Shadow Report

GEO/ICAE

VOICES RISING
YEAR V - Nº230
July, 27, 2007

Content
1.- International Conference / The right to education in the context of migration and integration
2.- Global Action Week – 2008
3.- "Building African Women's Movement”
4.- Candle Light Vigil for Murdered LGBT Africans
5.- Literacy Conferences/ East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific
6.- CUEXPO 2008 ANNOUNCEMENT OF CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS

1.- International Conference / The right to education in the context of migration and integration

15-16/11/07, Bonn

Language as a key to integration and participation. Promoting inclusion and participation through adult education and international co-operation.

Partners for this conference include The European Association for the Education of Adults (EAEA) and The International Council for Adult Education (ICAE)

For more details visit: www.migrationandintegration.de

2.- Global Action Week – 2008

Quality Education to End Exclusion

Global Campaign for Education
E-Newsletter July 2007
news@campaignforeducation.org

Dear GCE Supporter

Quality Education and exclusion are two of the biggest problems in the world. I'm glad to announce that afterwards a consultation the dates and theme for next year's Global Action Week have been set. Due to popular demand the Global Campaign for Education is demanding: Quality Education to End Exclusion, and the Action Week dates are set for 21st – 29th April 2008.

Announcing the up and coming theme seems particularly timely giving the recent reminder that the world is off the mark for meeting the Millennium Development Goals, on the mid-point on the 7th July '07. The world has however shown willing. Below you'll read one example about Sierra Leone's commitment to meet the education goals. Civil society advocacy on education is also stronger than ever. An amazing number of people have JOINED UP this year for education, including half a million online.

I look forward to campaigning with you more in the future and meeting many of you and discussing more at the next World Assembly in Brazil next year.

Until then keep up the good work and keep JOINING UP for education. And let your friends know how to join the on-line chain: http://joinup.campaignforeducation.org

Nelida Cespedes
(GCE Board Member)

PS – the Global Campaign for Education secretariat values your feedback and input please send comments and suggestions to the e-news editor alex@campaignforeducation.org .

3.- "Building African Women's Movement”

Salma
smlidi@yahoo.com

FYI those in Southern Africa

Sources: Just Associates, ActionAid, OSISA
November 19-22, 2007
Johannesburg, South Africa

Just Associates (JASS), in partnership with Action Aid International and Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, (OSISA), is organizing a 4-day movement-building institute around "Building African Women's Movements". This institute is the first phase of a long-term process that aims to strengthen the leadership, strategies and collective power of African women living with and working on HIV/AIDS for their voices and demands to be visible and influential at all levels of decision-making. This effort
builds upon the OSISA's project on "Reinvigorating and Sustaining Vibrant Women's Movements in Southern Africa" with Hivos and Women's Law in Southern Africa, AAI's pioneering efforts with women in HIV/AIDS –including the "Women Won't Wait" campaign, recommendations from the African Feminist Forum (2006) and JASS' multi-regional capacity-building effort, "Imagining and Rebuilding Women's Movements for the Future."

About the Institute
The Institute will take place in Johannesburg from November 19-22, 2007. During the workshop, participants will critically assess and learn about through mentoring, training, and planning, and gradually put it into action through advocacy, radio and video communications and more. As this institute is also part of JASS' broader multi-regional and global movement-building effort which is underway in Mexico/Central America and South East Asia, participants will, over time, have opportunities to exchange experiences and network with activist women from Asia and Latin America.

Participant Profile

The first round of this Institute will include no more than 30participants.
- The organizers are looking for women who are living with or who have been engaged in HIV/AIDS activism for at least 3 years.
- The organizers are looking for women working in a diverse range of activities (mobilisation, education, care, etc.) organisations and movements (trade unions, women's organisations that work on HIV-AIDS, women's rights groups as well as mixed organisations that work on HIV-AIDS, etc.) and at different levels (grassroots organising, community work, campaigning/ mobilising, community media, advocacy).
- Special consideration will be given to women under the age of 30, as the organizers aim to ensure multigenerational dialogue and strategizing. The organizers especially looking for young women who are openly living with HIV and are members of national or local organisations or associations of Zambia and Zimbabwe.

How to Apply
Please send in your responses to the following application questions by no later than 18 AUGUST 2007 to info@justassociates.org :

- Position:
Part B.

- Briefly describe your experience with HIV and AIDS and with women's issues.
- What do you see as your greatest abilities and talents? relation to women?

Part C.
- Please include a 1 page (CV) or resume
- Please also include information about the organization or project with which you are currently involved (brochure etc.).
- Include a letter from the head of your organization supporting your participation in this institute and your participation in any follow-up activities that may emanate from this institute.

For further information and inquiries, you can also email contribute@awid.org

4.- Candle Light Vigil for Murdered LGBT Africans

SAVE THE DATE

WHAT: CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL HONORING ALL AFRICAN LGBT & HIV+ HEROES WHO
HAVE BEEN MURDERED.

DATE: ON TUESDAY, AUGUST 14TH (TIME TBA)

LOCATION: NEW YORK CITY. EXACT LOCATION TBA.
(Check http://www.myspace.com/liberation4allafricans for updates)

REST IN PEACE SIZAKELE SIGASA and SALOME MASOOA
We are very sad and outraged to hear about the death of Sizakele Sigasa and Salome Masooa, two South African lesbian activists who were executed on Sunday July 8th, 2007. This barbaric act was meant to paralyze our community with fear so as to eradicate the wonderful work that is being done to empower us. We condemn this brutal act. Our community is being robbed of brave and courageous women who dedicate their lives to improving the well being of the society.

We are proud of our heroes, Sizakele Sigasa and Salome Masooa, who died doing what is right. May you rest in peace. Your work will always be cherished worldwide. We all appreciate the hard work, visibility and unconditional love you have given to empower the community with great wisdom. We salute you forever. Our deepest sympathy goes to the families, friends, and allies who are left with the great memories of our heroes.

This is not the first time that African lesbians and HIV positive women have been raped and/or urdered simply for being who they are. In June, Simangele Nhlapho, a member of a support group for women living with HIV, coordinated by the South Africa-based Positive Women's Network (PWN), and her two year old were raped and murdered. 16 year-old Madoe Mafubedu was also attacked and killed in April of this year. In all these cases the perpetrators have not been called to answer for their crimes. In a country where more women then men are living with HIV, we are seeing an escalation of violence against women. South Africa has the world's highest rate of reported rape and women are usually targeted for rape because of their actual or presumed sexual orientation. Stigma associated with both rape and homosexuality dictates that many of these attacks are not reported. We are tired of seeing women, who served as the voices of their community, raped and/ormurdered simply for fighting for the rights of their communities to survive and thrive. If these role models, who dared to be out about their sexual orientation and HIV status, are killed how then can we expect others to live their lives publicly, without shame and fear? How do communities eradicate misogyny, homophobia, transphobia and HIV-based stigma when it appears that the state apparatus condones violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT), and HIV position individuals?

There are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people all over the African continent who live in hiding for fear of being physically attacked or murdered. African cultures have always had numerous expressions of sexuality and gender. European colonization brought laws that criminalized us. Now our lives are demonized and called 'un-African'. What is un-African, however, is large-scale persecution and oppression of communities trying to do nothing other than live their lives in peace and harmony. What is un-African is using religion as a tool to pit communities against each other, and draw people's attention away from problems such as poverty and corruption. As LGBT African immigrants living in New York City we understand the connection between U.S. foreign policies that prescribe a very narrow usage of HIV/AIDS funding, and violence against LGBT and HIV positive folks in our home countries. We also understand that the current attempt by the U.S. to increase militarization in our home countries will only intensify poverty, oppression and violence against women, LGBT, and HIV positive people.

We stand in solidarity with the family and friends of the brave women who were recently murdered, the Joint Working Group, and all LGBT/HIV-positive individuals living in Africa.

We demand Justice for Sizakele Sigasa, Salome Masooa, Simangele Nhlapho, Madoe Mafubedu and all others who have been persecuted because they were fighting for self-determination and liberation of ALL African peoples.

Please join us for a candle light vigil honoring all LGBT and HIV positive African heroes who have been murdered.

Date/Time: Tuesday, August 14th. Time TBA
Location: TBA
Check our Myspace page http://www.myspace.com/liberation4allafricans or email africanliberation@gmail.com for updates

This statement was jointly issued by Less AIDS Lesotho and the committee of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender African immigrants residing in U.S.

5.- Literacy Conferences/ East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific

Beijing, China, 31 July – 1 August 2007

UNESCO Education News Alert
27 July 2007
www.unesco.org/education
http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=53649&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Literacy challenges in East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific: Building partnerships and promoting innovative approaches

The second in the series of Regional Conferences in Support of Global Literacy will focus on East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific. Organised by UNESCO, the Conference will take place on 31 July and 1 August 2007 in Beijing, hosted by the Government of the People’s Republic of China.

The Conference will propose roundtable discussions on literacy challenges and achievements in the following areas:

• Literacy Policies and Strategies, Costs and Financing, Monitoring, Evaluation and Assessment;
• Programme Delivery;
• Literacy in a Multilingual Context; and
• Literacy and Rural Development.

The Conference will also examine effective practices to improve literacy levels in panels on four thematic fields:
• Mother-Child Literacy and Intergenerational Learning;
• Literacy for Health;
• Literacy for Economic Self-Sufficiency; and
• From Literacy to Lifelong Learning.

1.- International Conference / The right to education in the context of migration and integration 15-16/11/07, Bonn

1.- International Conference / The right to education in the context of migration and integration

15-16/11/07, Bonn