Full Coverage: Civil society

31.10.2006 MEXICO CITY, Oct 30 (IPS) - The Mexican government justified on Monday the violent storming by federal police of social protests in the capital of the southern state of Oaxaca, saying it had restored peace and order. But the evidence tells a different story.

31.10.2006 The Referendum on the New Constitution of Serbia succeeded, reports CeSID on the basis of its exit poll conducted on a representative sample of 600 ballot stations. 51.6% of all registered voters voted for the New Constitution. In absolute numbers, that is 108,000 votes more than the required threshold.

30.10.2006 Há exatamente quatro anos atrás comemorávamos – tantos de nós na Avenida Paulista, outros tantos pelo Brasil afora e para além daqui -, finalmente a vitória de Lula, a vitória do PT, a vitória da esquerda.

27.10.2006 JOHANNESBURG, Oct 27 (IPS) - Various African researchers and civil society groups have given a mixed response to the launch of a five-million-dollar prize for African leaders who relinquish power and promote good governance.

27.10.2006 Radio experts and communicators working on community radio have urged the World Congress on Communication for Development (WCCD) to give community radio its rightful place as a development tool in the communications debate. Radio specialists are dismayed that the global meet has overlooked the vital role of community radio in empowering people and strengthening democracy in many regions, including, conflict places. OneWorld's Rahul Kumar reports from the congress in Rome.

27.10.2006 Marijana Pajvancic, professor of Constitutional Law at Novi Sad University, said last night, at the “Boycott, Of Course!” debate held at the Museum of Vojvodina, that the referendum process won’t be controlled properly, having in mind that the Referendum Commission members come solely from the ranks of political parties that support the New Constitution.

26.10.2006 The Intiative for Boycott of the Referendum on the New Constitution, started by Vojvodina based non-governmental organizations, demanded from the state authorities to start ex officio investigation on the incident in Tuesdays’ rally in Belgrade, accompanied with insults on a whole nation, the NGO and political party activists who support the boycott of the coming Referendum.

25.10.2006 O apoio dos movimentos sociais à reeleição do presidente Luis Inácio Lula da Silva se intensificam no país faltando poucos dias para a votação do segundo turno, dia 29 de outubro. Na última quinta-feira, 19, milhares de militantes foram às ruas em várias capitais para lançar e distribuir o manifesto "Com Lula, para derrotar a direita nas ruas e nas urnas".

25.10.2006 The 4th Annual Assembly of the Federation of NGOs in Serbia(FeNS) was held in Belgrade, October 21-22, with participation of over 150 representatives of member-organizations.

25.10.2006 The Media Development Centre is the only specialized non-governmental organization in Macedonia working on issues of media legislation and policy. We talked to Roberto Belicanec, MDC Executive Director, about the situation in Macedonian civil sector, its relationship with the media and attacks on the organization.

24.10.2006 BEIJING, Oct 24 (IPS) - Celebrating the success of microfinance as an antidote to poverty has raised some uncomfortable questions here over China's reluctance to allow civil society a bigger role in addressing tough social issues.

23.10.2006 The Centre for Free Elections and Democracy (CESID) will follow the turnout and the results of the referendum on the Constitution of Serbia on a representative sample of 600 ballot stations, the voting procedure and any eventual violations of law and proper procedures.

19.10.2006 On November 18, 2006, the Municipal Council of Korca approved, with unanimous vote, the Memorandum of Understanding with Civil Society Development Centre - CSDC, group of Korca-based civil society organizations, which aims to institutionalize their cooperation.

19.10.2006 The India Social Forum (ISF) 2006 that takes place in New Delhi from November 9-13, 2006 is expected to be attended by nearly 60,000 people from India, Asia and Africa. The ISF will be held at the Exhibition Ground, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium with the theme - Building Another World: Visions for the Future.

18.10.2006 MOHAMMED YUNUS of Bangladesh has shown that poor women can take the lead in development. When Mr. Yunus first started Grameen Bank, he started giving loans to men, but the repayment rate was poor and Grameen Bank could not grow. He then observed that women were borrowing and repaying much better than men, and he allowed women to take the lead.

16.10.2006 During the visit of Anne-Marie Sigmund, President of European Economic and Social Committee –EESC, to Croatia (October 11, 2006), an agreement was reached between EESC and Croatian civil society organizations to establish a joint body, named EU-Croatia Civil Society Follow-up Committee.

15.10.2006 NEW YORK, Oct 14 (IPS) - This weekend, thousands of people around the world will literally "Stand Up Against Poverty" as part of campaign organised by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) to lobby for government action on fair trade and the set of pledges known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

13.10.2006 Interview with lawyer Jaime Madariaga de la Barra.
In the mid-1990s, members of southern Chile’s Mapuche community began a process of recovering their ancestral lands by occupying lots — mainly owned by lumber companies — to convert them into farmlands.

13.10.2006 In addition to the official referendum campaign and political commentary in mainstream media, the citizens of Serbia have the opportunity to get involved into online debate on the new Serbian Constitution, the solutions it offers and the reasons for the call to boycott the referendum.

11.10.2006 More than 20 nongovernmental organizations asked the citizens of Serbia to reconsider whether to go out and vote in the Referendum on the New Constitution, scheduled for October 28-29.