DRC/RF Alumni Bulletin

في الخميس ٢٣ - ديسمبر - ٢٠١٠ ١٢:٠٠ صباحاً

December 2010

In This Issue

2009-2010 RF Fellows Newsletter

Alumni News

Awards & Funding

Technology News & Tools

Africa

Asia

Eurasia

LAC

MENA

Multiregional

Follow the DRC!

What's New?

NEW BOOKS

Resource Spotlight:

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Happy Holidays

...from the Reagan-Fascell Program and Democracy Resource Center!

	2009-2010 Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Newsletter
The Reagan-Fascell Program is delighted to announce the publication of its 2009-2010 Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Newsletter! Featured in its pages are the words and work of our 2009-2010 Fellows, as well as news from other alumni and updates from the program. All alumni will receive a hard copy of the newsletter in January, with the next mailing of the Journal of Democracy. In the meantime, you may access the electronic version of the newsletter by visiting our website, or by clicking here. In 2009-2010, we were pleased to support the work of leading demcoracy activists, journalists, and scholars from Afghanistan, Australia, Guatemala, Iraq, Kenya, Pakistan, Russia, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, South Korea, Syria, Tanzania, Turkmenistan, the United States, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe! Our alumni now include over 150 men and women from more than 70 countries.

Alumnus Akhmadov Publishes Book with NED's Miriam Lanskoy
RF alumnus Ilyas Akhmadov has partnered with Miriam Lanskoy, NED's Director of Programs for Europe and Eurasia, to co-author the book, The Chechen Struggle: Independence Won and Lost. The book chronicles the post-Soviet struggle for independence from the perspective of Chechnya's former foreign minister. The memoir has been described by Russia expert David Satter as, "...the first personal account by a member of the Chechen leadership of the events that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Chechens and the transformation of Russia." NED President Carl Gershman writes,"The publication of The Chechen Struggle is an event of singular importance. As Chechnya's former foreign minister, Akhmadov ably shows that there was always a moderate alternative to Chechen extremism -- and that Russia has systematically destroyed it. This is Akhmadov's urgent message, and as the Chechen conflict spreads to the other republics of the North Caucasus, further emboldening Russia's autocrats, it is one the world can no longer afford to ignore." Congratulations to Ilyas and Miriam on this remarkable accomplishment! The authors will discuss their book with former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski at the National Endowment for Democracy on January 20, 2011.

Alumna Named One of Ukraine's "Most Influential Women"
RF alumna Myroslava Gongadze, the host of VOA's popular Ukrainian language television news program, Chas-Time, has again been named one of the 100 most influential women in Ukraine according to this year's Focus magazine list. During a recent panel discussion at the National Endowment for Democracy, Press Freedom in Ukraine: Incredible Shrinking Media Space?, Ms. Gongadze expressed alarm at what she described as an "increase in harassment of independent media and individual journalists in Ukraine." To view a video of Myroslava's NED panel discussion, please click here. To view all recent NED events, go to: http://www.ned.org/events.

Awards, Funding and Educational Opportunities
The Daniel Pearl Awards for Outstanding International Investigative Reporting http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/icij/awards/ The two $5,000 first-place prizes and five $1,000 finalist awards recognize, reward, and foster excellence in cross-border investigative journalism. Deadline: 1 July 2011 Front Line Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/front-line-award-human-rights-defenders-risk The Front Line Award is presented annually to one human rights defender who has made an outstanding contribution to the defence of the human rights of others despite the risk to themselves. The short-list of nominees is drawn up by the jury which is made up of members of the Irish and European parliaments and the winner is announced at a ceremony organised by Front Line in Dublin. Nominations close on 31 December. Grantspace.org http://grantspace.org/ The Foundation Center has launched a second web site which pulls together information valuable to grantseekers from the Center's rich original page. If you are working with grantseekers this is the place to refer them first. Hellman/Hammett Grants http://www.hrw.org/hhgrants/nominations Hellman/Hammett grants typically range from $1,000 to a maximum of $10,000. In addition to providing much needed financial assistance, the Hellman/Hammett grants focus attention on repression of free speech and censorship by publicizing the persecution that the grant recipients endured. Deadline: 10 December Lend Your Voice to the Voiceless http://www.donatuvoz.com/eng/index.html The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) has launched a music contest to draw attention to and fight impunity involving crimes against journalists in the Americas. The "Lend Your Voice to the Voiceless" contest - being held over the next six months - invites the public to participate by posting videos, songs or lyrics about crimes against journalists on their new website, Lend Your Voice, available in English, Spanish and Portuguese. UN Democracy Fund invites civil society organisations to apply for funding http://www.un.org/democracyfund/ UNDEF invites civil society organisations to apply for funding for projects to advance and support democracy. UNDEF supports projects that strengthen the voice of civil society, promote human rights and encourage the participation of all groups in democratic processes. Project proposals may be submitted online between 15 November and 31 December 2010.

Technology News & Tools

Africa Portal
http://www.africaportal.org/
The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) has announced the launch of the Africa Portal, an online knowledge resource offering researchers and opinion leaders a forum to share their insights on Africa ">
http://wdronline.worldbank.org/
A new online collection of all World Development Reports since 1978 has launched. The Complete World Development Report Online, which allows users to easily access and search across these World Bank annual flagship publications, is free and open to the public.

Random House Donates Thousands of Books to WorldReader Program
http://blog.worldreader.org/2010/10/28/magic-tree-house-comes-to-worldreader/
Random House, Inc., has agreed to donate thousands of books for use in the upcoming iREAD pilot. The books include such classic works as Peter Pan, The Secret Garden, and Moby-Dick, all professionally formatted for e-readers, and all free of charge for the children in Ghana.

State of the Blogosphere 2010
http://technorati.com/blogging/article/state-of-the-blogosphere-2010-introduction/
This year's topics include: brands embracing social media, traditional media vs. social media, brands working with bloggers, monetization, smartphone and tablet usage, importance of Twitter and Facebook, niche blogging, and changes within the blogosphere over 2010.

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http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/11/09/fact-sheets-united-states-and-indonesia-building-a-21st-century-partners
President Obama and President Yudhoyono reviewed the broad range of cooperation between our two governments and formally launched the U.S. - Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership.

Finding Dollars, Sense, and Legitimacy in Burma
http://wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1462&fuseaction=topics.publications&group_id=641376
In a new Asia Program publication, eight Burma experts weigh in on the election, offering insights on the recent state of Burma's economy and politics.

The Korean Peninsula: Peaceful Engagement for Humanitarian Concerns
http://www.rsis.edu.sg/nts/HTML-Newsletter/Report/pdf/NTS-Asia_RP_Hamid-ur-Rehman.pdf
This paper reviews the prospects for Korean reunification in view of the policies and actions of the governments of the two Koreas.

Africa
African Human Rights Case Law Analyser http://caselaw.ihrda.org/ The Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA) and Human Rights Documentation Systems (HURIDOCS) launched a new online database of jurisprudence of the African Human Rights System. Closing Doors? The Narrowing of Democratic Space in Burundi http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/11/23/closing-doors-1 This 69-page report documents abuses including torture, arbitrary arrests, banning of opposition activities, and harassment of civil society groups. Côte d'Ivoire: Finally Escaping the Crisis? http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/africa/west-africa/cote-divoire/B077-cote-divoire-finally-escaping-the-crisis.aspx On the eve of the second round of the presidential election, tension between supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara continues to increase. Full report only available in French. Madagascar: Crisis Heating Up? http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/africa/southern-africa/madagascar/166-madagascar-crisis-heating-up.aspx Madagascar is on edge as this report goes to press.

Eurasia
Kyrgyzstan: A weak state, political instability: civil society caught up in the turmoil http://www.fidh.org/Kyrgyzstan-A-weak-state-political-instability The authors of the report show that the human rights violations committed in Kyrgyzstan are the result of the slow deterioration of the political and social situation in the country. Russian magazine editor wins IPA's Freedom to Publish Prize http://www.ifex.org/international/2010/10/20/ipa_prize_shovkhalov/ A Russian editor who has valiantly addressed the conflicts in the Caucasus - despite a recent kidnapping attempt - is this year's winner of the International Publisher Association (IPA) Freedom to Publish Prize. Israpil Shovkhalov, editor-in-chief of the quarterly magazine "Dosh" and NED grantee, won the 2010 prize for his "exemplary courage in upholding freedom to publish." Turkmenistan: Recent Developments and U.S. Interests http://opencrs.com/document/97-1055/ This report examines the political, economic, and foreign policies undertaken by Turkmenistan's President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, who came to power in late 2006.

Latin America & Caribbean
The Media Activism of Latin America's Leftist Governments: Does Ideology Matter? http://vg02.met.vgwort.de/5f256a513b76408091c2058aca0f0c05?l=http://www.giga-hamburg.de/dl/download.php?d=/content/publikationen/pdf/wp151_kitzberger.pdf Has Latin America's left turn mattered in media politics? Does ideology impact governments' practices and policies regarding media and journalistic institutions? Venezuela: Issues in the 111th Congress http://opencrs.com/document/R40938/ The United States traditionally has had close relations with Venezuela, a major supplier of foreign oil, but there has been friction in relations for almost a decade under the government of populist President Hugo Chávez.

Middle East & North Africa
Afghanistan at the Breaking Point http://carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=42031 he current strategy of defeating the Taliban militarily is unrealistic. The coalition is on the defensive across much of Afghanistan and, with current troop levels, can at most only contain the insurgency. On present course, the coalition is swiftly heading toward an impasse. Egypt: Elections Marred as Opposition Barred from Polls http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/11/29/egypt-elections-marred-opposition-barred-polls Elections to Egypt's People's Assembly on November 28, 2010, were marred by reports that opposition supporters were barred from polling stations and subjected to violence. Hezbollah: Background and Issues for Congress http://opencrs.com/document/R41446/ In the wake of the summer 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah and an armed domestic confrontation between Hezbollah and rival Lebanese groups in May 2008, Lebanon's political process is now intensely focused on Hezbollah's future role in the country. Protesting as a Terrorist Offense: The Arbitrary Use of Terrorism Laws to Prosecute and Incarcerate Demonstrators in Turkey http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2010/11/01/protesting-terrorist-offense-0 This report is based on a review of 50 cases. It describes 26 cases of individuals prosecuted for terrorism simply for taking part in protests deemed by the government to be sympathetic to the outlawed armed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Reforming Afghanistan's Broken Judiciary http://www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/asia/south-asia/afghanistan/195-reforming-afghanistans-broken-judiciary.aspx Afghanistan's justice system is in a catastrophic state of disrepair. Despite repeated pledges over the last nine years, the majority of Afghans still have little or no access to judicial institutions.

Multiregional/General
America's Founders and the Principles of Foreign Policy: Sovereign Independence, National Interests, and the Cause of Liberty in the World

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