Due to the progress that computers and technology have made, e-learning has become a cost-effective method of improving training standards in both schools and work places. In South Africa, legislation such as the Skills Development Act and modern thinking has made computer-based training imperative in the work place.

According to a collaborative study by the National Development Agency, the Centre for Civil Society and the Southern African Grantmakers' Association, 93 percent of South Africans contribute either time, money or goods to causes which help the poor and the needy. The overall view was that South Africans believe in contributing to the greater good of the society and the country of South Africa.

Opportunity for a pro-active innovator who is passionately committed to social development. The purpose of this low-profile philanthropic foundation is to enrich lives within communities through supporting those who provide resources, services and related research that meet practical human needs and shift the quality of relationships between people.

Beyers Naude, an Afrikaner cleric who spent half his life using the bible to justify apartheid before becoming one of the anti-apartheid movement's most important moral voices, died early Tuesday, a family spokesman said. He was 89. South Africa's former white rulers denounced Naude as a traitor and tried to prevent him from spreading his message of racial tolerance. His church marginalized him and many whites ostracized him.

Mining has, arguably, had the most profound impact on South Africa's natural environment of any human activity. While agriculture may have affected a greater area of the land surface, mining has probably caused greater environmental damage in that its impact is often irreversible. That is set to change, with mining being included as a listed activity in the draft EIA regulations that were published for comment at the end of June by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.

After national protests by teachers last week, the latest negotiations between the union and government have been described as "positive". Talks continued late on Friday night as South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) representatives and officials from the national Department of Education tried to come to a satisfactory agreement. Last Thursday, thousands of teachers around the country took to the streets to show their frustration at the breakdown in negotiations. Almost 90 000 teachers heeded the protest call.

Video footage shows how Harrismith police opened fire indiscriminately on demonstrators as they slowly crossed a highway last week and then continued firing at them as they fled for cover. This move led to the tragic death of 17- year-old Teboho Mkhonza. The video shows how the toyi-toying group slowly started crossing the highway. The demonstrators were not throwing stones, as some reports claimed. Before the demonstrators were halfway across the road, police opened fire without any warning.

Civil society organisations, including Earthlife Africa, Environmental Justice Networking Forum and the Anti-Privatisation Forum demonstrated last week on the first day of the Johannesburg Plus Two Summit. Richard Worthington of Earthlife Africa said the protest was to encourage government to set targets for renewable energy and access to energy.

Next to Brazil, South Africa is said to be one of the most unequal societies in the world, prompting the government to place greater emphasis on poverty alleviation through public works programmes. The multi-billion rand Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) was launched this week at a series of provincial ceremonies. But whether or not the programme will make a significant dent in unemployment and poverty levels is debatable, an analyst told IRIN.

The Southern African NGO Network (SANGONeT) and the South African National NGO Coalition (SANGOCO) are convening a national ICT roundtable event for civil society organisations to be held on 9 September 2004 in Johannesburg. The event will focus on the Second National Operator (SNO), which will be licensed on 17 September 2004, as well as the fourth draft of the ICT Empowerment Charter. For more information or to register for the event, visit:

Government hopes that a revised benefits offer to educators will avert a South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) strike may be dashed after the union dismissed the offer as "disappointing". Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine FraserMoleketi's offer came as Sadtu's showdown with her department gathered momentum. Sadtu chief negotiator Fikile Hugo said that his union, the largest in the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council, might strike if government did not announce "something tangible" at a meeting with union negotiators on Friday.

Edward Lahiff, of the Western Cape Programme for Land and Agrarian Studies (PLASS) has called upon the South African Government to be "realistic" when setting targets for placing more commercial farmland in the hands of the rural poor. His comments follow recent research by PLASS which shows that the Government faces a shortfall of R587 million for land reform projects it has already approved.

A programme for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) will continue in South Africa's Gauteng province, provincial health minister Gwen Ramokgopa has announced. Use of the anti-AIDS drug Nevirapine as a single dose in PMTCT programmes is currently under further research following claims by the Medicines Control Council (MCC) that the drug could create resistance in some HIV-positive expectant mothers.

These are the two messages uniting civil society in a demonstration on 1st September, to coincide with second anniversary celebrations of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD+2). The demonstration will call on government to play a stronger role in increasing access to and affordability of energy services, coupled with development of local industries in renewable energy technologies. "Two years after the WSSD, millions of South African households are still without access to affordable and safe energy, " says Richard Worthington, branch co-ordinator of Earthlife Africa Johannesburg, which is organising the demonstration.

Ahead of this week's FOSS Day in South Africa, history is being made with the release of computer software which has been translated into a number of South Africa's official languages. Translate.org.za has spent two years developing the software in Zulu, Sepedi and Afrikaans. Speaking before the launch, the organisation's director said that "this is the first Africans-helping-Africans, no strings attached, Free Software word processor."

The Internet Society of South Africa (ISOC-ZA) has joined other organisations in calling for the government to urgently address the high cost of bandwidth in the country. In a statement, the organisation said that the true cost of bandwidth is clear from the dramatic slow-down in the growth of Internet users in SA. A recent report shows that growth slowed to 6% in 2003. At this rate, only one in ten people in SA will have Internet access by 2006.

All those who were arrested on charges of public violence at Intabazwe in Harrismith, in the eastern Free State, have been released. Around 40 youths appeared in the Harrismith Magistrate's Court. Violence erupted when youths protesting about poor service delivery and a lack of development, barricaded streets and burned tyres.

Radio LabourStart is playing all 15 songs from an album produced by the Congress of South African Trade Unions. The songs will be played, three every day, repeated throughout the day. Among the artists featured here are the COSATU Peforming Band, the POPCRU and SADTU Choirs, Ihashi Elimhlophe, Chicco Twala/Nokwazi Dlamini, Busi Mhlongo, Phuzekhemisi, Hugh Masekela, Bambata, Sibongile Khumalo, Jonas Gwangwa, Kutu, Letta Mbulu, Vusi Mahlasela, and Jabu Khanyile.

Telkom workers in South Africa are facing a new wave of retrenchments. The telecommunications giant plans to shed another 4,181 workers in 3 years, despite its record R4.592 billion profit for the 2004 book year - in a country with an unemployment rate of 42%. You can help by signing a petition.

The Department of Health (Intersectoral Aids Unit) and the Aids Consortium invites proposals from training service providers to develop a capacity building programme for their partner organisations. This request is limited to members of the Aids Consortium and grassroots organisations only.