The development industry has been criticised recently from very diverse quarters. This book is a nuanced and original investigation of Northern donor agency personnel as they deliver aid in Tanzania. The author explores in particular how donor identities are manifested in the practices of development aid, and how calls for equal partnership between North and South are often very different in practice.

Volume 22 Number 3/September 2004 of Journal of Contemporary African Studies is now available. The issue includes:
- Uganda in the regional war zone: meta-narratives, pasts and presents by Morten Bøås
- A new approach in the Great Lakes? Europe's evolving conflict-resolution strategies by Richard Youngs
- Theorising Kenya's protracted transition to democracy by Stephen Brown
- NEPAD and neighbours: an international exploration of principles to inform African labour migration regimes by Maxine Reitzes
- Entrepreneurial opportunities in Botswana: (re)shaping urban agriculture discourse by Alice J. Hovorka
Visit http://journalsonline.tandf.co.uk for more information.

With the publication of Thelathini, Thirty Faces, Thirty Facets of Contemporary Art in Kenya, one might say, it is the first time that an acknowledgement has been made, that there is something worth knowing about the people who create art in Kenya and how they do what they do. Has the time come when indeed, we have moved from mere recognition of the existence of our artists to the point where one can be an authority on them?

The 8th Time of the Writer, International Festival of Writers, brings together over 25 writers from South Africa, Africa and the rest of the world to engage in a six-day programme. Activities include nightly readings at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre and a stimulating range of day activities, including an educators' forum, schools visits, prison writing project, a workshop on women's writing, and a publishing forum, all designed to nurture a culture of reading, writing and creative expression. One of the focal themes at this year's festival is negotiating identities, and examining the complexities that arise from issues of race, nationality and language.

Brian Chikwava and Parselelo Kantai will be in attendance. Brian Chikwava is a Zimbabwean writer and winner of the 2004 Caine Prize for African Writing. Parselelo Kantai, from Kenya, also a Caine Prize winner, has published in the Kenyan literary magazine Kwani? Together with Elleke Boehmer, they explore the shifting rhythms and definitions of Africa, writing and nationhood, in their work.

The publication examines some of the key actors and issues informing contemporary South African foreign policy. It does this through the prism of four foreign policy challenges: conflict diamonds; NEPAD; Zimbabwe and the Middle East. The final chapter makes a number of recommendations designed to strengthen the role and efficacy of parliament and the Portfolio Committee on Foreign Affairs in particular South African foreign policy.

In early November 2004, the Human Sciences Research Council Press annual State of the Nation publication, now in its second year, was published. State of the Nation: South Africa 2004-2005 asks, quite simply, if government is performing. Are politicians delivering? Are programmes, funded by tax-payers' money, working? Are the poor, living on electoral promises, surviving? Is the economy alive, is black empowerment kicking, are school kids learning? It asks such questions, explores the evidence, and comes to conclusions. It makes critical, as much as constructive, suggestions. The current volume is a project of the Democracy and Governance research programme of the HSRC, but also draws on work undertaken elsewhere in the organisation as well the research of analysts and social scientists from universities and civil society. Chapters in the 2004-2005 edition are broad-ranging, covering many of the most pertinent issues facing South Africa today.

Mikela is a young and vivacious beauty with a unique artistic talent. Her nightmare starts in the open plains of the Tanzanian Maasailand where she experiences female circumcision. The saga of tradition and ensuing events force Mikela to embark on a blinded journey, one that would eventually take her across two continents. As she journeys through life, the emotional scar of female circumcision and later rape, continue to haunt Mikela. Scared by her violation and bad memories, Mikela is unsure about her own emotions as her world seems to be spiraling down an endless dark tunnel.

The editors of the recently launched CODESRIA publication - Africa Review of Books - would like to invite scholars to review books. Those interested in reviewing the books listed through the link below ought to send their mailing address so that the publishers can send the books directly to them. The deadline for receiving the book reviews is June 30, 2005.

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* Conversing with Africa: The Politics of Change

* We miss you all

* Mining: Social and environmental impacts

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) is pleased to announce the fourth session of its Child and Youth Studies Institute and invites interested scholars to send applications for consideration for selection as laureates, resource persons, and directors in the session which is scheduled for October 2005.

'In "search of questions", Namibia's new generation of poets asks its own questions. Acknowledging the achievements of independence and liberation, poetry today claims the right to question the direction in which post-apartheid society moves. Though indebted to the political ideals and visions of the liberation struggle, it has to take account of the fact that times have definitely changed, and society has changed. Yesterday's questions may not all have been answered yet. But of relevance to today's generations are not yesterday's answers but today's questions. As Keamogetsi Molapong's poem puts it, which serves as motto to this anthology: "Questions, asked in past tenses...answers, which have no meaning to many of us...Why should I care for the answer, why?".'

Zimbabwean society is for obvious reasons under the current circumstances looked upon mainly from a political perspective. But as relevant is the socio-economic framework, which as a result of the recent policies has resulted in a steady decline of the economic productivity and a deterioration of the population's living standards. To illustrate the challenges for any government in Zimbabwe, these two articles highlight some of the current socio-economic aspects. By doing so, they raise relevant issues, yet ones that have tended to be neglected given the almost exclusive concentration on political events. While this is understandable, the articles fill the gap in our knowledge and add insights into important sectors of society. These include information on the Zimbabwean economy and the present constraints of the decline, which together help us to understand the structural legacy that any future government will have to deal with. What is more, the elections in Zimbabwe in 2005 provide an ideal moment to discuss such matters. This Discussion Paper thereby makes a substantive contribution to the analysis of the overall picture in Zimbabwe. It is one of the results of a Conference at The Nordic Africa Institute, which was co-organised by the project on "Liberation and Democracy in Southern Africa" (LiDeSA).

The South African National Anti-Discrimination Forum (ADF) FAZE 2 invites entries to the 2005 Reflections and Impressions Art and Writing Competition. Artists and writers are invited to record their personal perceptions of South African history and 10 years of democracy.

Based on a song created in 2001 by students in Outjo Secondary School, the film "The Days are So Long" tells the story of Tasha, who continues engaging in sexual activity with many boyfriends despite the advice of her brother Pandu. When she discovers she is HIV-positive, she commits suicide in front of Pandu. The message in the song performed by Pandu, in honour of another HIV-positive student who feels stigmatised and isolated, is: "Take my hand, I'm tired and lonely, Give me love, Give me hope". This song was adopted as the slogan for World AIDS Day in Namibia.

'Among those who have suffered enslavement, colonization, steady and relentless economic exploitation, cultural asphyxiation, religious persecution, gender, race and class discrimination and political repression, silences should be seen as facts, because silences are indeed facts which have not been accorded the status of facts.' So states Jacques Depelchin in this powerful and elegant discussion, which encompasses an examination of dominant theories - political, social, economic, cultural and ideological - on Africa. The author analyses the influence of capitalism on the continent in relation to historical events over centuries. He castigates those who envision Africa solely through the eyes of colonialism. He systematically erodes misconceptions about Africa and the nature of the 'black man', which have assumed historical status.

In February 2005 Mr Harm Lux is going to visit Nairobi as well as several other African cities (Lagos, Capetown, Maputo etc) to meet artists, curators and critics. Harm Lux has been working as a curator since 1980 and his main interest is following but also anticipating how our "short life & material orientated culture " changes our life, how discourses and actions affect art & cultural production, how the global culture has an influence on small social networks, and which new ones are coming up. He initiated a few months ago a big research project aiming to bring together artists from all over the world.

Poverty is preventing many Ugandan mothers from using drugs that prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and this has put more children at risk, health researchers said. "It is frustrating when these mothers come for a single dose of nevirapine to protect their unborn babies, but when they are discharged and told to report back, they don't," Phillipa Musoke, head of the paediatrics department of Uganda's Makerere University medical school, told IRIN.

In an era when film festivals have become the focal points for urban, national and regional film sector activities as well as showcases for social message documentary and youth training initiatives, the first annual Rwanda Mini-Film Festival will be a gathering point for filmmakers, students, film professionals, development communications practitioners and the general public. The theme for this year’s festival is: "Regional Cooperation for Audiovisual Excellence in Central and East Africa". The 2005 Rwanda Mini-Film Festival will be held at various urban and rural locations across Rwanda: Kigali, Butare, Kibuye, Cyangugu and others – from Wednesday, March 16th – Wednesday, March 30th.

"A play called Vagina Monologues is coming to town. The first I hear of it is from Katie Richardson, actor with Kampala Amateur Dramatics Society and wife to the British High Commissioner. Katie and I gaze at each other. In Uganda? "Yes, I'm doubtful," says Katie. I say: "The word vagina is going to cause problems." Then I get a call from Anne Akia, my co-director at Straight Talk Foundation. Her friends Mumbi Kaigwa and Keith Pearson are bringing a play called Vagina Monologues. They want to see me and my husband. OK, I say. Then I ask: "What do you think, Anne? Vagina Monologues in Uganda at this time? Should we get involved?" She laughs, then sighs: "Haaa. I don't know...""