Full Coverage: Development

29.04.2005 The April 19 conference of NEPAD, the partnership of African countries working to improve governance and encourage foreign aid and investment, was poorly attended and did not release key reports as promised. Professor John Stremlau of South Africa's University of Witwatersrand counsels patience, however, noting that several African states are making positive strides on the path to greater accountability.

29.04.2005 Atlanta high schoolers joined more than 2 million of their peers around the world this week lobbying to hold lawmakers accountable for their promises on education for the world's children. In 2000, 189 world leaders promised to get all kids into school by 2015 and make sure that as many girls were in school as boys by 2005. So far, they're falling short.

27.04.2005 Despite the criticism aimed at many water privatisation schemes across Africa, Senegal has provided a successful model of a public/private partnership in water management. Senegalaise des Eaux, a subsidiary of the French firm Saur, the fourth largest water company in the world, has contributed in reconstructing Dakar's ailing water system, with the government claiming that the city's needs are met until 2015.

27.04.2005 A partnership between the International Youth Foundation and the Nokia Corporation--famous for their cell phones--has helped equip disadvantaged young people in 20 countries with skills so they may contribute to their communities.

26.04.2005 RIO DE JANEIRO, Apr 26 (IPS) - The Brazilian minister of culture, renowned singer-songwriter Gilberto Gil, has a new passion: the creative industries, which he believes can play a key role in boosting the economies of developing countries.

26.04.2005 Britain's Gordon Brown has been named 2005's recipient of the Commitment to Development Award, presented every year to an individual or organization from the rich world that has made a siginificant contribution to changing attitudes and policies towards the developing world.

25.04.2005 The UN Commission for Sustainable Development presented the report on youth and the MDGs. The Report was prepared by an international team of youth experts and it offers recommendations to foreign and national institutions to involved the youth in the implementation of the Millenium Development Goals.

22.04.2005 Initiatives like the "Africa Season" of programmes to be broadcast by the BBC this summer could be scheduled much more often under proposals in the Green Paper for the future of the BBC. More public support is needed however to ensure that the newly elected government does not tinker with the detail.

22.04.2005 On your next vacation, use the World Wide Fund for Nature's tip sheet to help you be an environmentally savvy traveller and ensure that your trip benefits the people and places that you visit without harming the environment.

22.04.2005 Chile's National Environment Commission and the United Nations are collaborating to develop the Chilean Trail eco-tourism project. At its completion in 2010, the 8,000 km trail--which will promote environmental protection and bring revenue and jobs into its communities--will be one of the longest pathways in the world for hiking or tours on bicycle or horseback.

21.04.2005 The public relations success of the Make Poverty History campaign runs the ironic risk of creating supporters who can respond only to shallow messages of the mainstream media - comforted by ephemeral slogans and untroubled with learning about the underlying issues. A crucial opportunity for stimulating activism beyond 2005 may have been missed, argues the Director of the Development Education Association.

21.04.2005 Over the next year, the Christian Science Monitor will follow one Indonesian family that is relying on foreign aid to rebuild, and other that's chosen to go it alone. Check out the first pair of reports.

19.04.2005 NEW DELHI, Apr 19 (OneWorld) - Water activists rubbished historical claims of the Indian government and engineers that one of India's most successful big dam projects - the Bhakra project constructed in 1963 - had a role in bringing economic prosperity to north India and food security to the country.

19.04.2005 The European Commission and the World Bank agreed to an intensified partnership to support Africa's push to accelerate economic growth and make faster progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

18.04.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., Apr 18 (OneWorld) - World finance officials identified Third World debt as one of several key threats to the global economy during weekend talks here but failed to seal a deal to solve the problem.

15.04.2005 Major Indian companies have ventured into rural areas to tap villagers for their services and products through information and communication technologies (ICTs), including the Internet and portals. This potential of the use of ICTs for developing rural areas has also enthused the government as well as the World Bank, both of which plan to scale up their work in rural areas in India. Rahul Kumar reports from a seminar organised by the Indian corporate sector.

15.04.2005 Religious leaders, debt campaigners, and others called Thursday for the complete cancellation of the $300 billion of debt African countries are said to owe the rich world, calling the sum "a crippling load that undermines economic and social progress." Financial leaders from seven of the world's most powerful countries are due to meet on Saturday.

15.04.2005 Last summer, the U.S. State Department established the Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization (OCRS) to manage U.S. efforts to rebuild war-torn countries. But now the U.S. Congress needs to back the work of OCRS and approve funding for its peace-planning initiatives, says Ken Bacon, president of Refugees International.

14.04.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., Apr 14 (OneWorld) - AIDS is having a devastating impact on farms, economies, and societies' ability to feed themselves, health and agricultural experts warned Thursday.

14.04.2005 The Department for International Development (DFID) has published its objectives for the spring meetings of the World Bank and IMF taking place this weekend. Unmoved by resistance at the recent G7 finance ministers' meeting, DFID lists its entire agenda from gold sales to removal of aid conditionality. Strong tactics or just naive?