Governance Week in Review

This Week in Review by Ousmane Aly DIALLO is part of the Wikiprogress Governance Series

Hi everyone and welcome to another  review of governance-themed publications and initiatives. This week saw the Mali donor conference at Brussels, World Telecommunication and Information Society Day and the 2013 State of the Civil Society Report on Wikiprogress.

•  State of Civil Society Report was released earlier this month by the CIVICUS Alliance. This report which calls for an enabling environment for civil society, includes nearly 50 contributions from experts and civil society leaders from around the world. These experts highlighted good practices and challenges on the horizon for citizens and civil society globally.
• The Mali donor conference happened in Brussels this Tuesday. This event, co-organized by the Malian government, France and the European Union was the occasion for Mali to publicize its roadmap toward stability and security, as well as to build a momentum of support in the international community. More than 4 billion euros were pledged to achieve these goals.
• Ahead of this conference, Oxfam published a paper calling for a new development contract in Mali. Transparency and accountability should be at the roots of this new contract according to this report which also calls for more inclusion of the citizen into the decision-making progress.
•  On May 14th, the Overseas Development Institute hosted a panel on « Tackling poverty : can citizens make a difference? ».  By analysing innovative civil society initiatives to combat corruption and promote greater transparency and accountability and by drawing on research and experience from a variety of settings across the developing world, the panel will explore whether and how citizen participation has made a difference, and, critically, why.
• World Telecommunication and Information Society (WTISD) Day is being celebrated today (May 17th). This day serves to raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide. Stay tuned by following #WTISD.
•   Ahead of this day, the Brookings institution organized a forum on the role of Mobile Technology in Ending Poverty and Enabling Entrepreneurship.It aimed to investigate the means with which mobile devices could help foster entrepreneurship and small business development and other ways to uplift people out of poverty.
• Wikigender focuses on Women and Elections.  Wikigender is spotlighting the place women have to play in election to carry their voices, as representatives and as voters. This ‘Special Focus’ looks at the role of women in elections, drawing on articles from various situations around the world.
•  On May 21st, will be celebrated World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. Established in 2002, the day day provides us with an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the values of cultural diversity and to learn to live together better.

Have a good week-end and stay tuned for more governance and Africa-related publications.

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