PHOTO:Ayoub  mzee
MEET HE MRS FATIMA NARAM ACYL-Commissioner for Trade and Industry at the Africa Union
African Union Commission
Roosevelt Street
(Old Airport Area) W. 21 K. 19
P.O. Box: 3243
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel.: + (251) 011 5 18 29 02
Fax: + (251) 0115 18 29 70
E-mail: acylf@africa-union.org

                                                                                                                              PHOTO:Ayoub  mzee
 MEET Dr Aïsha Adbullahi, from Nigeria, the  new Africa union Political Affairs Commissioner. She won the vote for the most popular post against 6 contenders.
Adbullahi was previously Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Republic of Guinea. Before that, she was Commissioner for Special Duties in Bauchi State from May 2004 to May 2007. Abdullahi holds doctorate degree in organic chemistry  from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University. Importantly, her experience in Guinea made her acquainted with current African peace and security challenges. ‘I will be proactive in conducting sound programmes that will assist the AU and its Member States to evolve, promote and nurture political governance systems (…)… I will accelerate activities that will help Member States develop unique internal democratic systems and structures’ she stated upon her appointment. In the run up to the 10^th anniversary of the African Peer Review Mechanism, and in the context of the implementation of the African Governance Architecture, such a stress on political governance is a promising indication for the future. Lastly, it is worth noting that she is the first Nigerian to seize a Commissioner’s seat in the AU, which makes her appointments a significant diplomatic success for her own country.

                                                                                                                              PHOTO:Ayoub  mzee
 Her Excellency Tumusiime Rhoda Peace is the Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture at the African Union. Prior to assuming this portfolio, H.E Tumusiime held various senior positions in the Government of the Republic of Uganda, including Commissioner for Agriculture Planning and Commissioner for Women and Development. She is a holder a Bachelors’ Degree in Agricultural Economics,  a Masters Degree in Economics, Planning and Managing Rural Development, and a Diploma in Women and Development.

Throughout her career, she has demonstrated leadership and championed causes such as women empowerment, poverty eradication, agricultural development, strategic planning and partnership building, among others.

Her portfolio  as AU Commissioner covers multiple sectors ranging from crop agriculture, livestock, fisheries, forestry, land, water, environment, climate change, climate services, disaster risk reduction to rural development. She has mobilized and closely worked with other Pan African Institutions and Development Partner Agencies in all those areas to secure and provide support to AU Member States. Her efforts have yielded increased responses in the framework of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Programme (CAADP). From one country which had signed a CAADP Compact over a period of four years to 26 within less than 2 years. She spearheaded the coordination of Africa’s preparations for global climate change negotiations and the formulation of a continent-wide climate change strategy in addition to steering Africa’s preparation of the Disaster Risk Reduction Action Plan in line with the global  Hugo Framework .

Her expertise and experience as well as commitment have won her a number of key positions on regional and international organizations, such as membership of the High-level Advisory Panel of UNISDR, Advisory Board of Expo 2015 dedicated to the Theme: Feeding the Planet, Energy For Life, Governing Board of the International Fertiliser Development Centre (IFDC), Chair of the African Fertiliser Financing Mechanism (AFFM), Chair of the ALive Platform  for livestock development in Africa, among others.

She continues to serve the African Union and its Member States with vigour and dedication.

Expert: Citizens test is ‘unfit for purpose’

The test has been criticised for containing too much history and too few life skills. Picture: TSPL

By TOM WILKINSON
Published on Monday 18 March 2013 00:47

THE new test for foreign nationals hoping to become British citizens is “unfit for purpose” as it concentrates too heavily on history and not enough on practical knowledge, according to an academic who has experienced the process.

US-born immigration expert Dr Thom Brooks, of Durham University, said the new Life in the UK test, which takes effect on 25 March, requires people taking it to learn detailed biographies of figures in British history.
But there is no requirement to know how to register with a GP, how to ring for an ambulance or what to do if someone is attacking your neighbour, he said.
Dr Brooks, who took the test in 2009, agreed history should play an important part in the exam, which is based on the third edition of its handbook Life in the United Kingdom: A Guide for New Residents.
But some of the detail in the book was too in-depth for what was required, he believed, and he highlighted a lengthy biography of Sake Dean Mahomed, a notable early Indian immigrant, and the inclusion of the facts that Crimean War heroine Florence Nightingale was born in Italy and trained in Germany.
Dr Brooks said: “The new citizenship test is unfit for purpose.
“It is also too limited and goes too far to include information about British culture and history at the expense of practical knowledge.”
Dr Brooks, who has a British wife, said: “I welcome the inclusion of British culture and history in the test because it is important that prospective citizens demonstrate awareness of Britain’s cultural narrative.
“But the government goes too far in making this narrative the main subject of the test.
“Britain will not be more cohesive because more have heard about the Battle of Trafalgar, but rather if future citizens understand better how to participate in daily British life and make a contribution.”
“If the test is meant to be a restrictive barrier, then a greater emphasis on globally well-known historical events and figures in popular culture may make the test easier to pass and so prove counter-productive.”
A Home Office spokesman said: “Putting our culture and history at the heart of the citizenship test will help ensure those permanently settling can understand British life allowing them to properly integrate into our society.”

Home office 'tried to scupper Stephen Lawrence inquiry', says key official

Dr Richard Stone, an adviser to the judge in the Macpherson inquiry, claims he has found evidence of 'interference' to protect reputation of force

•  

Doreen and Neville Lawrence, parents of the murdered teenager Stephen, in 1995. Photograph: Times Newspapers / Rex Features

The Home Office tried to undermine the work of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, which was set up to investigate police racism following the murder of the black teenager, according to allegations made by one of its key figures.
Dr Richard Stone, a leading adviser to the judge who produced the landmark Macpherson report in 1999, said he had decided to reveal his disquiet over "oddities". His comments follow news that one of the two men jailed last year for the racist murder of Lawrence has abandoned his appeal against his conviction ahead of next month's 20th anniversary of the death of the 18-year-old.
Gary Dobson, 36, was given a life sentence at the Old Bailey last year, although it has been confirmed that the second man, David Norris, 35, will continue to battle his conviction.
Although allegations of corruption clouded the initial 1993 police investigation into the murder of Lawrence, who was stabbed to death in Eltham, south London, Stone has now chosen to reveal his personal concerns about the inquiry.The Macpherson report delivered a damning assessment of the "institutional racism" in the Metropolitan Police and policing generally, a report still viewed by many as a seminal moment in British race relations.
Stone, also a member of the former Home Office working group on tackling extremism and a former president of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality, said that a number of incidents had led him to question if the Home Office had tried to suppress parts of the Stephen Lawrence inquiry, in an apparent attempt to reduce scrutiny of the police.
He said: "The conclusion of a number of oddities that arose from decisions by the Home Office was that there was something going on, which undermined the authority of the inquiry. You come to the conclusion that, on the balance of probability, all the other excuses are invalid and there is only one thing left, and that is the corruption or the racism or whatever it is behind it all."
Among the incidents that Stone believes are dubious was an alleged attempt by Home Office officials to persuade police to cancel an "overflow" room at the building in Elephant and Castle, south London, where the inquiry hearings were held and in which the media were scheduled to monitor events. Stone learned, just before the hearings were to begin, that the media's overflow room had been cancelled on health and safety grounds, a decision Stone says that was promptly challenged and defeated.
Another instance raised by Stone was the attempted cancellation of a visit by the Macpherson inquiry to Birmingham, one of six inner-city areas that panel members intended to visit as part of its investigation into police racism.
Stone cites newly obtained correspondence showing Home Office officials said that a planned visit to the city would have to be cancelled because they could not find a venue. However, Stone said that it appeared that no approach had been made to the council seeking a venue when the decision was made to cancel the trip. When Stone tracked down a councillor in Birmingham to ask why the Lawrence inquiry was initially dissuaded from visiting, he said: "It was obvious, said [a councillor], why the inquiry was dropped, although it was later reinstated. There were murmurings in the city that the authorities didn't want the Stephen Lawrence inquiry coming to poke their noses into their affairs because they've got a lot to hide."
Other concerns include disquiet over the time it took for material relating to the inquiry to be released, despite a policy that documents should be published soon after the report to allow police trainers to analyse them and encourage good practice in UK forces. among UK forces. Yet, Stone alleges it took six years for the release of the inquiry transcripts while a number of important accompanying documents remain locked away.
"All my personal notes are still missing. I've no idea what other material has yet to be released," said Stone, who is also a former vice-chair of the Runnymede Trust, which promotes a multiethnic Britain. His comments came on the eve of publication of Hidden Stories of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, Stone's book that will be launched this week in the House of Commons by Doreen Lawrence, Stephen's mother.
A Home Office spokesman said the Macpherson report had proved a catalyst for major improvements in policing and race issues. The department also confirmed that the results of an independent review into allegations that police corruption shielded the killers of Lawrence would be published in July.
An earlier review by the Metropolitan police concluded that its handling of the investigation could find no evidence of corruption and that the force had passed all material to the Macpherson inquiry.
The Home Office review is being handled by Mark Ellison QC, who led the prosecution case that last year saw two of the five original prime suspects, Gary Dobson and David Norris, jailed for the murder.

	MARCH 2013
MAKING CHILDCARE MORE AFFORDABLE

This Government faces tough choices in clearing up Labour's mess and getting this country standing tall again. But we've always been clear that we'll do everything we can to make life easier for Britain's families.

That's why we're determined to make childcare more affordable. We need to help parents who get up early, work hard and then find their income eaten away by fees for nurseries or childminders. And we also need to help people who just can't afford to work, because it's too expensive to pay someone to look after their children.

So today we've announced radical plans to cut childcare costs for parents from 2015:

	We're going to pay 20 per cent of your bill every year, up to £1,200 per child. That effectively gives you back your tax for childcare costs.
	We'll begin by helping those with children under 5 - then year by year we'll extend it until all children under 12 are covered.
	It's for families where both parents work. But don't worry if you're a working single mum or dad, it absolutely applies to you as well.

The bold action we've announced here comes on top of a number of other things we're doing to help people with the cost of living. We've cut tax for 24 million people, stopped Labour's fuel duty rises, frozen council tax for 3 years and are forcing energy companies to put their customers on the lowest available tariff.

Most people I meet don't expect the Government to wave a magic wand. They know the deep problems Labour left us. But they do expect us to back them if they work hard to build a better life for themselves and their children: to make things just a little bit easier.

This announcement on childcare today shows we're doing just that.

David Cameron

Racist thugs beat me up on Metrolink tram - and 200 passengers watched and did nothing

Today the M.E.N. joins Prakash Patel, a bank officer in Manchester, in calling for one of the witnesses to come forward and help police convict his attackers

Prakash Patel shortly after the attack

A dad who was racially abused and brutally battered on a tram packed with up to 200 people today told of his dismay after nobody stepped in to stop the attack.
Prakash Patel, 56, from New Moston, was on a tram with his daughter Devyani  at Trafford Bar when he suffered a tirade of racist abuse followed by a sustained vicious assault. He was punched in the face and head more than 18 times and suffered two black eyes and concussion.
Today the M.E.N. joins Prakash, a bank officer in Manchester, in calling for one of the witnesses to come forward and help police convict his attackers.
Here Prakash, who has lived in Manchester for 31 years and is married to teacher Vasanti, 52, tells of his terror on the tram...

‘Nobody did anything... my daughter was the only one who helped me’

WE had been to the Fulham match at Old Trafford. We go as often as we can because we are big fans, we’ve been going for 25 years and never had any trouble. There were more than 200 people just in our carriage, it was so packed you couldn’t move. About six men or seven men came on to the tram and started making indecent racist comments.
Myself and my daughter felt distressed and very uncomfortable about this so I said ‘just behave’.  I said it again ‘please behave’ and that's when it started. There was one in front of me and one behind me both punching me in my face and on the back of the head. They were hitting me in the face, the eyes, the head. After two punches I think I blacked out but the carriage was so full that I was unconscious while standing up. Nobody did anything or said anything, they all just stood and watched us.
I managed to lean against the side of the tram while they got out. They told me ‘If you want to finish this get off the tram’ before they got off calmly at the G-MEX stop.

Prakash Patel and his daughter Devyani

  Nobody did anything to stop them or help me afterwards. My daughter was the only one who helped me.  She managed to push one of the men off and then the other stopped. It seemed like the other passengers just wanted the drama.
 I had concussion and I needed a CT scan and was off work for two weeks. My wife had to stay off too to look after me. Now I can’t walk outside on my own and I will never go on public transport again and I will only ever watch Manchester United in a box, never again will I sit in the stands. I lost 3kg in the two weeks after the attack.
If I could I would leave the country but my family is too established here. Perhaps if it had been two groups of men fighting each other I could understand but this was two young men attacking an older man and his young daughter. How can this happen?
I want people to know – and I want witnesses to come forward so justice can be done.

I've lost my faith in society, says daughter

Devyani Patel, 21, is an estate agent who lives with her parents in New Moston.
Reliving their ordeal, she said: “I was screaming at them to stop. They were punching him over people’s heads, but nobody did anything or said anything. I was trying to pull them off my dad and shouting at them to get off my dad.
“The one facing me was just staring at me with these cold evil eyes. I am tiny and I’m a woman. I don’t understand why nobody did anything. I was just being his daughter.
“That’s what hurts the most – that nobody did anything, nobody said anything. I have lost my faith in society.
“Later at the police station, they showed us the CCTV footage. You can’t see the men but you can see all those passengers watching – it sent a shiver down my spine when I saw that. Some of them were actually jumping up to get a better view.
“Please, please, if you were on that tram come forward and speak to the police so we can find out who did this to us.”
The attack happened at Trafford Bar after Manchester United’s FA Cup clash with Fulham on January 26. The first offender is white, in his mid to late 20s, about 5ft 8in tall, with brown eyes, tanned skin and wearing a blue woollen hat with a snowflake/winter design. The second man was also white, in his mid to late 20s and said to be of a heavy build wearing a light coloured hat. Both men had local accents. Anyone with information should call police on 0161 856 9168 or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Press release Wednesday 20th March 2013 For immediate use Ed Miliband speech in response to Budget Statement - Check Against Delivery - Ed Miliband MP, Leader of the Opposition, said in the House of Commons in response to the Budget statement: Mr Deputy Speaker. This is the Chancellor’s fourth Budget, but one thing unites them all. Every Budget he comes to this house and things are worse not better for the country. Compared to last year’s Budget Growth last year, down. Growth this year, down. Growth next year, down. They don’t think growth matters, but people in this country do. And all he offers is more of the same. A more of the same Budget from a downgraded Chancellor. Britain deserves better than this. I do have to say to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, he almost need not have bother coming to the House because the whole Budget, including the market-sensitive fiscal forecast was in the Standard before he rose to his feet. To be fair to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, I sure he didn’t intend the whole of the Budget to be in the Standard before he rose to his feet and I hope he will investigate and report back to the House. Now, what did the Prime Minister declare late last year, and I quote: “The good news will keep coming”. And what did the Chancellor tell us today? Under this Government the bad news just doesn’t stop. Back in June 2010 the Chancellor promised: “a steady and sustained recovery...” He was wrong. We’ve had the slowest recovery for 100 years. Last year he said in the Budget there would be no double dip recession. He was wrong, there was. He told us a year ago that growth would be 2% this year. He was wrong. Now he says it will be just 0.6%. He told us that next year, growth would be 2.7%. Wrong again. Now just 1.8%. Wait for tomorrow the Chancellor says, and I will be vindicated. But with this Chancellor tomorrow never comes. He’s the wrong man. In the wrong place. At the worst possible time for the country. It’s a downgraded budget from a downgraded Chancellor. He has secured one upgrade this year. Travelling first class on a second class ticket from Crewe to London. And the only time the country’s felt all in it together, was when he got booed by 80,000 people at the Paralympics. Mr Deputy Speaker, I’ve got some advice for the Chancellor. Stay away from the cup final, even if Chelsea get there. And, who is paying the price for the Chancellor’s failure? Britain’s families. In his first Budget he predicted that living standards would rise over the Parliament. But wages are flat. Prices are rising. And Britain’s families are squeezed. And what the Chancellor didn’t tell us, is that the Office for Budget Responsibility has confirmed the British people will be worse off in 2015 than they were in 2010. It’s official: you’re worse off under the Tories. Worse off, year after year after year. And wasn’t there an extraordinary omission from his speech, no mention of the AAA rating. What the Prime Minister called the “mark of trust”. Which he told us had been “secured”. The Chancellor said it would be a humiliation for Britain to be downgraded. So not just a downgraded Chancellor. A humiliated Chancellor too. And what about borrowing? The Chancellor made the extraordinary claim in his speech that he was “on course”. Mr Deputy Speaker, even he can’t believe this nonsense. Debt is higher in every year of this Parliament than he forecast at the last Budget. He is going to borrow £200 billion more than he planned. And what did he say in his June 2010 Budget: He set two very clear benchmarks, and I quote, “We are on track to have debt falling and a balanced structural current budget” by 2014/15. Or as he called it “our four-year plan”. This was the deal he offered the British people. These were the terms. Four years of pain, tax rises …. The Prime Minister says from a sedentary position, borrow more, you are borrowing more. And he just needs to look down the road, because the Business Secretary was asked and he said: “We are borrowing more”. From his own Business Secretary. So these were the terms: four years, tax rises, and spending cuts, and the public finances would be sorted. So today he should have been telling us: Just one more year of sacrifice. In twelve months the good times will roll. Job done. Mission accomplished. Election plan underway. But three years on, what does he say? Exactly what he said three years ago. We still need four more years of pain, tax rises and spending cuts. In other words, after all the misery, all the harsh medicine, all the suffering by the British people: Three years. No progress. Deal broken. Same old Tories. And all he offers is more of the same. It’s as if they really do believe their own propaganda. That the failure is nothing to do with them. We’ve heard all the excuses: The snow, the royal wedding, the Jubilee, the eurozone. And now they’re turning on each other. The Prime Minister said last weekend, and I quote: “Let the message go out from this hall and this party: We are here to fight”. Mr Deputy Speaker, they’re certainly doing that. The Business Secretary’s turned on the Chancellor. The Home Secretary’s turned on the Prime Minister. And the Education Secretary’s turned on her. The whole country can see that’s what’s going on. The blame game has begun in the Cabinet. The truth is the Chancellor is lashed to the mast, not because of his judgement, but because of pride. Not because of the facts, but because of ideology. And why does he stay in his job? Not because the country want him. Not because his party want him. But because he is the Prime Minister’s last line of defence. The Bullingdon boys really are both in it together. And they don’t understand, you need a recovery made by the many not just a few at the top. It’s a year now since the omnishambles Budget. We’ve had u-turns on charities, on churches, on caravans. And yes, on pasties. But there is one policy they are absolutely committed to. The top rate tax cut. John the banker, remember him? He’s had a tough year, earning just £1m. What does he get? He gets a tax cut of £42,500 next year. £42,500, double the average wage. His colleague, let’s call him George, his colleague has done a little better, bringing home £5 million. What does he get in a tax cut? I know the Prime Minister doesn’t like to hear what he agreed to, what does he get? A tax cut of nearly £250,000. And at the same time everyone else is paying the price. The Chancellor is giving with one hand, and taking far more away with the other. Hard working families hit by the strivers tax. Pensioners hit by the granny tax. Disabled people hit by the bedroom tax. Millions paying more so millionaires can pay less. Now the Chancellor mentioned childcare. He wants a round of applause for cutting £7bn in help for families this Parliament, and offering £700m of help in the next. But what are the families who are waiting for that childcare help told? They’ve got to wait over two years for help to arrive. But for the richest in society, they just have to wait two weeks for the millionaires tax cut to kick in. This is David Cameron’s Britain. And still the Prime Minister refuses to tell us – despite repeated questions - whether he is getting the 50p tax cut. Oh he’s getting embarrassed now, you can see. He’s had a year to think about it. He must have done the maths. Even he should have worked it out by now. So come on. Nod your head if you are getting the 50p tax rate. They ask am I? No I am not getting the 50p tax rate, I am asking whether the PM is. Come on answer. After all, he is the person that said sunlight is the best disinfectant, let transparency win the day. Now let’s try something else. What about the rest of the Cabinet, are they getting the 50p tax rate? OK, hands up if you are not getting the 50p tax cut? Come on, hands up. Just put your hand up if you are not getting the 50p tax cut. They are obviously … they don’t like it do they? At last the Cabinet are united, with a simple message: Thanks George. He’s cutting taxes for them, while raising them for everyone else. Now the Chancellor announced some measures today that he said would boost growth. Just like he does every year. And every year they fail. I could mention the “national loan guarantee scheme”, he trumpeted that last year. And then he abolished just four months later. The Funding for Lending scheme, that he said would transform the prospects for small business. The work programme that is worse than doing nothing. And today he talked a lot about housing. And the Prime Minister said this in 2011. He launched his so-called housing strategy, and in his own understated way he labelled it “a radical and unashamedly ambitious strategy”. He said it would give the housing industry a shot in the arm, enable 100,000 people to buy their own home. 18 months later, how many families have been helped? Not 100,000. Not even 10,000. Just fifteen hundred out of 100,000 promised That’s 98,500 broken promises. For all the launches, strategies and plans, housing completions are now at the lowest level since the 1920s. And 130,000 jobs lost in construction because of their failing economic plan. It’s a failing economic plan from a failing Chancellor. The Chancellor has failed the tests of the British people: Growth, living standards and hope. But he has not just failed their tests. He has failed on his own as well. All he has to offer is this more of the same Budget. Today the Chancellor joined twitter. He could have got it all into 140 characters. Growth down. Borrowing up. Families hit. And millionaires laughing all the way to the bank. #downgradedChancellor. Mr Deputy Speaker, more of the same is not the answer to the last three years. More of the same is the answer of a downgraded Chancellor, in a downgraded Government. Britain deserves better than this.

Selma James is speaking on her recently published anthology Sex, Race and Class – The Perspective of Winning A Selection of Writings 1952-2011 at Festival51 Queen Mary, University of London Thursday 21 March 2013 6pm at Laird Hall at Barts Whitechapel campus. For more information or for interviews with Selma please contact: 020 7482 2496 To order the book: www.globalwomenstrike.net

 

Winners of Commonwealth Youth Awards announced

London, 13 March 2013 ‒ Four young development workers from Australia, Barbados, Kenya and Sri Lanka, were today awarded £14,000 between them for their projects.

Evans Wadongo, who won both the pan-Commonwealth and Africa region Commonwealth Youth Award, received a £5,000 grant for the charity he founded, ‘Use solar, save lives’.

At 19, Mr Wadongo designed a solar-powered lantern using recycled materials. Over 27,000 of these lanterns have been produced and distributed across Kenya, providing a safer, cheaper and environmentally-friendly lighting alternative to kerosene lamps. His programme has expanded to include building regional youth centres, which provide skills training for young people.

Regional winners for Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific each won a £3,000 grant.

Eco-entrepreneur Anoka Primrose Abeyrathne from Sri Lanka designed a programme that provides young people with skills to increase their employability, including training in how to write a resume, eco-tourism and computing. Her project is being replicated in Bangladesh and India.

As Chairman and President of The Barbados Vagrants and Homeless Society, Kemar Saffrey provides access to food, clothing, shelter and rehabilitation for those in need.

Julian O’Shea, Director of the Engineers Without Borders Institute, delivers education and technology projects across South Asia and within Aboriginal communities in Australia. He also encourages engineering students to undertake research projects focused on technologically sustainable development.

In February, 12 award finalists from Cameroon, India, Jamaica, Malawi, Nigeria, Pakistan, Samoa, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu each received a £1,000 grant.

Welcoming guests to the awards ceremony in London on 12 March, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said: “The objectives of the awards are to acknowledge the outstanding contributions of young people in the areas of development and democracy and to encourage sustainable investment in the depth and breadth of talent that exists across the Commonwealth.

“The future of the Commonwealth is bright because it is in the hands of these young people and the contributions they are making.”

Speaking afterwards about his win, Mr Wadongo said: “This award will go a long way in helping me to inspire other young people in Africa where opportunities are limited, not because of a lack of knowledge, but a lack of resources. I am interested in solutions that can be replicated across societies in the Commonwealth and that will impact as many lives as possible.”

The awards follow Commonwealth Day on Monday, 11 March, when this year’s Commonwealth theme ‘Opportunity through Enterprise’ was launched at events around the globe. The theme celebrates the innovation and dedication of Commonwealth citizens, whose ideas are helping their communities and countries to prosper.

Young people from more than 36 countries across the Commonwealth were nominated for the awards, which are run by the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Youth Affairs Division. The division manages the Commonwealth Youth Programme.

Media Contact:

Victoria Holdsworth

Deputy Director

Communications and Public Affairs Division

Email: v.holdsworth@commonwealth.int

Telephone: +44 (0)20 7747 6383

Telephone (Mobile): +44 (0) 7894 593520

                                               

ISS Seminar on understanding and reducing crime in South Africa using spatial technologies

Event date: Thursday 28 March 2013
Event time: 10h30 to 13h00
Event venue: ISS Conference Room, ISS Pretoria

Register online

In order to reduce crime, it is important to understand the problem in its various manifestations. For some years now, a few researchers have been developing techniques and technologies for analysing crime geographically so as to provide better insights into its nature and prevalence.

This seminar will provide an opportunity for two leading researchers in this field to show how emerging spatial technologies can contribute to creative and new ways of understanding and reducing crime in South Africa. A historical overview of crime in the country from a geographical and spatial perspective will also be provided. The South African Police Service (SAPS) will respond to these presentations and discuss the extent to which this approach is being used in the SAPS.

Speakers

• Understanding the magnitude and spatial extent of crime in South Africa: Dr Gregory Breetzke, University of Canterbury, New Zealand
• Integration of spatial technologies and methods to understand and combat crime in South Africa: Dr Corne Eloff, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
• Respondent: Dr Chris de Kock, Maj. Gen. and Head of Crime Research and Statistics, South African Police Service

Chair

• Dr Johan Burger, Senior Researcher, Governance, Crime and Justice Division, ISS Pretoria

Please note: For all ISS events, specific permission must be sought from the speaker(s) concerned before anything they said can be quoted, unless indicated otherwise.

This seminar is made possible through the funding provided by the Hanns Seidel Foundation

http://bcove.me/mssyfuxb
http://bcove.me/mssyfuxb

 

	Overseas Development Institute (ODI) events update

	The age of choice: developing countries in the new aid landscape
	27 March 2013 12:30-14:00 at Overseas Development Institute and screened live online
	Amid the cut and thrust of high-level discussions on global goals and the architecture of development finance at the international level, a fundamental shift is taking place in developing countries. This event will present the findings of new research into how the changing aid landscape looks from the perspective of developing countries.     Speakers Romilly Greenhill - Research Fellow, ODI Annalisa Prizzon - Research Officer, ODI Discussants Matthew Martin - Director, Development Finance International (tbc) Senior official from partner country government Chair Andrew Norton - Director of Research, ODI Follow #ageofchoice on Twitter for live coverage.