This is a great article (http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/comment/34532). The history of Africa has been covered up for the most part and individuals that are from the diaspora have not been able to easily learn about their history. When you learn about your history and are able to get in touch with your roots, no matter what your culture, you are able to grow up and walk around with a sense of pride, a sense of ownership, a sense of purpose, inclusion and entitlement that says my ancestors and I have played an important part in this world and that I, my peers and our offspring have an obligation to continue to do so.

An article on the website of the Centre for Civil Society at the University of KwaZulu-Natal begins: "Imperialism is constant for capitalism. But it passes through various phases as the system evolves. At present the world is experiencing a new age of imperialism marked by a US grand strategy of global domination. One indication of how things have changed is that the US military is now truly global in its operations with permanent bases on every continent, including Africa, where a new scramble for control is taking place focused on oil."

It was a close thing. But after six days of arm-twisting, all-night bargaining sessions and closed-door meetings in Hong Kong, an eleventh-hour concession by Europe on farm subsidies saved the December 2005 summit meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) from another embarrassing collapse. The European move kept the troubled global trade liberalization talks, launched at Doha, Qatar, in 2001, alive - but just barely, says this article in Africa Renewal, a UN publication.

The role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in development in Africa has of late been a subject of rigorous debate, writes Vincent Obiro in the Arusha Times. "The now frequently asked questions among development practitioners and academics concern the possibilities and limitations of NGOs in Africa as development catalysts."

Catholic schools in Cameroon, a country known for widespread corruption, are piloting a program to teach students to identify and act against dishonesty in their schools and the rest of society. "The natural place for the fight against corruption is in the schools," said Sister Josephine Julie Ntsama, principal of the College de la Retraite, a Catholic secondary school in Yaounde, Cameroon's capital.

The website is intended to be a 'one-stop' resource for researchers, practitioners, policy makers and activists working in the field of transitional justice on the continent and beyond.

The African Union Commission will give the first ever AU Award on children which will be open to African non-profit organisations. The African Union Award for Children's Champions in Africa honours and celebrates the initiatives taken by organisations and recognises leadership, dedication and commitment to improve the life chances of children throughout the continent.

Talks between a Security Council delegation and Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir on Tuesday centred on the role of the United Nations in resolving the Darfur conflict, but failed to reach a consensus on the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force. Although the talks were constructive, a decision on the deployment of a UN force in the volatile western Sudanese Darfur region was not reached.
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Darfur rebels say they will sign peace deal

The belief that aid, trade and migration-propelled development will reduce migration is more problematic than it seems. First of all, it reflects the implicit but contestable assumption that migration is undesirable and is therefore a problem - the antithesis of development. Second, on the analytical level, this belief is ultimately based on the assumption that development in sending countries will reduce migration. The aim of this paper is argue why such policies are bound to fail.

Guinea’s two most powerful trade unions have threatened to call an unlimited general strike from Thursday unless the government acts on demands issued two weeks ago. An unprecedented general strike three months ago brought the capital Conakry to a halt and forced the government to promise 30 percent pay rises for civil servants and commit to the introduction of a minimum wage for everyone else.

The Rwanda Development Gateway (RDG), one of three ICT initiatives under the nationally-funded Rwanda Development Gateway Group (RDGG), will become an official university center at the National University of Rwanda. The new center will establish a business incubation facility to instill the culture of entrepreneurship among IT graduates, an IT research and development unit and a commercial entity to manage the center's profit-making ventures. This will complement the RDG's on-going management of the national development portal and other ICT work.

The Ford Foundation has launched a new philanthropic effort called Trust Africa that aims to link groups in order to better battle regional problems. Trust Africa will be led by Africans and based in Dakar, Senegal.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has proposed a standing forum led by all 191 Member States which governments could use to share ideas and discuss best practices and policies related to international migration and how this phenomenon ties in with global development. Presenting a wide-ranging 90-page report entitled "International migration and development" to the General Assembly, Mr. Annan described the exhaustive study as "an early road map for this new era of mobility," and said that "the advantages that migration brings are not as well understood as they should be."

A new plan to address corruption in Kenya has been adopted as government continues to be criticised for overseeing widespread graft. The National Anti-Corruption Plan was drawn up by the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), a government body mandated to investigate graft. The plan comes amidst charges that President Mwai Kibaki's administration has failed dismally in meeting its election pledge to root out corruption in the country, despite having introduced new measures to prevent bribery and related ills.

Global Witness has warned the Security Council against lifting sanctions on Liberian diamonds and timber. Liberian President Ellen Johnston Sirleaf asked the UN to lift the sanctions, providing a much needed boost to Liberia's damaged economy. However, the new government has still not gained full control over these resources from former militiamen. In the past the revenue from the diamond and timber industries funded rebel groups and fueled the conflict in the county, says Global Witness.

The World Bank announced last week that it had approved a US$30 milllion loan to support scientific development in Uganda. The money will help increase the number and quality of scientists produced by Uganda's universities and research centres, and boost the country's scientific and technological productivity in industrial, agricultural and other sectors, according to SciDev.

With the economy in free fall, the potential end of Robert Mugabe’s presidency looming, and deep cracks dividing both the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), unrest and violence threaten, warns the International Crisis Group. “With anger widespread, ZANU-PF wants to avoid a popular vote by using the legislature it controls to establish a ‘transitional presidency’ and appoint a successor to Mugabe. The rising influence of the military is also troubling. Opposition forces need to put their disputes behind them and present a unified front to take on a government that is increasingly desperate and dangerous.”
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Bid to crack down on political parties

Computer Aid International is seeking to appoint an East Africa Programme Officer based in their Nairobi office but travelling widely in the region to serve existing and potential new partners in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and Djibouti. They are also seeking a Technical Development Officer to research and develop a new range of ICT4Ed and ICT4D products and services to compliment their existing provision of high-quality, professionally refurbished Pentium3 and Pentium4 PCs.

IPDC is a UNESCO program that provides small grants to community/media projects. Media organisations such as press, radio and television, media training institutes, professional journalists' organisations, media development agencies, and community media organizations are eligible to seek support from IPDC.

The Special Rapporteur on adverse effects of the illicit movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes on the enjoyment of human rights, Okechukwu Ibeanu, today (2 June) issued the following statement: "On the occasion of the World Environment Day (5 June), I would like to draw the attention of the international community to the question of impunity for violations of human rights around the world due to the illicit movement and dumping of toxic and dangerous products and wastes, resulting in unmitigated deterioration of the environment, particularly in the developing countries."