[Africa-ir-public] HBS Highway Africa sponsorships

[Karen Higgs]

Hi all, we've been asked to help circulate this grant opportunity to 
people from Zimbabwe, Namibia and Lesotho. Please forward. Thanks!
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Highway Africa 2004

Heinrich Böll Foundation sponsorships

Deadline for applications: August 16th, 2004.

The Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBS) is pleased to announce that it will 
be sponsoring a small number of delegates from Zimbabwe, Namibia and 
Lesotho to attend the Highway Africa 2004 conference in Grahamstown, 
South Africa.

The Highway Africa conference is hosted by Rhodes University and focuses 
on the media and Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in 
Africa. The theme of this year’s conference, which will be held from 
September 16th-18th, is: “Media Making the Information Society".

What is the HBS intervention all about?

The objective of the HBS Highway Africa intervention is to provide an
opportunity for civil society activists from Zimbabwe, Namibia and 
Lesotho to attend Highway Africa within the context of a group 
experience that allows for open discussion and debate on various issues 
to do with ICTs and the information society. The group experience 
provides an opportunity to share ideas, forge links and learn together. 
In this way, the conference is made relevant to the particular concerns 
of participants.



As part of HBS’s engagement with the World Summit on the Information 
Society (WSIS) process, the HBS Highway Africa intervention will also 
specifically focus on issues of ICTs and information in the context of 
the upcoming WSIS process in Tunis in 2005. Participants may be invited 
at a later date to participate in the WSIS process.



The HBS sponsorship covers all travel, accommodation and meal expenses 
in attending Highway Africa. While participating actively in the 
conference, HBS delegates will be expected to engage with the group, 
attend short daily briefing and discussion sessions during the 
conference, as well as participate in a pre-conference workshop to be 
held in Grahamstown the day before the conference begins.



Participants will also be required to write a short report for HBS on 
their experiences after the conference, and to complete an evaluation
questionnaire on their return home.



The Highway Africa organizers strongly encourage regional participation 
in the conference, and during the conference place special emphasis on
delegates from the region. Regional delegates shall – depending on their
background – be specifically invited to participate in  panel 
discussions at the conference.



Who is invited to apply?

HBS is offering to sponsor 15 delegates from Zimbabwe, Namibia and 
Lesotho to attend the conference. Only applicants from these countries 
are encouraged to apply.

The intervention is aimed at ‘second-level’ employees working in the 
civil society sector. These may be people involved in online content 
production, advocacy and lobbying, media production, communications and 
information, or in ICTs generally.

How do I apply?

a.. Please send a one page motivation for participation in the HBS
conference programme. This should include the background to your
organization’s work, your role in the organization, contact details, and
motivation for why you would be a suitable candidate for the HBS
sponsorship.


a.. This one page motivation should be e-mailed to Alan Finlay, the
project co-coordinator, no later than Monday 16th August. His e-mail 
address is: alan at openresearch.co.za. Applicants will be contacted 
shortly after that.


To find out more about:

   a.. The HBS Highway Africa project: contact Alan Finlay,
alan at openresearch.co.za or phone +27 (11) 726 4964.
   b.. Highway Africa: visit www.highwayafrica.org.za or contact Chris
Kabwato, C.Kabwato at ru.ac.za.
   c.. Heinrich Boll Foundation: visit: www.boell.org.za