<incom> SANGONeT e-Newsletter, February 2007 (Modified by Geert Lovink)

[sangonet-enewsletter at lists.sn.apc.org]

* LWATI * The monthly e-newsletter of the Southern African 
Non-Governmental Organisation Network (SANGONeT)

February 2007, Number 32
www.sangonet.org.za

"Lwati" is an isiSwati word meaning information.

<> EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S COMMENTS
<> CIVIL SOCIETY INFORMATION
<> ICT SERVICES
<> ICT ADVOCACY
<> NETWORKING AND OUTREACH
<> CONTACT DETAILS

<> EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S COMMENTS

Welcome to the 32nd edition of SANGONeT´s monthly e-newsletter!

Ongoing changes and developments in the local and international funding 
environment are challenging the long-term sustainability and survival 
of many NGOs in South Africa. As a prominent South African NGO, 
SANGONeT is also exposed to these changes and has to adjust 
accordingly.

In response to this situation, we have started to publish various 
articles on the SANGONeT NGO Portal (http://www.sangonet.org.za) aimed 
at informing the NGO sector about funding trends and challenges, and 
how best to respond in this regard.

Some of the key trends characterising the NGO funding environment 
include shifting international donor priorities, with South Africa no 
longer perceived
as a priority country; shifting donor programme priorities, with 
funding increasingly focusing on HIV/AIDS-related issues; lack of 
interest by traditional donor agencies, as well as the private sector, 
in supporting civil society strengthening activities; project funding 
replacing core funding, with less funding available for general 
organisational objectives and expenses; and increasing reporting and 
accountability demands of donors.

Furthermore, the problematic performance of government funding agencies 
such as the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) and 
National Development Agency (NDA), with delays in funding 
disbursements, mismanagement and lack of capacity threatening the 
survival of many NGOs; government raising questions about the role and 
relevance of NGOs in South Africa; scandals and mismanagement in the 
NGO sector undermining the profile of the sector; and the historical 
dependence on grant funding and absence of sustainable business and 
income-generating models in the NGO sector, are all issues contributing 
to the uncertainty amongst NGOs about their future sustainability.

These issues require much more analysis and understanding, and we 
encourage NGO to share their experiences in this regard with us.

Refer to the SANGONeT NGO Portal to read, amongst others, “Fundraising 
Forecast for 2007” (http://www.sangonet.org.za/url/572) and this week’s 
article on “18 Ideas for Avoiding a Funding Crisis” 
(http://sangonet.org.za/url/5en).

Looking at the months ahead, in the March 2007 edition of Lwati we will 
provide detailed information about the third SANGONeT “ICTs for Civil 
Society” conference and exhibition that will be held in June 2007 
(http://sangonet.org.za/url/55v), progress with the implementation of 
the research project on ICT trends in the South African NGO sector 
which we are implementing in conjunction with World Wide Worx, and the 
ongoing implementation and expansion of the SANGOTeCH Online Technology 
Donations Portal (http://www.sangotech.org).

As always, we are very interested in how you think we could best serve 
the NGO sector with relevant ICT products and services. Please send us 
your views, comments and suggestions.

Best wishes

David Barnard (dbarnard at sangonet.org.za)

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<> CIVIL SOCIETY INFORMATION (CSI) PROGRAMME

# SANGONeT Portal

The CSI team is energized by the early days of 2007 as increasing 
numbers of visitors show an interest in the development issues 
highlighted on the portal. The rate of return visitors is growing 
steadily and we have a regular international audience based in major 
capitals of the world, which in our view demonstrates a keen interest 
in development issues from a civil society and southern perspective.

The highlight of the past month for all civil society activists was the 
World Social Forum, which was held from 20-25 January 2007 in Nairobi, 
Kenya. We were extremely honoured to publish a deeply nuanced and 
balanced account of the event from the perspective of a local NGO 
representative who is at the forefront of women’s issues. Refer to the 
article in the editor’s choice section below.

To coincide with the WSF, we ran a poll to establish the efficacy of 
global civil society. Our poll sought to get a sense of civil society’s 
influence in shaping society and to our dismay we found that the 
majority of voters believe that civil society’s influence is either 
insignificant or diminishing.

The results of the poll, which was taken by 85 voters, are as follow:

Insignificant 45.9%
Diminishing 28.2%
Growing 25.9%

We are disappointed with the outcome, but view it as an important first 
step in starting to probe why this particular result was achieved. Look 
out for a stronger focus on issues related to NGO accountability and 
impact in future articles posted on the portal.

As always, the CSI team continued to produce relevant civil society and 
development-related content for the portal. The editor’s choice for 
articles produced during January 2007 includes the following:

Feature: Fundraising Forecast for 2007
http://www.sangonet.org.za/url/572

Feature: Business Accountability and Human Rights
http://www.sangonet.org.za/url/5eh

NGO Profile: Legal Resources Centre
http://www.sangonet.org.za/url/5ei

Editorial: Tough Road Ahead for SA NGOs in 2007
http://www.sangonet.org.za/url/5ej

Analysis: WSF – alternative forum of more of the same?
http://www.sangonet.org.za/url/5ek

For more information about the SANGONeT NGO Portal, kindly send a query 
or comment to the Editor of the portal, Fazila Farouk, at 
fazila at sangonet.org.za or editor at sangonet.org.za.

# PRODDER: The South African NGO and Development Directory

The SANGONeT portal continues to house the most up-to-date online 
directory of NGOs and development agencies in the form of PRODDER, and 
we remind you to list your organisation on this free and searchable 
database.

The directory is available at http://www.prodder.org.za.

A South African Human Rights Directory, commissioned by the Foundation 
of Human Rights (FHR), is one of the latest projects to be completed by 
the CSI team and ICT Services programme at SANGONeT.

The objective of the directory, according to the FHR, is to increase 
the networking capacity within the human rights sector for the primary 
purposes of lobbying and advocacy. The directory will be available free 
of charge to the public by the end of February 2007. We are proud to be 
part of a project that will provide greater access to the human rights 
sector, encouraging a culture of awareness and social justice.

The directory also draws attention to the programmes supported by the 
FHR by highlighting the work of its grantees. All listings provide 
contact details in addition to a summary of projects, focus areas and 
activities.

The most unique element of this project is the conciliatory approach 
taken by the FHR and SANGONeT in developing the technical platform. The 
directory is powered by PRODDER and rather than developing a completely 
separate back-end for the directory, it was agreed to incorporate the 
technical development of the directory with the technical development 
of PRODDER. Both systems share a common back-end based on the open 
source Affero General Public License.

# SN-Announce

SN-Announce is an e-mail advertising service that provides an 
invaluable service to the NGO sector in Southern Africa. With a 
potential readership of more than 10 000 people, it remains one of the 
most cost-effective and efficient ways to reach non-profit 
organisations, development practitioners, grantmakers and others 
working in the development sector.

All members of the development sector can advertise on SN-Announce. The 
type of information distributed includes alerts for vacancies, events, 
campaign launches, conferences, meetings and services for the 
development sector. Subscription to the SN-Announce service is free.

Refer to http://sangonet.org.za/url/55u for copies of past 
announcements.

For more information about how to subscribe to SN-Announce or post an 
announcement, please contact Cathy Niken at SANGONeT on (011) 403-4935 
or cathy at sangonet.org.za.

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<> ICT SERVICES

# SANGOTeCH Online Technology Donations Portal

Since the launch of the SANGOTeCH programme in December 2006, SANGONeT 
has already facilitated the donation of nearly R1.5 million worth of 
Microsoft software and over R80 000 worth of Cisco hardware to NGOs in 
South Africa. More than 90 organisations have successfully registered 
for the programme.

The SANGOTeCH programme will be expanding significantly as of the 
second quarter of 2007. Symantec, the world leader in anti-virus 
software, will be introduced as a donor partner in April 2007, while 
SANGONeT will also start expanding the overall programme to various 
SADC countries. SANGONeT will shortly also start publishing articles 
and case studies on SANGOTeCH about technology applications and 
resources relevant to the NGO sector.

South African NGOs interested in ordering software available on 
SANGOTeCH should first check their general eligibility for the 
programme at http://www.sangotech.org/eligibility. If an organisation 
fulfills these requirements, then check the specific eligibility 
requirements of our initial donor partners, Cisco and Microsoft. If you 
qualify for at least one of these, then register for the programme at 
http://www.sangotech.org/user/register.

The product catalogue can be viewed at 
http://store.sangotech.org/directory.

For more information about SANGOTeCH, as well as to receive regular 
updates about new products and services, please refer to 
www.sangotech.org or contact us on 086 110 6443 or 
support at sangotech.org.

# Technology Consulting

SANGONeT offers a wide range of customised technology solutions, 
including
open source software consulting, facilitation of web workshops and
developing a technology plan for your organisation.

For more information on how we can assist you, please contact Matthew 
de Gale on Tel: (011) 403-4935 or matthew at sangonet.org.za

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<> ICT ADVOCACY

# Thetha - The SANGONeT Regional ICT Discussion Forum

SANGONeT and Development Workshop/Angonet hosted the fifth Southern 
African Thetha forum from 31 January - 1 February 2007 in Luanda, 
Angola.

Refer to http://www.sangonet.org.za/thetha for more information about 
the event.

# Telecommunications Action Group (TAG) Campaign

The Telecommunications Action Group (TAG) published a full-page advert 
in the Mail & Guardian on 19 January 2007. The advert was paid for by 
more than 200 contributors and is the first step in a series of actions 
to highlight the unacceptably high costs of telecommunications in South 
Africa. SANGONeT is one of the organisations that supported the 
publishing of the advert.

Refer to http://www.tag.org.za for more information about TAG.

# Third Annual SANGONeT "ICTs for Civil Society" Conference and 
Exhibition

SANGONeT will host its third annual "ICTs for Civil Society" conference 
in June 2007 in Johannesburg. SANGONeT invites anyone interested in 
participating in the event as a speaker or participant to register 
their interest at - info at sangonet.org.za.

We are especially interested in receiving information on any case 
studies, technology solutions, etc. which could be incorporated into 
the conference programme.

Refer to http://sangonet.org.za/url/55v to assist us in shaping the 
conference programme.

Detailed information about the conference, as well as the entry 
requirements for NGO Web Awards 2007, will be included in the March 
2007 edition of Lwati.

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NETWORKING AND OUTREACH

# SANGONeT’s Portal Editor, Fazila Farouk, attended the “Human Rights 
and Business Accountability Conference”, hosted by the Foundation for 
Human Rights (FHR), from 16-17 January 2007 at the Rosebank Hotel in 
Johannesburg.

# SANGONeT's Executive Director, David Barnard, attended the AGM of the 
Africa Institute for Corporate Citizenship (AICC) on 18 January 2007 in 
Parktown.

# SANGONeT’s ICT Advocacy Manager, Nthabiseng Taole, attended the 
Freedom to Innovate South Africa (FTISA) workshop on software patents 
on 19 Janauary 2007 in Pretoria.

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<> CONTACT DETAILS

SANGONeT
P O Box 31392
2017 Braamfontein
SOUTH AFRICA

29th Floor, UCS Building
209 Smit Street
Braamfontein

Tel: (+27) (11) 403-4935
Fax: (+27) (11) 403-0130
E-mail: newsletter at sangonet.org.za
WWW: http://www.sangonet.org.za

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CopyLeft. 2007. SANGONeT.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and modify this document. 
Please provide an acknowledgment to SANGONeT.

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