The South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu will once again make an appearance at the Free University of Amsterdam. He will be there to anoint new professors in sport and youth programs, as well as the peace and reconciliation programs. This is part of the university's Desmond Tutu Programme.

The Ghana Day, supported by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Accra, through the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and by the Municipality of Almere, is an annual event that brings together people involved in development co-operation between Ghana and The Netherlands such as government officials, diplomats, policy makers, representatives of Ghanaian and Dutch NGOs, business partners and individuals who meet to discuss issues of mutual benefits. Highlights of Ghana Day 2008 will include notable speakers, workshops on topical issues and prominent Ghanaian content in various forms. For more information, please send an email to: ghanaday2008@hotmail.com

Entrepreneurship can make an important contribution to development by providing technologies that improve people’s productivity and living standards. While the role of entrepreneurship in technological innovation has been widely studied in the context of advanced economies, less is known about entrepreneurship in developing economies. Of particular interest is the role of entrepreneurs in the quantity, quality, commercialization, and adoption of technological innovations in developing countries, and the implications thereof for economic growth, trade, poverty, and inequality.

The theme of the next Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) is 'Protecting and Empowering Migrants for Development'.

The aim of this Advanced Academic Update is to contribute to a better understanding of the problems that underpin the whole debate on aid effectiveness. The participants will learn about the latest developments in aid research and their applicability for work in the field.

On the 19th of September, the Dutch Women’s Council (NVR) (www.nederlandsevrouwenraad.nl) and the Platform Women and Sustainable Peace (VDV) (www.genderconcerns.nl/VDV) are organizing a Public Meeting, concluding a week long jn activities of the Peace Week! During this Public Meeting, women from Conflict-Zones of Darfur, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Palestine, the Balkans, Congo, Burundi and Rwanda will share their experiences and tell their personal stories about how they contribute to the peace process and rebuilding of their country. Participation is free! You can register by sending an email to info@de-nvr.nl

The Political Management of Mobility, Economy & Security

The international conference «European Governance of Migration» will bring together well known experts and actors in politics, academics, economics, and civil society from Europe and North America as well as from the sending countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. High level representatives in politics particularly from the European Commission and the UN are expected to be in attendance. During the three day conference, the participants will have the opportunity to formulate concrete recommended actions for a European migration policy.

Discussions, interviews, crash courses, film, muzik . The debate will address questions such as: Do tradional leaders still hold power? Why does decmocracy often not work successfully in Africa? What does the potential election of Obama mean for Africa?

It is only 8 weeks before the Global Forum on Migration & Development (GFMD) 2008 in Manila, the Philippines.This is the first time that a sending country will host this gathering of civil society, international NGOs and states to explore common ground on the migration and development nexus. The aim of the proposed pre-consultation meeting will be to provide migrants in the Netherlands a common position on issues pertaining to: 1) Migration, Development and Human Rights 2) Legal migration can achieve stronger development impacts 3) Policy and institutional coherence and partnerships. For more information, please contact Santo Deng: santolewis@hotmail.com

Registration Deadline: August 15, 2008

AFRA- International Center for Black Women’s Perspectives and Tiye International, in cooperation with the European Economic and Social Committee organise a High Level Roundtable Discussion on the [i]“Role of Black Women in an all inclusive Europe, challenges faced by Black Communities in Europe”[/i] and the closing reception marking the official launching of the Black European Women’s Council (BEWC). Registration is required.

Angolans will go to the polls for the first time in 16 years. What can these elections offer the Angolan population? And since Angola is one of the most economically successful countries in Africa, can this economic growth stimulate the democratization process? This debate is organized by the Evert Vermeer Foundation.

The ‘Understanding Development Better’ conference is designed to serve as a platform for discussions directly related to this fundamental question. During these three days development will be approaches and analysed from different theoretical angles, during presentations and in-depth discussions. Also constraints in development will be part of the discussion, highlighted by different professionals and scientists and further discussed in workshops. From our analysis on constraints in development we continue to possible contributions by aid. This will only form a small part of the seminar, because in this seminar our focus is on development, a next seminar will be dedicated to aid.

Dr. Awil A Mohamoud, Executive Director of the ADPC, will be a guest speaker at this discussion event. He will focus on how African Diaspora groups are key initiators of initiatives that greatly contribute to peace-building and conflict transformation in their homelands.

Debates, music and theatre.

This will be the first time that 50 African diaspora organizations from 10 EU countries will come together to interact, network, dialogue, share and exchange information, new insights, specific experiences and best practices on diverse issues in the migration and development field. The African Diaspora Policy Centre is coordinating the initiative of this EU-wide coalition of African diaspora organizations in Europe. [file]Final_programme_fo.pdf[/file][filename]Download Program[/filename]

This meeting will bring together 20 key figures and opinion leaders among the African diaspora and policy makers both in the Netherlands and in other countries in Europe, with the purpose of identifying and deliberating priority issues that will be discussed in the policy dialogue seminar in June 2008. This pre-consulation meeting is in collaboration with Oxfam Novib.

ADPC is organizing a policy seminar on Diasporas and Policy Dialogue. The aim of the policy seminar is to facilitate an open policy dialogue in which migrant opinion leaders can share and exchange information, new insights, experiences and best practices with other stakeholders such as policy makers, development practitioners, academic researchers, civil society organisations and the private sector on diverse issues in the migration and development field.