IN THIS ISSUE:
EVENTS

1. NGOs

NEWS

1. ICT
2. Middle-East

REPORTS & BOOKS & ARTICLES

1. Trade/Economics/Microfinance
2. Youth
3. NGOs
4. ICT
5. Gender
6. Poverty

WEBSITES

1. NGOs
2. Youth

EVENTS

1. NGOs:
World Habitat Day. October 4 is World Habitat Day. Sponsored by the UN-HABITAT, to reflect on the state of human settlements and the basic right to adequate shelter. This year’s theme is “Cities -- Engines of Rural Development.” http://www.unchs.org/whd/2004/default.asp

NEWS

1. ICT:
ESCWA coordinates with UNESCO Cairo Office on Preparations for WSIS 2005. On 14 and 15 August 2004, a meeting was held between ESCWA and the Communication and Information Regional Advisor for the Arab States. The aim of the meeting was to collaborate on regional preparatory activities for the Second Phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), to be held in Tunis in November 2005 and to co-execute the Arab Domain Names project in coordination with the League of Arab States. http://www.escwa.org.lb/

2. MIDDLE-EAST:
New Democracy Institute for Bahrain. “A new institute to promote political reform and democratization will be launched in Bahrain within the next few months. The Bahrain Institute for Democratic Development (BIDD) will focus on "preparing programs and educational seminars on democracy, political plurality and human rights among other subjects”. http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/04/08/29/130335.html

REPORTS & BOOKS & ARTICLES

1. TRADE/ECONOMICS/MICROFINANCE:
Funding Opportunities for Small Businesses Owners in Morocco. Lead: “For increased numbers of poor Moroccans, micro enterprises are a source of income and employment where no other alternatives are available. One million of people in Morocco produce a wide diversity of goods in makeshift shops or engage in small trading and retailing activities. Lacking access to formal financial services, many micro entrepreneurs must provide this financing themselves through their own savings or, informal moneylenders, whose loans can be costly. In response to this problem, the Government of Morocco created a funding facility of $ 10 million (Fund Hassan II) to support the microfinance sector. Since then the Moroccan microfinance industry experiences great success”. http://www.developmentgateway.org/microfinance

Impact Study of the Zakoura Micro credit Program. “Zakoura Micro-Credit (ZMC) is the microfinance arm of the Zakoura Foundation, a national NGO devoted to increasing the quality of life of the most underprivileged Moroccans. The study analyzes ZMC’s impact at three levels: on clients, enterprises, and on their households.” http://topics.developmentgateway.org/microfinance/rc/ItemDet%20ail.do~10...

USAID Morocco Microfinance Program. This brief presents outcomes of the study on the identification of a viable approach and potential model for a rural finance program. Two associations, Foundation Zakoura and Institut Marocaine d_Appui à la Microentreprise were selected to implement pilot rural microfinance programs. http://topics.developmentgateway.org/microfinance/rc/ItemDet%20ail.do~10...

Al Amana Association Morocco _ PlaNet Rating. This article relates the work of Al Amana. Al Amana was created in 1997 with technical assistance from the American NGO VITA and financial support from USAID and the Moroccan government. Al Amana's major strengths include: a proven credit methodology and operational processes. http://topics.developmentgateway.org/microfinance/rc/ItemDet%20ail.do~10...

Microstart Morocco - Final Report 1998-2000. This report aims specifically to highlight Save the Children’s success in meeting the program’s objectives for MicroStart Morocco. It broadly addresses SC’s strategy and the key aspects of the MicroStart program that advanced or challenged Save the Children’s. http://topics.developmentgateway.org/microfinance/rc/ItemDet%20ail.do~10...

Globalization and Development: Facts and Figures. This document released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) provides analyses supported by detailed statistical documentation, surveying major developments in the world economy over the past 40 years. http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ict/rc/ItemDetail.do~101%200865~int...

2. YOUTH:
Youth for Social Entrepreneurship. Youth for Social Entrepreneurship is a guide Book in Print and Online. “The uniqueness and innovation behind the project Win Swayam Sakthi is that it is a special initiative in the ICT sector for youth towards social Entrepreneurship”.http://topics.developmentgateway.org/youth/rc/ItemDetail.do~%201010924~intcmp=00001?itemId=%201010924&intcmp=00001

3. NGOs:
Accounting for Donor Contributions to Education for all: How Should Finance be Provided? How Should it be Monitored? This is a desk study report
produced by the World Bank, and has been commissioned to suggest a strategy for achieving two objectives. These are; first, to make recommendations on how the contributions of different donors should be counted towards the Education for All (EFA) objective, second to give advice on the most effective way to provide financial support to the EFA in different country circumstances. http://www.eldis.org/fulltext/FosterFinalReport.pdf

An Evaluation of Humanitarian Information Centers (HICs). These include Case Studies of HICs for Iraq, Afghanistan, and Liberia. Lead: “The Humanitarian Information Centre (HIC) is a common service of the UN System, managed by the Field Information Support Unit (FIS) of OCHA. The HIC is deployed into the field at the onset of a humanitarian emergency when requested by the Humanitarian Coordinator”.
http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ngo/rc/ItemDetail.do~10%2010909~int...

ESCWA Releases Annual Report. ESCWA 2003 – The Annual Report” was released in both Arabic and English, covering major activities undertaken by the UN regional commission during 2003. An electronic copy of the Report may be obtained through the ESCWA website on http://www.escwa.org.lb/information/publications/general/200%203.html

4. ICT:
Grameen Cyber Society - Bangladesh Telecenter Project. This article relates the Grameen Cyber Society, which is a not for profit organization based in Bangladesh that intends to make a significant contribution to the quality of lifelong learning, by using ICT in the rural communities. http://topics.developmentgateway.org/ngo/rc/ItemDetail.do~10%2010649~int...

5. GENDER:
The Status of Women in Sudan: A Report. “Social turbulence in Sudan has had a particularly acute impact on the lives of women, not only among disadvantaged minorities but also among the middle and upper classes. There have been many reversals since 1974, when women gained the constitutional right to representation”.http://topics.developmentgateway.org/gender/rc/ItemDetail.do~10%2010775~intcmp=00001

UNFPA: Women’s Labour Force Participation and Employment. In this article an overview of the role that women play in the labour force is given. It outlines women’s un-paid work ( e.g. taking care of children and a house work), women’s employment and reproductive choices, and occupational health risks that women face.http://topics.developmentgateway.org/gender/rc/ItemDetail.do%20~1011017~intcmp=00001

APC Africa Women: Using ICTs for Development. This article introduces “The Association for Progressive Communications-Africa-Women Programme” (APC-Africa-Women). It is a network of organisations and individuals that work to empower African women's organisations to access and use Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for equality. http://topics.developmentgateway.org/gender/rc/ItemDetail.do%20~1010323~...

Kuwait's Parliament Considers Women's Political Rights, Again. This article by Mary Ann Tetreault discusses the fate of women’s political rights in Kuwait. Lead: “when Kuwait's parliament reconvenes in late October, it will be facing a full agenda. Member initiatives include an ambitious redistricting bill and threats to interpolate at least two cabinet ministers. The government's wish list is equally contentious; it includes a wide-ranging privatization program and a proposal to confer full political rights on Kuwaiti women. Despite promises of enfranchisement in return for their highly lauded performance resisting the Iraqi occupation of 1990-1991, Kuwaiti women are still denied the rights to vote and run for national office.”
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1302

6. POVERTY:
Poverty Manual. This Poverty Manual is a part of a training program called the Poverty Analysis Initiative. It provides insightful descriptions of poverty issues. It comprises of 9 chapters, included are the following topics: 1) The Concept of Poverty and well-being; 2) Measuring Poverty; 3) Poverty Lines....etc http://topics.developmentgateway.org/poverty/rc/ItemDetail.do%20~1010855...

Tool for Calculating Poverty Levels. This article relates the poverty tool PovcalNet, which is an interactive computational tool developed by the Bank’s Research Group to “replicate calculations made by Bank researchers in estimating the extent of absolute poverty in the world”. The tool is also useful for calculating “poverty measures under different assumptions, and assembles the estimates using alternative country groupings. PovcalNet is self-contained, with built-in software that does real-time calculations from an annually updated database”. http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/jsp/index.jsp

WEBSITES

1. NGOs:

Communication for Social Change 'Body of Knowledge'. Available to all, in one place, anonline guide to publications, books, articles, brochures, pamphlets, position papers and other writings on communication for social change and development communication. This is a comprehensive, searchable body of knowledge about
communication for social change and its principles of voice, dialogue, equity and participant-driven sustainable change - developed by the Communication for Social Change Consortium. http://www.communicationforsocialchange.org/body-ofknowledge.php

2. YOUTH:

Communication for Social Change 'Body of Knowledge'. Available to all, in one place, an online guide to publications, books, articles, brochures, pamphlets, position papers and other writings on communication for social change and development communication. This is a comprehensive, searchable body of knowledge about communication for social change and its principles of voice, dialogue, equity and participant-driven sustainable change - developed by the Communication for Social Change Consortium. http://www.communicationforsocialchange.org/body-of-knowledge.php

Website of the Programme on Youth now available in three languages. Besides an English and French version, the website of the United Nations Programme on Youth is now also available in Spanish. Please visit http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/index.html or go directly to the Spanish version via: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/spanish/index.html