This special issue of Uncube magazine explores the changing trends in the built environment on the African continent. The issue presents case studies at various scales, from the construction of a sustainable orphanage in Guabuliga, Ghana to the results of a course in supporting residents of a suburb in Johannesburg to be experts of their own living situations.
Useful Resources
Construct Africa
Uncube, Uncube Magazine (17):2013
Santé universelle : couverture privée ou soins publics ?
Municipal Services project and People's Health Movement: January 2014
Video in French: L'agenda politique entourant la 'couverture sanitaire universelle' ouvre la voie à la privatisation des systèmes de santé publics dans le Sud global. En Inde, cette approche basée sur l'assurance privée a négligé les priorités de santé publique et affaibli les soins de première ligne. Cette vidéo d'animation encourage les gens du monde entier à se mobiliser pour défendre les alternatives publiques pour réaliser la santé pour tous. Produit par: Municipal Services Project (MSP) et People's Health Movement (PHM).
Vision, Values, and Voice: A Communications Toolkit
The Opportunity Agenda: December 2013
‘Helvetika Bold’ a social justice superhero, takes you through a toolkit that offers social justice advocates tips and ideas to "unleash their communications superpowers", including guidance on forming a communications strategy, framing and messaging, and media outreach. In addition to big-picture thinking about communication strategies, readers will also find examples of a range of tactics, as well as concrete messaging guidance in the form of detachable "Opportunity Flashcards", the first set of an ongoing series of cards that provide what are intended to be short and easy-to-find advice and sample language on a range of social justice issues. "You can download and print each of these flashcards and use them the next time you have a media interview, need to write an opinion piece, or just need some ideas as you think through your messaging strategy." Each card provides a link to more in-depth information on the toolkit website.
Animation of the The Hungry Season
Leonie Joubert, with University of Cape Town and Embassy of Finland: November 2013
In a book 'The Hungry Season: Feeding Southern Africa’s Cities' Leonie Joubert. tells the story of food security, or its lack, through the voices of people. Through the lives of eight people in eight southern African places she looks at the complexity of food security in urban areas. Joubert shows that food has been a major driver of our technological development over the past 12 000 years. Food availability has allowed our cities to grow big, and ironically, has produced a lack of food security for many living in those cities. This is an animation of The Hungry Season, and tackles the question – why, when southern Africa produces enough calories and nutrients to feed the region, are so many people living with hunger or the fear of hunger? It is a journey through eight people’s lives in eight different regions.
COEDSRIA Newsletter launched
First issue December 2013
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.
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.