This gathering, the PACAI, capitalises on the 20th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, to make a difference to information access. The event is convened by the Windhoek+20 Campaign on Access to Information in Africa in conjunction with UNESCO, and possibly the African Union. It will be one of several conferences taking place simultaneously in Cape Town, and it will share an opening session with them. The totality of events will come together for a joint closing session, dubbed as the Africa Information and Media Summit (AIMS).

In four days, MPs could pass an outrageous secrecy bill that undermines the constitution and South Africa's democracy - helping the government keep wrongdoing from the people and enabling cover-ups of corruption and human rights abuses. But there are four people that could make or break this bill: the Chief Whips.

The Citizenship Rights in Africa Initiative sent an appeal to the AU Peace and Security Council in January expressing concerns about the possible treatment of Southerners in the North following the secession of South Sudan. Since South Sudan became independent in July, the government of Sudan has adopted new legislation on nationality which may strip a large number of individuals of Sudanese nationality and create problems for southerners trying to regularise their stay in the north.

'The World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security and Development' is shifting the language of international policy on supporting peace and development in fragile and conflict-affected countries. Monica Stephen of International Alert examines how the World Bank’s operations need to adjust to support peace and development.

New research accuses the World Bank Group's policies of facilitating land grabs in Africa and favouring the interests of financial markets over food security and environmental protection.

A U.S Department of Defense release on its website says that Libya was the first major combat operation for U.S. Africa Command, and its men and women 'responded well', the unit’s commander said. 'Still, Africom - the military’s newest combatant command - is assessing the lessons learned from Libya and will make necessary changes,' said Army Gen. Carter F. Ham.

The work of Bishop Christopher Senyonjo, a retired Anglican Bishop from the Diocese of Western Uganda, has become increasingly vital over time, heightened by the intensifying persecution of homosexuals in his country. Taking the courageous step of ministering to LGBT people in his country, the Bishop is calling on America to 'stop exporting hatred' as he continues to advocate for the global decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Sub-Saharan African countries should scale up innovations that utilise internet, cell phones and other modern communication gadgets to national level, to benefit a critical mass of women and children in need of quality healthcare. Tore Godal, the Special Advisor to the Norwegian Prime Minister and co-author of a landmark report 'Innovating for Every Woman, Every Child', says that healthcare innovations can flourish in Africa in the light of greater political will, financing and policy support from central governments.

Angola's state secretary for Human Rights António Bento Bembe has said in an interview with ANGOP that the country is working to respect human rights with the experience of other countries. 'We have been working... with other countries such as England, Norway, Spain, Brazil and others with which we have very good relations,' he said.

Cameroon’s long-time president, Paul Biya, stands a good chance of re-election this October against what analysts say is a weak and divided opposition. Election officials in Cameroon are reviewing applications from 51 presidential candidates, including Biya, who filed his papers just before the deadline.

Two prominent Ethiopian opposition politicians have been detained, at least one of them on terrorism-related charges. But opposition leaders are questioning the charges, saying the detentions appear politically motivated.

Guest blogger Andy Kristian, a US based Ugandan photographer, writes that Africa is on the brink of losing her land. The telescopes of several countries and corporations are on Africa, which until recently still possessed vast areas of arable and virgin land. This shift is due to rising food prices, climate change and massive populations in Asia, particularly, China, Arab Countries such as Egypt and Kuwait, and India.

Teachers across Kenya boycotted classes as schools in that country reopened for their final term in this academic year. A nationwide teachers strike now threatens to disrupt preparations in the run up to this year's national examinations by standard eight and form four candidates.

Public spending on education in Africa has been increasing annually according to a new report, but how is the money distributed? A report examined by The Guardian reveals that in some countries in Africa development aid accounts for 50% of government education budgets.

Voting equipment for Democratic Republic of Congo's election is stranded abroad and costs are spiralling, according to documents and officials, threatening to delay a poll that is due at the end of November. Opposition politicians have already accused President Joseph Kabila of trying to rig his re-election in the vast, mineral-rich country's second vote since its 1998-2003 war.

While mobile phones are ubiquitous in Africa, the internet has nothing like the same penetration and is almost non-existent in rural areas. Ken Banks, founder of Kiwanja.net, advocates going back to basics – using mobile phones rather than the internet, and pretty basic phones at that.

A South African court has found Julius Malema, the fireband leader of the youth brigade of the country’s ruling African National Congress (ANC), guilty of hate speech. The court ordered the youth leader to pay costs for singing an apartheid-era song that advocated the killing of white farmers.

E-applications and value-added services will see Africa emerge as a major contact centre hub, with significant concentrations in Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius and South Africa. This was one of the micro-trend findings that emerged at a Frost & Sullivan congress, which took place in Cape Town.

The current state of the global economy poses an unsolvable paradox to the traditional neoliberal doctrine of development. While economic modernisation based on Western models has long become unattainable for developing nations, wealthy countries are proving to be less and less willing to assist poorer nations in their road towards 'development.' To overcome this paradox, Francine Mestrum of Global Social Justice calls for a new paradigm based on self-steered development and global solidarity.

The storming of the Israeli embassy by Egyptian protestors and a selection of stories on Nigeria, including bomb attacks, Boko Haram and a campaign to rebrand the country are the focus of this week’s review of the African blogosphere, by Sokari Ekine.

Western reaction to 9/11 over the past decade has made the world more insecure, especially the global South, which has suffered from increased militarism and exploitation, writes Ama Biney. Only a commitment to genuine justice, freedom and equality will bring peace.

Like Che Guevera, Steve Biko is the poster child for revolution. His face adorns the T-shirts and posters of a generation who may know nothing of his teachings except that his is a face with some erstwhile significance. Thirty-four years after his death, Steve Biko is an icon but he is also a lot more than a trifling symbol of an ancient idea. Khadija Patel talks to Steve Biko scholar, black consciousness thinker and organiser, co-editor of ‘Biko Lives!’ and publisher of the journal ‘New Frank Talk’ Andile Mngxitama about Biko’s legacy.

Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, the only woman indicted for rape and genocide at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, was sentenced to life imprisonment on 24 June 2011. Elizabeth Barad reflects on the 10-year trial of Rwanda’s former minister for family and women’s affairs and her son, who was also given a life sentence for rape, genocide and crimes against humanity.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki nominated the new Attorney General Githu Muigai because he does not care what the rest of the country thinks, asserts Samuel N. Omwenga, adding that it also shows how tribalism is deeply rooted in Kenya.

A new Land Deal Brief from the Oakland Institute (OI) exposes that the controversial Gibe III hydroelectric project located in Ethiopia's Omo Valley is ‘facilitating the take over of 350,000 hectares (ha) of land for sugar cane and cotton plantations and resulting in state-sponsored human rights violations.’

The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) is outraged by the savage beating of 'Waheen' newspaper journalist Saleban Abdi Ali by the Somaliland Police's Special Protection Unit (SPU). The incident took place on 10 September 2011 in Hargeisa, Somaliland.

This review synthesises research published in the traditional and ‘grey’ literature to promote a broader understanding of the history and current status of medical education in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Betty Press has published a book of 125 of her black and white photographs of African daily life, combined with related proverbs collected by Annetta Millar over more than 30 years. The book aims to 'make a significant educational and artistic contribution to the appreciation and understanding of African culture and society'.

As people around the world celebrate the fall of repressive dictatorships at the hands of popular uprisings in North Africa, Tristan Gevers observes that even in the 'free world', the deepest and darkest forms of oppression remain. How can we attain ‘true humanity’?

As alumni of the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell University, we are deeply troubled by the most recent development regarding the Africana Center’s future. In a recent Cornell Chronicle article, Peter Lepage, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, announced his plans for the Africana Center to “flourish” at Cornell University. Beneath a camouflage of concern, this decree rests on blatant misinformation and a reckless disregard for the integrity of Africana Studies and—by extension—the credibility of Cornell University as an institution of higher learning.

The 'Journalist Declaration on the Protection of State Information Bill' is an urgent petition that is calling upon all community, public, commercial and trade journalists to speak up against the Secrecy Bill and other proposed legislation. Organisers plan to release the list of endorsements before the National Assembly votes for or against the Secrecy Bill on Tuesday, 20 September 2011.

The New York Times reports that Commander Gen. Carter F. Ham, the top officer at Africa Command, has claimed that 'three violent extremist organisations on the continent were trying to forge an alliance to coordinate attacks on the United States and Western interests.'

Zimbabwe's , flagship venue of Pamberi Trust, is a laureate of 2011 Prince Claus Awards. These prestigious global awards in culture are presented annually to individuals and organisations for outstanding achievement in culture and the positive effect of their work on the wider cultural or social field.

The constitution-making process in Zimbabwe is being derailed by the existence of the unjustified sanctions imposed on the country by Britain the U.S. and the European Union, a senior Zanu-PF official has said.

More than 100,000 people are estimated to have been displaced as fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and rebels in the country’s Blue Nile state continues, the United Nations (UN) reported. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that tens of thousands of displaced people cannot be reached by relief agencies due to movement restrictions against UN staff imposed by the government in both Sennar and Blue Nile states.

Some 20 political parties and social movements from both sides of the Green Line issued an historic declaration in support of the social protests currently rocking Israel and their necessary linkage to the struggle against Israel’s occupation and colonial policies.

The Independent Living Institute takes a look at this important subject and finds that little has been written about people with disabilities in Africa. Reference material has been drawn from the general textbooks of social sciences and principles of community health on the epidemiology of diseases.

Deforestation worsens famine in Africa, but drylands restoration could help. Millions of people across the Horn of Africa are suffering under a crippling regional drought and tens of thousands have died during the accompanying famine. The best hope in the short-term is food aid and logistical support, but in the longer term, dryland reforestation efforts may help improve food security, argues a new report from the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), which links human-caused land degradation, including deforestation, to intensified drought.

After a series of field trips to the Horn of Africa region conducted by the Brenthurst Foundation over several years, most recently in Somaliland in June 2011, the Foundation made a documentary film to tie-in with the publication 'African Game Changer? The Consequences of Somaliland’s International (Non) Recognition'. The film is based on interviews conducted in Somaliland in June 2011. It explores the issue of recognition/non-recognition through the eyes of Somalilanders, as well as the social and economic challenges they face in their daily lives.

Arguably the repression of activists and journalist by Egypt’s interim military government is a sign of how strong citizens’ movements are and how frightened the regime is of losing power as the country moves toward elections and drafting a new constitution, writes Rick Rowden for Goethe-Institut.

Severe malaria threatens tens of millions of lives across the globe. Up to a million children, most in Africa, succumb to it each year. The survivors risk life-long neurological deficit and other serious problems. Accurate diagnosis and injectable treatment are urgently needed to deal with the condition. Yet, children with signs of severe malaria often reside in remote locations. Professor Karim Hirji of Muhimbili University in Tanzania describes the significance of his own research.

We are very pleased to announce that admissions are now open for five scholarships for candidates from African Commonwealth countries to study for the part-time Masters in International Human Rights Law at the University of Oxford, starting September 2012.

The course website can be found , while details about the scholarships, including eligibility criteria and how to apply, can be found on the

Why does Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi refuse to make public the details of a ‘large chunk’ of Ethiopian land given to Sudan, asks Alemayehu G. Mariam.

Uganda's Makerere reflects the crisis facing many African universities – how to fund higher education amid rising demand for places and concerns about falling academic standards, argues a piece on The Guardian's Poverty Matters blog.

The people of Swaziland are out in sustained protest against the country's 'system of royal oppression', writes Mario Masuku.

In the wake of sustained social unrest in many parts of Africa this year, Toby Moorsom considers the extent to which the continent might be said to be ‘rising or flailing’.In the wake of sustained social unrest in many parts of Africa this year, Toby Moorsom considers the extent to which the continent might be said to be ‘rising or flailing’.

Pulling the strings from behind the scenes...

Tumusiime Kabwende Deo investigates the current malaise in Uganda's education sector which has seen teachers going on strike for the second time this year after fruitless month-long talks with the government for a 100 per cent pay rise.

STARS Foundation has announced the launch of the 2012 STARS Impact Awards recognising outstanding organisations working in children's health, education and protection. Organisations working with children in Africa, the Middle East, Asia or Pacific are invited to apply. This year, thanks to a partnership with the Ashmore Foundation, STARS is able to increase the number of Awards it intends to offer to 14. Of these, 6 Awards are made up of US$100,000 of unrestricted funding and additional consultancy support and the other 8 Awards will range in value from US$15,000 to US$60,000.