the realisation of the vision".

The report recommends fostering a change of attitude of AU member state government officials, who so far do not consider civil society as relevant contributors to policy development of the African Union. Furthermore the Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC) of the African Union should become an independent voice of the civil society with a strong legal basis.

Visit the europafrica.org to participate in public consultations on a new EU-Africa joint strategy.

See also the Euforic dossier on Africa.

Story contributed by Martin Behrens.