Na Mwandishi wetu Washington 

Makamo wa Kwanza Mstaafu wa Rais wa Zanzibar na Katibu mkuu wa Chama Cha Wananchi (CUF), maalim Seif Sharif Hamad, jana alimaliza ziara yake nchini Marekani iliyochukua muda wa wiki moja.

Makamo wa Kwanza Mstaafu wa Rais wa Zanzibar na Katibu mkuu wa Chama Cha Wananchi (CUF), maalim Seif Sharif Hamad (Picha na http://swahilivilla.blogspot.com/) Maalim Seif alikhitimisha ziara yake hiyo kwa mkutano wa hadhara ambapo alipata nafasi ya kuongea na Watanzania waishio nchini humu.

Katika Mkutano huo, mwanasiasa huyo gwiji nchini Tanzania alisema kuwa lengo la ziara yake ni kuuelezea ulimwengu kukhusu kile kilichotokea Zanzibar kufuatia uchaguzi wa Oktoba 25 na mwelekeo wa demokrasia nchini Tanzania kwa ujumla.

Aliielezea ziara yake hiyo nchini Marekani kuwa imezaa matrunda. “Sina budi kumshukuru Mwenyezi Mungu kuwa tumeeleweka na ziara yetu imezaa matunda” alisema Maalim Seif.

Sehemu ya hadhira wakimsikiliza kwa makini Maalim Seif

Kukhusiana na zoezi la uchaguzi wa mwaka jana Visiwani Zanzibar, Maalim Seif alisema kuwa, uchaguzi huo ulihudhuriwa na waangalizi wa Kimataifa na wa ndani kutoka pande zote za Muungano, Bara na Zanzibar, na wachunguzi wote hao walithibitisha kuwa uchaguzi ulikuwa huru na wa haki. “Waangalizi wote, wote kabisa, walikiri kuwa uchaguzi ulikuwa huru na wa haki”, alisisitiza kiongozi huyo na kuongeza kuwa “Ulikuwa uchaguzi bora kabisa kuliko chaguzi zote zilizotangulia Zanzibar”

Aliuulezea mchakato wa uchaguzi kuwa ulikwenda vizuri mpaka kufikia tarehe 27 Oktoba ambapo jumla ya Majimbo 34 ya uchaguzi yalikuwa tayari yameshatangazwa, na mengine 9 yakiwa yameshahakikiwa ikiwa bado kutangwazwa tu. Na kwa upande wa udiwani na Uwakilishi, uchaguzi ulikuwa umeshakamilika na washindi kupewa shada zao za ushindi.

NAIBU WAZIRI WA HABARI MGENI RASMI AZANIA BANK KIDS RUN 2016 YATAKAYOFANYIKA KESHO KUTWA VIWANJA VYA MNAZI MMOJA JIJINI DAR E SALAAM

 Mjumbe wa Kamati ya Utendaji ya Shirikisho la Riadha Tanzania (RT), Tullo Chambo (kushoto), akizungumza katika mkutano na waandishi wa habari Dar es Salaam leo mchana wakati akimkaribisha Ofisa Masoko Mwandamizi wa Bank ya Azania, Othman Jibrea (katikati), kuzungumza na wanahabari kuhusu mbio hizo zitakazofanyika kesho kutwa. Kulia ni Mratibu wa Mbio hizo, Wilhelm Gidabuday.

 Ofisa Masoko Mwandamizi wa Bank ya Azania, Othman Jibrea (katikati), akizungumzia kuhusu mbio hizo.

 Mratibu wa Mbio hizo, Wilhelm Gidabuday (kulia), akizungumzia kukamilika kwa maandalizi ya mbio hizo.

 Mwanafunzi Rachel Stephen wa Shule ya Sekondari ya Mburahati (kulia) na Mwenzake Ali Muhidin kutoka Shule ya Msingi Muungano wakizungumzia ushiriki wa mbio hizo.

 Wanahabbari wakichukua taarifa hiyo.

Waratibu wa mbio hizo wakionesha fulana zitakazotumiwa na watoto watakao kimbia mbio hizo. Kutoka kulia ni Mjumbe wa Kamati ya Ufundi ya Shirikisho la Riadha Tanzania (RT), Peter Mwita, Mratibu wa Mbio hizo, Wilhelm Gidabuday, Ofisa Masoko Mwandamizi wa Bank ya Azania, Othman Jibrea na Mjumbe wa Kamati ya Utendaji ya Shirikisho la Riadha Tanzania (RT), Tullo Chambo.

Dotto Mwaibale

NAIBU Waziri wa Habari, Utamaduni, Sanaa na Michezo Anastazia Wambura anatarajiwa kuwa mgeni rasmi katika  Mbio za Watoto za Azania Kids Run 2016, 
 zitakazofanyika Jumapili Juni 5 jijini Dar es Salaam.

Akizungumza jijini Dar es Salaam leo, Mratibu wa Azania Kids Run 2016, zinazodhaminiwa na Benki ya Azania, Wilhelm Gidabuday, amesema kuwa Naibu Waziri Wambura atakuwa mgeni rasmi katika kinyang'anyiro hicho kitakachokuwa na mbio za kategori tano.

Gidabuday amebainisha kuwa, maandailizi yote ya Azania Kids Run 2016 yanaenda vema, ikiwamo idadi kubwa ya wazazi na walezi kujitokeza kusajili watoto wao, huku akiwataka wengi kutumia siku mbili zilizobaki kuhakikisha wanawapa vijana wao nafasi ya kushiriki.

"Mbio hizi zinazotarajia kushirikisha zaidi ya watoto 2,000, zinatarajia kufanyika Jumapili Juni 5, 2016 kwenye Viwanja vya Mnazi Mmoja, zikihusisha watoto chini ya miaka 16, ambako Naibu Waziri Wambura atakuwa mgeni rasmi," alisema Gidabuday.

Amewasisitiza wazazi, walezi na wadau kujitokeza kusajili watoto wao na kwamba fomu bado zinapatikana katika matawi yote ya Benki ya Azania, Ofisi za Baraza la Michezo la Taifa (BMT) zilizoko Samora Avenue na Ofisi za Shirikisho la Riadha Tanzania (RT).

Gidabuday ametumia nafasi hiyo kuwahakikishia wazazi na walezi wa watoto watakaoshiriki Azania Kids Run 2016 kuwa, usalama wa watoto wao wakati wa shindano utakuwa kipaumbele chao na kuwatoa hofu ya usalama wakati wa kukimbia.

"Barabara zote zitakazotumiwa na watoto kukimbilia zitakuwa na uangalizi maalum ikiwa ni pamoja na gari za huduma ya kwanza na matibabu kwa watakaohitaji kupatiwa huduma hizo," amesema Gidabuday katika mkutano na wanahabari Dar es Salaam.

Ofisa Masoko Mwandamizi wa Azania Bank, Othman Jibrea, amezitaja zawadi za washindi mbalimbali wa mbio hizo, huku akiweka msisitizo kwa kutawaka wazazi kuendelea kusajili watoto wao kuwa sehemu ya tukio hilo la kihistoria.

"Mshindi wa kwanza mbio za Kilomita 5 ni Sh. 200,000, mshindi wa pili Sh. 150,000 na mshindi wa tatu sh. 100,000, pamoja na medali, begi lenye vifaa vya shule na sare za michezo, wakati mshindi wa nne hadi wa 10 watapata kifuta jasho cha sh. 15,000," amesema.

Katika mbio za kilomita 2, Jibrea alitaja zawadi kuwa ni sh. 100,000 kwa mshindi, huku atakayeshika nafasi ya pili akitarajiwa kulamba sh. 75,000 na wa tatu kujitwalia sh. 50,000, kategori ambayo pia washindi wa nne hadi wa 10 watapata kifuta jasho cha sh. 15,000.

Aidha, amebanisha kuwa, kategori ya mbio za kilomita moja mshindi atatwaa sh. 75,000, huku wa pili akibeba sh. 50,000 na wa tatu akijishindia sh. 40,000, ambako pia washindi wa nne hadi wa 10 watapata kifuta jasho kama kilivyotajwa hapo juu.

Pia kutakuwa na mbio za mita 50 na 100, ambazo zitakimbiwa na watoto chini ya miaka mitatu, ambako washindi washindi wote watafunguliwa akaunti katika Benki ya Azania, itakayokuwa na kianzio cha sh.15,000, sanjari na begi la shule lenye vifaa vyote muhimu.

(Imeandaliwa na mtandao wa www. habari za jamii.com simu namba 0712-727062)

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

In May we were delighted to publish a Briefing Note on Dakar's thwarted attempt to issue West Africa’s first municipal bond. On 15 June, we will be hosting a discussion on  "Sustainable funding for Africa’s cities" from 6pm to 8pm. Speakers confirmed so far include Professor Susan Parnell from the African Centre for Cities, and Jeremy Gorelick, lead technical adviser at Dakar's Municipal Finance Program . Sign up here.

On the ARI blog this month, Oluseun Onigbinde, founder of BudgIT, reflected on Buhari’s first year as president of Nigeria, and argued that he must lead the way in reforming Nigeria’s states. For more on the state of sub-national government in Nigeria watch these video highlights of our recent event on the subject. You can also watch ARI's Paul Adams discuss the state of Nigeria’s states in this interviewwith CNBC. 

Our Policy Researcher Jamie Hitchen wrote about corruption in post-Ebola Sierra Leone, reflecting on how the lyrics of Emmerson Bockarie’s recent music have captured the mood of frustration amongst citizens. The piece was republished by Africa at LSE and  Daily Maverick. 

On 12 May, as President Museveni was sworn in for a fifth elected term in Uganda, Jamie Hitchen reflected on recent political developments in the country and what might unfold in the next  five years. This week also saw Museveni deliver the State of the Nation address to parliament, an opportune moment toreflect on the last 30 years of the NRMs self-proclaimed steady progress.

At the World Economic Forum on Africa in Kigali, Rwanda, ARI director Edward Paice was a discussion leader in the “Towards an integrated Africa” session. While there he also interviewed John Rwangombwa, Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda for a forthcoming publication; discussed collaboration with the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research; and met with senior officials in the Presidency.

Edward also delivered the keynote speech at The Historical Association’s 2016 annual conference, attended by more than 300 delegates. The topic was ‘“A most regrettable occurrence”: the First World War campaigns in eastern Africa’. See his ARI publication "How the Great War razed East Africa” for further insight.
 
In June, keep an eye out for the launch of Briefing Note on land reform and traditional leadership in South Africa and a French version of the Dakar Briefing Note.

Best wishes,

Yovanka Paquete Perdigao
Communications Officer, Africa Research Institute

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

In May we were delighted to publish a Briefing Note on Dakar's thwarted attempt to issue West Africa’s first municipal bond. On 15 June, we will be hosting a discussion on  "Sustainable funding for Africa’s cities" from 6pm to 8pm. Speakers confirmed so far include Professor Susan Parnell from the African Centre for Cities, and Jeremy Gorelick, lead technical adviser at Dakar's Municipal Finance Program . Sign up here.

On the ARI blog this month, Oluseun Onigbinde, founder of BudgIT, reflected on Buhari’s first year as president of Nigeria, and argued that he must lead the way in reforming Nigeria’s states. For more on the state of sub-national government in Nigeria watch these video highlights of our recent event on the subject. You can also watch ARI's Paul Adams discuss the state of Nigeria’s states in this interviewwith CNBC. 

Our Policy Researcher Jamie Hitchen wrote about corruption in post-Ebola Sierra Leone, reflecting on how the lyrics of Emmerson Bockarie’s recent music have captured the mood of frustration amongst citizens. The piece was republished by Africa at LSE and  Daily Maverick. 

On 12 May, as President Museveni was sworn in for a fifth elected term in Uganda, Jamie Hitchen reflected on recent political developments in the country and what might unfold in the next  five years. This week also saw Museveni deliver the State of the Nation address to parliament, an opportune moment toreflect on the last 30 years of the NRMs self-proclaimed steady progress.

At the World Economic Forum on Africa in Kigali, Rwanda, ARI director Edward Paice was a discussion leader in the “Towards an integrated Africa” session. While there he also interviewed John Rwangombwa, Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda for a forthcoming publication; discussed collaboration with the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research; and met with senior officials in the Presidency.

Edward also delivered the keynote speech at The Historical Association’s 2016 annual conference, attended by more than 300 delegates. The topic was ‘“A most regrettable occurrence”: the First World War campaigns in eastern Africa’. See his ARI publication "How the Great War razed East Africa” for further insight.
 
In June, keep an eye out for the launch of Briefing Note on land reform and traditional leadership in South Africa and a French version of the Dakar Briefing Note.

Best wishes,

Yovanka Paquete Perdigao
Communications Officer, Africa Research Institute

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

In May we were delighted to publish a Briefing Note on Dakar's thwarted attempt to issue West Africa’s first municipal bond. On 15 June, we will be hosting a discussion on  "Sustainable funding for Africa’s cities" from 6pm to 8pm. Speakers confirmed so far include Professor Susan Parnell from the African Centre for Cities, and Jeremy Gorelick, lead technical adviser at Dakar's Municipal Finance Program . Sign up here.

On the ARI blog this month, Oluseun Onigbinde, founder of BudgIT, reflected on Buhari’s first year as president of Nigeria, and argued that he must lead the way in reforming Nigeria’s states. For more on the state of sub-national government in Nigeria watch these video highlights of our recent event on the subject. You can also watch ARI's Paul Adams discuss the state of Nigeria’s states in this interviewwith CNBC. 

Our Policy Researcher Jamie Hitchen wrote about corruption in post-Ebola Sierra Leone, reflecting on how the lyrics of Emmerson Bockarie’s recent music have captured the mood of frustration amongst citizens. The piece was republished by Africa at LSE and  Daily Maverick. 

On 12 May, as President Museveni was sworn in for a fifth elected term in Uganda, Jamie Hitchen reflected on recent political developments in the country and what might unfold in the next  five years. This week also saw Museveni deliver the State of the Nation address to parliament, an opportune moment toreflect on the last 30 years of the NRMs self-proclaimed steady progress.

At the World Economic Forum on Africa in Kigali, Rwanda, ARI director Edward Paice was a discussion leader in the “Towards an integrated Africa” session. While there he also interviewed John Rwangombwa, Governor of the National Bank of Rwanda for a forthcoming publication; discussed collaboration with the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research; and met with senior officials in the Presidency.

Edward also delivered the keynote speech at The Historical Association’s 2016 annual conference, attended by more than 300 delegates. The topic was ‘“A most regrettable occurrence”: the First World War campaigns in eastern Africa’. See his ARI publication "How the Great War razed East Africa” for further insight.
 
In June, keep an eye out for the launch of Briefing Note on land reform and traditional leadership in South Africa and a French version of the Dakar Briefing Note.

Best wishes,

Yovanka Paquete Perdigao
Communications Officer, Africa Research Institute

Kampala bombings: justice at last?

31 May 2016

On the night of the FIFA World Cup final in July 2010, twin suicide attacks ravaged Uganda’s capital, Kampala. As a result, 74 people died, 70 were injured and the nation was left devastated.

Last week, on 26 May – just over a month shy of the six-year anniversary of the attacks – the Ugandan International Crimes Division of the High Court handed down a landmark decision convicting several of those accused of masterminding the attacks. The suspects’ charges included terrorism and 76 counts of murder.

In handing down the court’s decision, Justice Alphonse Owiny Dollo stressed the significance of the case. In a marathon, six-hour-long judgment – what seemed like a symbolic (even if unintended) hour for every year since the attack – Justice Owiny Dollo detailed the events and the various roles played by the accused. Their sentences were handed down the following day, 27 May.

Justice Owiny Dollo underscored that the death penalty would play into the hands of terrorists

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The evidence showed that the attacks were planned in Somalia, and the explosives transported to Uganda via Kenya. The accused came from Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania; an odd show of regional collaboration and the transnationality of crime. Incidentally, it was through concerted regional collaboration and cooperation that Ugandan authorities were able to get the evidence they needed in this case. Indeed, in complex criminal cases such as this, cooperation is key in ensuring convictions for terrorism and transnational crime.

Eight of the 13 men on trial were convicted on a range of charges. There was insufficient evidence to convict the other five.

Key in this case was the evidence of two self-confessed conspirators, Mahmoud Mugisha and Edris Nsubuga. Their evidence crucially provided background information about the planning and execution of the attacks, and highlighted the importance of ‘insider witnesses’.

Mugisha, for his part, provided critical information about his training in Somalia by al-Shabaab, together with five of the main suspects. He also detailed his role in transporting the explosives from Nairobi to Kampala. Mugisha was arrested at the border between Kenya and Uganda, but the man he was travelling with (one of those now convicted, Suleiman Hajjir Nyamandondo), managed to slip past and deliver the bombs to Isa Ahmed Luyima, also known as ‘Moses’.

Regional cooperation is key in ensuring convictions for terrorism and transnational crime

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For cooperating with the state, Mugisha served a five-year sentence for conspiring to commit terrorism. Nsubuga was sentenced to three concurrent 25-year sentences over his alleged involvement in the Kampala attacks.

In addition to Mugisha and Nsubuga, the prosecution presented evidence from over 70 other witnesses. These witnesses included survivors of the attacks, and security operatives from Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution left little to chance.

One of the accused, Isa Ahmed Luyima, was found to have masterminded the attacks. The court agreed that there was compelling evidence against him – including critical DNA evidence and handwriting analysis. Notably, the court heard that Ahmed Luyima underwent training with al-Shabaab in Somalia before heading to Uganda in January 2010 to plan the attacks, including recruiting people and scouting for potential targets. Luyima was sentenced to life in prison.

The others convicted for terrorism, murder and attempted murder were Hussein Hassan Agad, Idris Magondu, Habib Suleiman Njoroge and Muhammed Ali Muhamed. They were also sentenced to life in prison. Also convicted were Suleiman Hajjir Nyamandondo and Hassan Haruna Luyima; both sentenced to 50 years in prison.

In sentencing the main perpetrators to lengthy jail terms (but rejecting the prosecution’s request for death penalties), Justice Owiny Dollo underscored that the death penalty would play into the hands of terrorists andwould not bring closure to society. Uganda, though it still retains the death penalty, has not executed anyone in over a decade. In 2009, the Ugandan Supreme Court confirmed an earlier Constitutional Court decision that thedeath penalty as a mandatory sentence is unconstitutional.

This was the first major terrorist case under Uganda’s new anti-terrorism law

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The eighth convict, Muzafar Luyima, was convicted only as an accessory and for aiding and abetting. His sentence is two days of community service per week for one year. The sentence, however lenient, considers that he had been incarcerated for close to six years since his arrest.

While all were convicted for terrorism-related offences, they were not convicted of being part of a terrorist organisation. When the crimes were committed in 2010, al-Shabaab was not listed in Uganda’s Anti-terrorism Act as a terrorism organisation.

As of Sunday 29 May, the police continued to detain the five men who had been acquitted by the court. While the reason for this remains unclear, it could be because Justice Owiny Dollo noted that their acquittal on terrorism charges did not mean other cases would not be opened against them in future.

So, six years after the attacks, there is some finality; at last. The time it took to finish this case speaks to the difficulties faced in complex criminal cases. Significantly, it was the first major terrorist case under Uganda’s new anti-terrorism law; which made its proper handling all the more important.

Furthermore, the trial, which was meant to begin 2011, has faced several setbacks. The first major delay came in 2011, when the Kenyan and Tanzanian accused contested their arrests and delivery to Uganda – alleging that they had been abducted. The suspects also claimed that intelligence officers from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, the United Kingdom and the United States treated them cruelly and inhumanely.

This constitutional petition delayed the trial for almost two years. On 22 October 2014, the court dismissed the application, finding that Kenya and Tanzania had ‘voluntarily arrested and surrendered the suspects to Uganda.’

With terrorist attacks still ravaging the region, reactive justice alone may not be enough

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After the Constitutional Court dismissed the application and the trial resumed, some of the suspects claimed that their confessions had been made under duress. They alleged that security operatives tortured them while at safe houses in Kololo, Kampala. The suspects detailed several forms of torture, including threats of death and being forced to eat pork against their Islamic faith. They also alleged that their tongues were pierced and their testicles squeezed. This was accepted by the court, and it was decided that the court would not rely on the impugned confessions.

The trial eventually started in March 2015, but was once again suspended after the then lead prosecutor, Joan Kagezi, was killed on 30 March – reportedly by assailants aligned to al-Shabaab. The trial only resumed in June 2015. Last week’s convictions and sentences were thus a very long time coming.

In the years since the Kampala attacks, there have been several other terrorist attacks in East Africa. In Kenya, two serious examples come to mind. In September 2013, Westgate Mall in Nairobi was held under siege by armed men, resulting in at least 67 deaths. In April 2015, al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for an attack on Garissa University College, in which 148 people were killed. Justice for these attacks is yet to be served.

With some closure to the Kampala bombings case, one hopes that survivors can find peace in justice being served. But with terrorist attacks still ravaging the region, and the continent, reactive justice alone may not be enough. In celebrating convictions of those who carry out terrorist attacks and their accomplices, attention must also be paid to how the criminal justice system and other actors can work to deter these crimes. Prevention, it is said, is better than cure.

Why SMEs are at the heart of ITU Telecom World 2015

Enabling more of the world’s population to access and participate in the digital economy – and all the socio-economic benefits it entails – is critical to ITU’s mission. Finding the best approach to do so is an ongoing process of discovery, trial-and-error and collaboration. It calls for understanding and adapting to the changing realities of information and communication technology (ICT) and its ecosystem – an ecosystem which has undergone radical transformation over the past decade.

Major international carriers and long-established national organizations with their homogeneous working culture and traditions are no longer the only players in town. The ICT industry today consists of a complex and diverse amalgamation of ideas, technologies and stakeholders, of new partnerships, new markets, and new cross-sector engagement with fields as diverse as health, education, transportation or agriculture.

Increasingly, it is also an industry driven by local entrepreneurship at the grassroots level, creating local solutions for local challenges, addressing local needs within specific local contexts. Impactful ideas are no longer just born in a few global centres, but spring from a wide variety of places.

At the forefront of both industry disruption and economic growth in both developed and developing markets, entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a vital role in this new ecosystem.

Whether established micro-businesses or fresh start-ups, already operating at optimal capacity to fill a specific niche, or with a high-growth potential to scale, replicate and move from local to national or international, SMEs are a major economic force-  representing more than 95% of enterprises and ensure up to 70% of jobs globally, and providing two-thirds of all formal jobs in developing countries and as much as 80% in low income countries.

The fundamental shift in technologies, user behaviour and business models in the ICT sector, in particular the significant growth of mobile and open source culture, along with repositioning the locus of innovation from the centre to the edge of the network, have fed into and enabled the rise of SMEs developing and delivering ICT products and services. At least in theory, anyone anywhere in the world with effective connectivity and the necessary skills can innovate with potentially global significance.

Supporting local development, digital entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs throughout the world is therefore critical not only to address local challenges, but to power growth in the ICT industry, help bring online more of the 60% of the global population that remain unconnected, and share the benefits of the digital economy, enabling social and economic development. Local context is paramount, but local solutions may often be fit for purpose elsewhere in the world – globally scalable and replicable – if they can first be discovered.

Recognising the importance of fostering ICT entrepreneurship and local innovation in driving job creation and the digital economy, many national governments have created and facilitated initiatives such as innovation hubs, accelerators, incubators and tech parks. But a huge gap in skills, funding, tools and knowledge remains – a gap between good ideas and good investors, between local solutions and established players eager to uncover unexplored potential.

ITU is ideally positioned to contribute to closing this gap, promoting digital entrepreneurship in collaboration with other major international stakeholders. As the UN specialized agency for ICTs, it combines the necessary authority, expertise and convening power to bring together ministers, regulators, industry leaders, academia, innovation hubs and accelerators, as well as start-ups and SMEs themselves from emerging and developed markets around the world to share knowledge, break down silos, encourage new partnerships, and make valuable connections.

By bringing in SMEs digital entrepreneurs, and supporting the governments of Member States in promoting initiatives such as hubs, accelerators and incubators, ITU is responding to the realities of the new ICT ecosystem and the expressed needs of its Members. Recognising the importance of this sector in creating innovative, sustainable economic and social impact, ITU is actively working to support it.

ITU’s flagship event, ITU Telecom World, has drawn high-level representatives from private and public sectors from all over the globe for more than 40 years to showcase innovation,  network and exchange knowledge-. ITU Telecom World 2015 will continue to be both a meeting place and a market place, a platform for debating core industry issues, exhibiting innovative solutions and making valuable connections. But the event will also bring SMEs, start-ups and supporting initiatives to the table, to the meeting rooms, panel discussions, networking occasions and exhibition floor, as important stakeholders in the new ICT ecosystem.

Exploring experiences, solutions and approaches from new players around the world will open up new routes to the funding, knowledge, expertise, technical, business and marketing skills which are sorely needed. It also promises exposure to the most promising innovative ICT ideas – sometimes in surprising places – opening up a two-way dialogue with and between emerging markets.

Meeting face to face, discussing key industry issues, discovering hands-on the solutions, projects and applications with the potential to make a huge difference, enriching the industry through networking and knowledge exchange: these have always been the core activities of ITU Telecom World, and indeed of ITU itself. Encouraging the active participation of ICT-related SMEs and their support networks, actively striving to accelerate innovation in the ICT sector and thereby stimulate industry growth and socio-economic development – this is the logical and necessary next step towards achieving global access to, and participation in, the digital economy.

This blog was previously published on the ITU Blog: https://itu4u.wordpress.com/2015/10/07/why-smes-are-at-the-heart-of-itu-telecom-world-2015/

PRESS RELEASE . . . . PRESS RELEASE . . . . PRESS RELEASE . . .

Suffer the Little Children.

Ending the unwarranted tragic separation of children from their mothers in UK and US

Tuesday 7 June, 6.30-8.30pm, Grimond Room, Portcullis House, Westminster

To arrange interviews call: Anne Neale or Kim Sparrow 020 7482 2496

law@allwomencount.net   http://legalactionforwomen.net

Launch of dossier by Legal Action for Women documenting cases of children unjustifiably separated from their mother or kinship carer, adopted by strangers, put into care or in the hands of violent fathers. And comparative UK-US evidence presented by RICHARD WEXLER, Executive Director of the US National Coalition for Child Protection Reform. Mr Wexler has been debunking common myths on child protection for over 40 years.  His evidence is backed by US and UK research which has so far beenignored.

The number of 'looked after' children in England is the highest it’s been since 1985.  There were applications to take 21,666 children into care in the year ending March 2016.  1 in 5 children under five are referred to children’s services; 1 in 19 investigated; the figures are even higher if over 5s are taken into account.  Adoptions are higher than in any other European country, at their highest since the start of data collection.  5,050 children were adopted in 2014, a 58% increase from 2010.  96% of adoptions are without parental consent. The rates of children in care in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland is even higher than in England,

Suffer the Little Children, documents the experiences of 39 mothers with 67 children. Its key findings are:

·        In 78% of cases the mother suffered domestic violence. This was not taken seriously and often used against the mother.

·       In 36% of cases children were in care or adopted; 18% adopted.

·       In 22% of the cases the children were placed with their father, including fathers accused of violence.

·       In another 20% of cases the mother was disputing the father’s contact, usually because of violence.   

·       40% of the mothers are women of colour and/or immigrant women.

The government Children and Social Work Bill, which has its 2^nd reading on 14 June, aims to make it even easier for children to be taken away from their biological families.  A child protection social worker has warned against the government’s latest plans:

"The ‘undeserving poor’ have lost their council homes; lost their benefits and lost their community services; why not make it easier to lose their children too?"

Richard Wexler has this to say:

“There is no understanding of the harm of removal. For a young child, it can be an experience akin to a kidnapping . . . Foster care is an extremely toxic intervention.  For the overwhelming majority of children it is an undue risk to children’s safety.”

Given the warning against the Children and Social Work Bill, will MPs come to hear Mr Wexler’s expert evaluation?  Will they hear from mothers struggling to protect their children?

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