For people of colour the time has come to seek true liberation: not by struggling to be heard by the powers that be but by hearing one another’s voice and building solidarity.

Zimbabwe’s new school term opened this week with teachers threatening another round of industrial action, if the government fails to meet their demands by June. The start of the last school term was marred by a nationwide strike, which only ended when the government agreed to pay teachers an extra US$58 and urgently address their needs.

Members of the clergy and some human rights activists in Kenya have raised their objections to recommendations that homosexuality be de-criminalised in the East African country. The recommendations are proposed in a report on safeguarding sexual and reproductive health rights. The report is as a result of a public inquiry that had been set up by the commission to examine the extent and nature of violations of the two rights.

FEMNET is seeking to recruit a suitable person to fill the position of Head of Communication.

A young person is three times more likely to be unemployed than an adult globally and if the disparity is not dealt with urgently economic protest will worsen. The International Labour Organisation revealed this and other shocking statistics at the Youth Employment Summit, hosted by the National Youth Development Agency, in Boksburg, East Rand. Unemployment remains high at 23.9 per cent in South Africa, and 70 per cent of the jobless are between the ages of 15 and 34.

As a member of a small team of country-based researchers, the field researcher will work closely with the research coordinator to deliver timely, fact-based and first-hand experiential findings on the impacts of large-scale land deals on rural women.

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) is pleased to announce the 2012 session of its annual Democratic Governance Institute. It therefore invites researchers to submit their applications for participation in this institute to be held from 23th July to 10th August, 2012 in Dakar, Senegal.

This OSISA and AfriMAP report argues that Mozambique’s commitment to providing access to education in a country scared by years of conflict, with an illiteracy rate of 90 per cent in the 1970’s, has yielded strong results. However the sector still faces several difficulties that it must tackle urgently if it is to attain the MDG goal on education and gender parity.

The Burundian Interior Minister ordered Human Rights Watch to cancel a news conference in the capital, Bujumbura, on May 2, 2012, that was planned to release a report on political violence in Burundi, Human Rights Watch said. The police also ordered Human Rights Watch to stop distribution of the report in Burundi. The Human Rights Watch report documents the rise of political killings in Burundi from late 2010 to late 2011.

Gunmen have shot dead a journalist in Somalia - the fifth such killing this year. Farhan Jeemis Abdulle, a reporter for Radio Daljir, was shot by masked men as he left his office in the north-central town of Galkayo, his colleagues say.

The Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress-Ghana (TUC), Brother Kofi Asamoah, has regretted that despite the laudable economic achievements made by Ghana in recent times, the fact remains that joblessness is on the ascendency in the country. 'The reality is that the unprecedented growth rate has failed to create decent jobs for Ghanaians.'

The Ethiopian government has activated a highly restrictive clause which authorises printers to censor the content of newspapers and other publications in the country. The new legal directive forced printers to take the responsibility of the reports or any other contents in any newspaper and other publications.

Eritrea is the world's most censored country, a new analysis by watchdog Committee to Protect Journalists has found, beating out both North Korea and Syria. Equatorial Guinea also makes it on the list of the world's ten most censored countries in the report released ahead of the World Press Freedom Day.

With a recent report detailing corruption in the fuel subsidy system, a symposium is planned to address the issues and map out a plan of action on the imperative of accountability and probity
on how the collective state resources must and should be managed.

A group of civil society organisations has stated that it must be recognised that the Protection of State Information Bill would undermine whatever gains have been made by South Africa. 'The Bill’s extraordinarily harsh and broadly drafted penalties – which prohibit accessing, sharing, or publishing any information classified within its expansive provisions – would create a society of secrets in which vital democratic spaces are closed off, and those who expose injustices may be targeted. The absence of any kind of adequate protection for whistleblowers is as much a concern today as it was when the Bill was introduced to Parliament.'

Date: Saturday, 5 May 2012 (9am-5pm)
Venue: Wesley Memorial Hall (by St Peter's College) , New Inn Hall Street, University of Oxford, UK
http?://www?.?oxfordafrica?.?eventbrite?.?co?.?uk/

We warmly encourage all students to join us.

The 2012 Conference focuses on building the type of leadership Africa needs to successfully face challenges in the 21st century. The conference will bring together young and emerging academics, students, entrepreneurs, activists, and politicians to discuss and debate the challenges of the day in Africa. These discussions will help develop concrete strategies to nurture and sustain youth leadership in Africa and in African communities worldwide.

Speakers include:

Vera Songwe (World Bank Country Director)
Arthur Mutambara (Deputy Prime Minister, Zimbabwe)
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria)
He Liehui (Chairman, Touchroad International Holdings Group, China)
June Arunga (CEO, Open Quest Media, 100 Most Creative People in Business)
Matthew Hassan Kukah (Human Rights Activist & Social Exponent)
Gbenga Sesan (Executive Director, Paradigm Initiative, Nigeria)
Patrick Awuah (Founder, Ashesi University, Ghana)

Mary Harper, Africa Editor, BBC World Service & Author of Getting Somalia Wrong? Faith, War & Hope in a Shattered State

We are proudly sponsored by Google, Business Connection, Think Africa Press, and the Oxford African Studies Centre.

Be sure to visit our website for all the latest news: http?://www?.?oxfordafrica?.?org/

Reporters Without Borders has called on the authorities of the semi-autonomous northeastern region of Puntland to immediately release radio Voice of Peace director Awke Abdullahi Ali, who has been held in the region’s capital, Bossasso, for nearly two months. Ali has not been charged although, under the law, no one should be held for more than 48 hours without charge.

A major oil spill in the Niger Delta was far worse than Shell previously admitted, according to an independent assessment obtained by Amnesty International and the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD), which exposes how the oil giant dramatically under-estimated the quantities involved. The spill in 2008, caused by a fault in a Shell pipeline, resulted in tens of thousands of barrels of oil polluting the land and creek surrounding Bodo, a Niger Delta town of some 69,000 people.

Teachers have threatened another national strike to press for better housing allowances. They are also demanding increases in commuter, medical, hardship and other allowances. The Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut) said its members were unhappy with the government’s failure to involve them in budget preparation through which they would have made their proposals.

Are you an African leader with a vision for the future of your continent? Applications for the next Programme for African Leadership at the London School of Economics close on May 4th 2012. Successful applicants will take part in a three week intensive programme of lectures, debates, seminars and events based around issues of leadership as well as international affairs and development. Participants will benefit from gaining access to an active pan-African alumni network of rising leaders, with an annual network forum being held in Africa from 2013. The programme dates are 3rd-21st September 2012, further information is available from