Four years after President Obama signed an executive order to ban torture, we’re still debating whether it saved American lives. Why? Because the most authoritative record of the CIA’s post-9/11 “enhanced interrogation” program remains classified.

The European Parliament, meeting in a plenary session in Strasbourg, France, adopted today a resolution stating that "changes in EU member state's media laws that make it easier for governments to interfere in the media should be monitored every year at EU level."

Based on a report drafted by liberal Romanian MEP Renate Weber, the resolution was adopted by 539 votes to 70, with 78 abstentions.

The resolution comes as the gap is widening between model EU countries and those with poor press freedom records. (...)

Editor’s note:  At AIDS.gov, we continue to look for ways to increase the reach of existing HIV/AIDS programs through technology and innovation. The White House is leading a Google+ hangout series about that very topic. (...)

So you think open data is a new hype in a few western countries? It is true that it is some so countries, particularly the UK and the US that are making big strides ahead in providing open and machine readable data to their citizens. It is also true that out of the 41 countries globally with open data initiatives only 12 are from so called developing countries. But the situation is quickly changing and more and more developing countries are recognising the value of open data. Countries like Kenya, Morocco, Mexico, Peru and India are more advanced in open data than the German government. (...)

Nigeria’s Primary Health Care Training Institutions: Challenges and Progress

Nigeria is one of 57 countries defined by the World Health Organization as having a critical shortage of health workers. CapacityPlus undertook an assessment of Nigerian midwifery, health technology, and nursing schools to better understand the progress and challenges in producing greater numbers of competent and qualified health providers. Nineteen schools were assessed through focus group interviews and on-site evaluations. Presented at the 9th Annual Physician Workforce Research Conference in Alexandria, VA on May 2-3, 2013, this poster depicts the challenges that health care training institutions face in Nigeria, along with recommendations to overcome these challenges.

May 18th was HIV Vaccine Awareness Day, and we wanted to remind you of several posts we did last week on that subject. (...)

The project is funded by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with a grant of N$4.3million to supplement government in carrying out the census, which will count crop production, cattle as well as small stock at different farms across the country. The funds received will be used for services of experts, training and procurement of equipment to successfully carry out the census. (...)

In a statement issued by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Joseph Iita, the ministry’s current fleet of about 65 tractors is not sufficient to serve all the constituencies therefore more tractors are needed to equip each constituency with a minimum of 4 tractors and their accompanying implements.

According to Iita, the Ministry has realised that to maintain the current fleet of tractors is a major challenge due to the unavailability of garages specialising in the maintenance and repair of tractors as well as the provision of spare parts. (...)

The farmers under their cooperative the Uganda Meat Producers Cooperative Union (UMPCU) Ltd, have agreed to build an abattoir that meets international standards. The made the decision at their Annual General Meeting held at Uganda Manufacturers Association Lugogo on Wednesday. (...)

The Third Africa Rice Congress to be held from 21-24 October 2013, in Yaound, Cameroon will have as its main theme: Rice Science for Food Security through Smallholder and Agri-business Development in Africa. The Congress will bring together representatives from the public and private sector, civil society organizations, farmer associations and research and extension communities engaged in the development of Africa Rrice sector.

The Congress will take stock of advances in rice science and technology aimed at improving production, processing and marketing practices across the rice value chain in Africa. The Congress will also provide opportunity to discuss institutional innovations, policies and key investments needed to significantly increase rice production, processing and marketing in sub-Saharan Africa, thereby developing competitive and equitable rice value chains, reducing imports and enhancing regional trade. (...)

Asked the question:

If you had $100,000, how would you work toward creating a better city?

          
Ubuni Studio’s group presented a showy Lego model of a slum technology hub, complete with 3D printing, welding and woodworking equipment. The studio would be open to the public, allowing people to learn crafts and build their own solutions to local problems using the latest technology. Ubuni Studio bypasses the formal sector, placing trust in local people’s ability to find working solutions when given the right resources. “People often say, ‘Oh, people in informal settlements really need X,’ but that might not be so,” said one group member. (...)

The 2013 edition of the UN Summer Academy is titled “The Role of the UN in a Rapidly Changing World”, and builds upon the Secretary-General’s Five Year Action Agenda. The Programme will cover 6 days, with each day focusing on a specific theme: UN Reform and Global Governance; Promoting Peaceful Solutions to Conflict; Mainstreaming Human Rights; The Post-2015 Development Agenda; Innovation Driving Change; and two Clinics on Social Media for Development and Big Data for Development. We will be joined by senior level speakers, and we are honoured to be welcoming such speakers as Ms Amina J. Mohammed, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Post-2015 Development Planning; Mr Edmond Mulet, Assistant-Secretary General, UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations; and Ms Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International. We are also delighted to be supported this year by such UN agencies and initiatives as UN Foundation, UN Global Pulse, UNFCU, and others from the private sector. (…)

Overview

Putting together winning proposals for USAID in a competitive environment can be a complex task with very tight time frames. In addition to strong strategic program design skills, it requires internal planning, coordination and the involvement of all departments from finance to human resources to program in order to submit a quality product. Many international relief and development organizations rely on teams of staff that are not dedicated full-time to proposal writing but who need to come together quickly to meet a submission deadline. An organized and thorough process is essential to producing a quality proposal not only to win an award, but design a project that lays a solid foundation for later implementation if the proposal is successful. (...)

Village Earth together with Colorado State University Online Plus offer a Certificate in Sustainable Community Development. Courses are open to all humanitarian professionals. There are a number of specializations available for those wishing to focus in on a particular field of study:

• Economic Development

(...)

Conducting research on prospective institutional donors can be an overwhelming process and many NGOs don’t know where to start. This webinar will discuss some basic approaches to effective donor research methods. A key focus will be on how to use a variety of free internet tools to identify new international grants for your NGO. Make sure to reserve your spot, sign up now! (...)

European Centre for Electoral Support - ECES www.eces.eu

Last days to enrol in the Training in Leadership and Conflict Management Skills for Electoral Stakeholders (LEAD) - Barcelona, Spain, 10-14 June.

For the first time ever, the Institute is pleased to present this Special Session for Permanent Missions on Refugee Protection. Designed for Permanent Mission staff who deal with refugee law and policy issues in the course of their duties, this short course will provide an orientation on current themes in refugee law and protection. Restricted to staff of Permanent Missions, the intension is to establish a shared environment, in which peer-to-peer interaction and debate are encouraged.

This course was organized by the International Institute of Humanitarian Law, in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and with the support of the Swiss Federal Office for Migration. (…)

The Arab Spring uprisings were largely driven by a tech-empowered citizenry, which used social media to organize and communicate. Well aware of this, Gulf governments are stifling free expression online. (...)

• Co-authored by David Laborde Debucquet and Sara Gustafson.*

As the news industry continues to adapt, journalists are asked to expand their skills beyond sleuthing and writing and into programming. The romantic ideal of the hacker journalist finding the signal in the noise of the incredible amounts of data generated everyday has become one of the most intriguing developments in journalism in recent years.

Read the full article here. (...)

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants to talk to people living with HIV (PLWH) and HIV/AIDS advocates. On June 14, under its Patient-Focused Drug Development initiative, FDA will ask PLWH to join an open public discussion about:

• the impact of HIV on daily your life,
• experience with currently available therapies to treat HIV,
(...)

*This post is part of a series produced by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, marking the occasion of its annual Global Food Security Symposium in Washington, D.C., which will be held on May 21st.

Situational Analysis of the Twinning Center Para-Social Worker Training Program

CapacityPlus conducted a situational analysis of a para-social worker training program in three country contexts. Para-social workers are volunteers who have received training in foundational skills in basic social service delivery to help address the human resources crisis in delivering social services to vulnerable populations, including children. This analysis validated that the twinning model is adaptable and should be employed to build a cadre of para-social workers at the local level. The analysis also provides the needed data for promoting and funding twinning practices and creating para-social worker cadres as an emergency human resources response to serving children made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS.

One of the greatest threats to press freedom in Latin America comes in the form of shady criminal groups like Mexican drug cartels or Colombian paramilitaries who harass and sometimes murder journalists that report on their activities.

Read the full article here.

When The Sunday Times of the U.K. refused to accept photographs from a freelance journalist in Syria, the paper said it did "not wish to encourage freelancers to take exceptional risks." That move in February drew both cheers and criticism, since some freelancers say important stories won't get the coverage they deserve unless stringers report from dangerous places. (...)