CODESRIA, the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, launched the first issue of its Newsletter in December 2013. CODESRIA, headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, was established in 1973 as an independent pan-African research organisation primarily focusing on social sciences research in Africathat aims to be a source of regular information about the work of CODESRIA and its partners. The newsletter aims to stimulate discussion around the most important issues facing Africa.
Useful Resources
COEDSRIA Newsletter launched
First issue December 2013
Designing the Constitutional Court of South Africa
Sachs A: Design Indaba, 13 February 2013
Albie Sachs talks in this video about the design of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, a building that is “a place for everybody”. He spoke about how dreams, methods and madness formed a relationship that led to a building that came to symbolise the new constitutional democracy in South Africa. Situated where an old fort prison once stood, the Constitutional Court removes the negativity of the area and replaces it with a positive symbol of South Africa’s future. Sachs also spoke about the design of the Constitutional Court logo, which expresses, captures, projects and adds to what South African’s democracy stands for.
International launch of the KidsRights Index
KidsRights Foundation, Erasmus University Rotterdam: November 2013
The KidsRights Index is an initiative by the KidsRights Foundation and the Erasmus University Rotterdam to monitor the status of children’s rights across the world in order to promote and foster the realisation of these rights. The KidsRights Index is the first global ranking on how countries are adhering to children’s rights. The country-ranking will be published yearly and will be made available to the public through a comprehensive website. New dimensions may be added over time to enrich the index. The Index draws on two key available sources of information: The Concluding Observations adopted by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and UNICEF’s annual State of the World’s Children reports.
Launch of ANZA magazine, East Africa's first ever architecture magazine
ANZA team, Dar es Salaam, December 2013
Architecture plays a role in our culture, health and wellbeing. The 21st century has brought social and economic transformation to Africa, and has been coined as the century of the cities, with high levels of urbanisation in Africa. This magazine, edited in Dar es Salaam and produced by architects, writers and students from several countries in Africa provides a vibrant resource for discussion of urban architectural and social issues connected with growing cities, as a vehicle for open criticism and a constructive exchange of opinions; a platform to launch innovation solutions; a place for the discussion of typical local phenomena, and as a source of information for decision makers.
Our Health, our money
Centre for Health and Social Justice and The Humanity, November 2013
This documentary captures such an effort done in 12 villages of Bolangir district, Orissa State, India where the community is taught as to the money that is allocated to various schemes at the community level to deliver health entitlements. Such demand for accountability is done while the community is actively engaging with the public health system within the larger processes of community mobilisation and monitoring to demand accountability from the health system. Our Health Our Money, a film produced by CHSJ showcases the work done in Odisha around decentralised monitoring of health expenditure. The film is 25 minutes, with English subtitles.
A complete set of online resources for information activism and investigative journalism
Exposing the Invisible, November 2013
This website should come under a section called many useful resources! It provides resources for people to use for research work. It provides links to various databases and tools, links to tools available to keep data safe; and an array of tools to learn how to efficiently communicate the conclusions of investigations, from data visualisation to animations, showing what others have done and how to find the most appropriate medium to display evidence. It provides resources for keeping the internet and communications tools secure. The site also provides links to sites that they hope will inspire.
Fuelling Poverty
Buni TV, November 2013
This short documentary by Ishaya Bako and Oliver Aleogena, and featuring Nobel Prize laureate Wole Soyinka, provides an insight into the Nigerian fuel subsidy. The film presents the social government spending from the subsidy and presents the reasons for its removal and how this has plunged many Nigerians into poverty.
Global Health and Human Rights Database
Lawyers Collective and the O'Neill Institute
The Global Health and Human Rights Database is a free and fully searchable online database of more than 1000 judgments, constitutions and international instruments on the intersection between health and human rights.
HRH Global Resource Center eLearning Platform
Capacity plus provides free online courses to build the capacity of country-based users in critical skills. The courses include
• Designing Evidence-Based Incentives to Attract and Retain Health Workers
• An Introduction to Monitoring and Evaluation of HRH
• Foundations of Gender Equality in the Health Workforce, and
• iHRIS Administrator: Level 1
Universal health: From private coverage to public care
Municipal Services Project video, November 2013
The universal health coverage agenda is opening the door for privatization of public health systems in the global South. In India, insurance-based coverage has skewed public health priorities and starved primary care. This animation video calls on people everywhere to mobilize around public alternatives to achieve health for all. Spanish subtitles are available.