International Institutions in Africa (November 2007)

This edition of OPENSPACE grapples with the notion of internationalism, how it has played out at various levels of socio-political organisation across the world and the implications this has had for African development and governance structures.

Internationalism is defined as a political movement which advocates a greater economic and political cooperation among nations for the theoretical benefit of all. Even in its most benign forms, the move towards economic and political cooperation often requires careful balancing, including that issues of particiapation, access to resources, good governance, and respect for human dignity and rights are factored into the grand ideals of the internationalists... it is often as a result of (or in response to) such processes that some societies tend to become either more closed or open, as some of the articles in this edition attest to.

Articles are available in pdf format [approximate file sizes in square brackets].

Swaziland (September 2007)

"In what way can Swaziland be a country in crisis? Isn't it one of the most peaceful countries in Southern Africa... where beautiful girls peacefully enjoy the reed dance every year? No one is being beaten by police in that country!" This is the type of response that my colleague and I received from many of the participants at the recently concluded CIVICUS General Assembly, when we gave out pamphlets that summarised the major crisis points in Swaziland...

Yet Swaziland is indeed – on many fronts – a country in crisis. This issue of OPENSPACE seeks to highlight the major crisis points in Swaziland, and hopefully to challenge activists in the region and abroad to step up advocacy activities.

Articles are available in pdf format [approximate file sizes in square brackets].

The Media: expression and freedom (December 2006)

Debates and discourses surrounding the establishment and securing of open societies have increasingly given the media an important place in healthy democracies. As an institution, the media is regarded as the bedrock of open societies: bridging the space between the state and the public. Vibrant and balanced media are therefore preferred and seen as ideal, in playing a watchdog role – especially for democracies to thrive. This is even more so in contexts such as Southern Africa, where the majority of the societies can arguably be considered young and budding democracies.

A number of questions arise from this observation and key among these are to do with how the media have managed that space that they occupy; how they have responded to the dynamics of socio-economic and political change at global, regional and national levels, especially the fast changing political and economic realities...

Articles are available in pdf format [approximate file sizes in square brackets].

Resource Extraction and Transparency (June 2006)

Part of the emerging discourse around economic justice has increasingly focused on public resource management – incorporating natural resources extraction, processing and utilisation, especially in the resource rich countries where the economies largely depend on these.

The emergent debates have also put on the agenda budgetary processes – calling on governments to account for how budgets are formulated and expended in the respective countries. We have seen a number of initiatives tracking resource extraction and expenditure, as well as the related issues of public service delivery in a number of countries and the emergence of movements such as ecological debt and reparations, and campaigns such as Publish What You Pay, among others.

Articles are available in pdf format [approximate file sizes in square brackets].

Open Source, Open Content, Open Access (February 2006)

An under-nourished child in rural Malawi (GDP per capita $240) walks seven kilometres each day to her dilapidated school, where budget cuts usually mean shortage of teachers, essential textbooks and equipment.

Some teachers who are present are too ill to teach due to HIV infection, and don't have access to life-saving ARV treatment which would ensure a longer and productive life. In a classroom, recently donated computers gather dust as super high Internet access charges, proprietary software and high maintenance costs block out the exciting world of the Internet, Wikipedia and knowledge-sharing, making interaction with peers around the world a mere pipedream.

Like millions of African learners, she remains excluded, marginalised, demoralised and the much laudable UN Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) seem but a mirage on the distant horizon.

Articles are available in pdf format [approximate filesizes in square brackets]. 

Education for all (October 2005)

The debate on whether education is a key variable in the development of nations was settled way back in the 1960s and, since then, the world has travelled from Jomtien (1990) to Dakar (2000) and to many other such sub-regional conferences, seminars and meetings to shape and reshape frameworks and strategies, and to develop tools towards one goal—education for all.

But just how feasible and achievable is Education For All (EFA) in a region such as Southern Africa – with all its political, socio-economic and cultural realities – and how has the region fared in its commitment to these goals?

Articles are available in pdf format [approximate file sizes in square brackets].

Women's rights (April 2005)

While the goal of equality and dignity for women and men together is a simple and incontestible one, the chasm between aspiration and reality, between political posture and bona fide commitment, between vision and strategy, is still very wide.

Contrasted with an arguably impressive normative framework is an unhappy reality on the ground.

Articles are available in pdf format [approximate file sizes in square brackets].