The KIX Observatory invites you to the webinar on “Education Financing, Wellbeing and Schools Reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic” that will take place on 29th April, 2021 from 12:00pm to 2:00pm (GMT).
The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), the African Union’s International Centre for Girls’ and Women’s Education in Africa (AU/CIEFFA), and the African Population and Health Research Centre (APHRC) will host this webinar, with participation of Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).
The main objective of this webinar is to showcase the evidence the KIX Observatory has obtained so far on education policy and practice responses to COVID-19 in the areas of financing, teacher and learner wellbeing as well as the reopening of primary and secondary schools in 41 GPE member countries in Africa.
The notion of alternative narratives and alternative perspectives is important for the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC) and will be central to this year’s Mixed Migration Review (MMR), our flagship annual report. MMC are inviting young researchers and writers on migration to enter a short essay competition – the 5 winners will have their essays published in a section of the MMR2021 dedicated to “Alternative voices” and receive a prize of USD 1,500 each.
Requirements
The competition is open to writers from and based in Asia, Africa and Latin American countries who are 30 years of age or younger. The winning essays will offer original analysis, alternative narrative or new perspectives of mixed migration and related issues, from the global south, as well as the specific region where the authors are based.
The subject matter can relate to any aspect included in mixed migration such as: the politics or trends around migration or displacement; human smuggling or human trafficking; refugees and asylum issues; immobility; human mobility and climate change; migration myths, misconceptions or biases. The perspective can be local or regional, conceptual or based on cases studies. The short essay will be between 1,500-2,000 words long.
The Next Economy is an initiative of SOS Children’s Villages CV, Crosswise Works and Good Up and is being funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Next Economy Incubation Programme is focused on supporting aspiring entrepreneurs to move their business ideas into solid foundations that can expand and grow while also investing in entrepreneurs to become business leaders. These training focus on sustaining and growing businesses and seeks to make them profitable such that they are able to hire new employees and thereby create new jobs. Requirements
Between 18 – 35 years old Computer Literate Have Access to a Laptop or Digitally Enabled Device Have already registered and launched a business Must be able to participate all through the required programme duration
The GoGettaz Africa Community is an online platform for young, innovative entrepreneurs who are revolutionizing Africa’s agri-food sector.
GoGettaz Africa are searching for agribusinesses that bring technology, innovation and passion to the agriculture and food industries.
YOU could win one of two US$50,000 cash prizes that will help you change your world and transform the agri-food business in Africa.
Eligibility Criteria
GoGettaz Agripreneur Prize is a fantastic opportunity for young African agripreneurs to take their business venture to the next level. In addition to the US$50,000, the competition also offers these agripreneurs the chance to attend the Africa Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) virtual meeting and make their mark. Our finalists will also receive mentorship, programming linkages and guidance to continue their entrepreneurial journey.
The Entrepreneur
Entrepreneur is aged 35 or below on the date of submission to the competition, and is legally recognised as an adult in country of nationality Entrepreneur holds nationality (with an official ID) from a country which is a member of the African Union Entrepreneur is the founder/co-founder of the venture he/she represents in the competition and plays an active role in its operations and leadership Entrepreneur has no criminal record related to corruption, tax evasion, financial impropriety, felony or other offence, and will provide a signed declaration to that effect, if requested
Take the first step on the journey to becoming a digital professional. We’re there to support you through the journey, helping you to upskill on some of the most in-demand tech skills out there!
GOOGLE CERTIFICATES,±6 MONTH SELF DRIVEN PROGRAMME 500 spots available
Spaces only available for Nigerian and Kenyan applicants
This programme has specific requirements from the delivery partners:
Web Development Bootcamp with Unicef and Umuzi Full time: 9 Months programme with stipend included. 50 Spots available.
Applicants: Women & Displaced youth (not living in their home town)
Countries (from or currently residing in): Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Burundi.
The Biden administration hopes allocating an additional $80bn to boost the United States Internal Revenue Service’s auditing capabilities will help pay for its American Families Plan.
United States President Joe Biden will seek $80bn to strengthen US tax audit capabilities to help foot the bill for expanding paid leave for workers, childcare and education, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.
Biden’s American Families Plan, set to be unveiled before Congress on Wednesday, is expected to cost over $1 trillion and potentially as much as $1.8 trillion. The sweeping economic agenda could impact millions of Americans and help them better balance work and family life.
The administration hopes that its plan to boost the budget of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the next decade will help fight tax evasion through audits of wealthy individuals and large corporations, Bloomberg News reported, citing a person familiar with the proposal.
The Democratic president’s American Families Plan would have to pass a divided Congress where Democrats hold a majority in the House of Representatives but only a slim majority in the Senate.
Republicans generally oppose higher taxes and were in favour of the sweeping tax cuts passed in 2017 by then-President Donald Trump.
The Biden White House has said that wealthy Americans and corporations can afford to pay for the new programmes.
Biden is also pushing forth a $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs plan, which he unveiled last month. The massive economic reforms aim to lift the US from the economic slump of the coronavirus pandemic and boost equity across the board.
The plan to increase the IRS audit budget could help generate $700bn in revenue, a person familiar with the proposal told Bloomberg News.
According to the IRS, tax evasion costs the US at least $1 trillion each year.
The federal agency’s Commissioner Chuck Rettig also told a Congressional panel early this month that the IRS has lost 17,000 enforcement personnel in the last decade, crippling its auditing capacity.
The boost for the IRS would be significant. Its annual budget for 2021 is about $11.9bn. Biden’s proposal would boost it by an average of $8bn per year for the next decade.
The administration’s tax plan will also end a major benefit for wealthy estates that shrinks the levy for inheritors. Biden’s plan would include a top individual tax rate of 39.6 percent for those making at least $400,000, up from 37 percent today, Bloomberg News reported, citing the person familiar with the proposal.
The administration also plans to hike the corporate income tax rate to 28 percent from its current 21 percent. The rate was lowered by Trump and congressional Republicans from 35 percent in 2017.
The hurricane season is also weeks away, prompting fears the island could be hit while it's still trying to recover.
The thick blanket of ash on the island of St Vincent has been revealed in new drone pictures.
More than 15,000 people have been displaced after ongoing eruptions from the La Soufriere volcano in recent weeks – and they could continue for weeks or months, say experts.
Homes, crops and water supplies have also been destroyed or contaminated on the small Caribbean island, located near St Lucia and Barbados and usually an idyllic holiday destination.
Image:The satellite image shows the island’s lush landscape before the eruption. Pic: AP
Image:Afterwards, the landscape has been turned a murky grey and brown. Pic: AP
Ash is piled up to 42cm (16 inches) high in some areas of the north, according to officials, and scientists estimate 100 million cubic metres may have fallen.
The United Nations has launched a $29m (£20.9m) appeal and released the aerial pictures to show the extent of the damage – with the island’s normally lush trees and foliage stained grey.
Image:The volcano erupted on 9 April – the first significant eruption since 1979
Its coordinator for the region called the scene “apocalyptic” last week, while Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has said rebuilding will cost “hundreds of millions of dollars”.
It was the 4,000-ft (1,220m) volcano’s first major eruption since 1979, with ash and gas spewing six miles into the sky.
The hurricane season is also weeks away, prompting fears the island could be hit while it’s still trying to cope with eruptions and provide food and water to displaced residents.
The UN aid money will provide “immediate lifesaving humanitarian assistance” such as clean water and food, and it’s also sending experts to assist with the ash clean-up.
Neighbours such as Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago and Dominica have also pledged money and sent basic supplies.
Ms Von der Leyen said that the incident only happened because she is a woman.
Image:Two chairs for three leaders… (L-R Charles Michel, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ursula von der Leyen)
“I cannot find any justification for how I was treated, so I have to conclude that it happened because I am a woman,” she said during a speech to the European Parliament earlier today.
Video footage of the meeting showed Ms von der Leyen visibly taken aback when Mr Erdogan and European Council President Charles Michel sat on the only two chairs in front of of EU and Turkey flags, forcing her to go and sit on an adjacent sofa.
She said she “felt hurt” and “alone as a woman and as a European”.
“I am the president of the European Commission, and this is how I expected to be treated when visiting Turkey, but I was not,” Ms von der Leyen said.
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Belgium PM Charles Michel treated after Princess Astrid fires starting gun next to him
Von der Leyen left without seat in Turkey talks
“This shows how far we still have to go before women are treated as equals – always and everywhere.”
Just days after the incident, Turkey laid the blame on the EU for “unjust accusations”.
Foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said: “The protocol at the presidency met the demands of the EU side.
“In other words, the seating arrangement was designed to meet their demands and suggestions.”
Mr Michel has been criticised by many EU politicians for not intervening on Ms von der Leyen’s behalf in Ankara.
Speaking to parliament, he expressed his regret over the situation, which he said he understood offended many women.
He also told lawmakers that deeper economic ties with Turkey were difficult because of a deterioration of basic rights and freedoms, including those of women.
Mr Michel previously said he regretted not intervening in a Facebook post on 7 April.
In the post, he said: “While realising the regrettable nature of the situation, we decided not to make matters worse by creating a scene.
“At the beginning of the meeting, we resolved instead to focus on the substance of the political discussions, which Ursula and I were to embark upon with our hosts.”
The meeting was arranged as an attempt to repair relations between the European Union and Turkey.
Ties between Turkey and the EU have been strained for years over the arrival of migrants and recently over its drive for gas in the eastern Mediterranean.
After the meeting, Ms von der Leyen held out hope of revising a 2016 deal under which the EU pays Turkey to prevent large-scale migrant arrivals in Greece.
The count showed the lowest ten-year growth since the Depression-era 1930s.
The first batch of once-a-decade data from the US Census Bureau shows lower population growth in the United States than at any other time since the count began in 1790, except for the Great Depression-era 1930s.
Meanwhile, the new data from the 2010s showed the US population shifting to the South and the West.
While the data released on Monday was relatively basic – containing national and state-level population figures and details of how they affect states’ representation in Congress, it contained some surprises and pointed to some consequential trends.
The US population grew to 331 million, a 7.4-percent growth from the last census in 2010.
While that may sound like a big number, it is just barely above the 7.3-percent growth in the 1930s, a period of slowed growth rooted in the widespread poverty of the Great Depression.
The past decade’s sluggish rate had similar beginnings in the long shadow of the Great Recession following the 2008 financial crisis. The drawn-out recovery saw many young adults struggling to enter the job market, consequently delaying marriage and starting a family, dealing a blow to the nation’s birthrate.
Then the coronavirus pandemic hit last year and made matters worse.
More sluggish growth ahead?
While US population growth recovered after the Great Depression, demographers are not optimistic it will pick up anytime soon.
Most forecast even slower population growth in the decades to come. Americans are getting older – the median age in the US is 38, up one year from 37 in 2010.
Immigration had been dropping even before the pandemic effectively shut it down. And many Republicans have largely turned against the idea of both legal and undocumented immigration – a new political barrier to the country growing quickly.
“Unlike the Great Depression, it’s part of a process where we’re likely to keep having slow growth,” William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, told the Associated Press news agency.
That has potentially grim consequences for the future of the US.
“The big demographic advantage the US once enjoyed over other rich nations has evaporated,” John Lettieri, president of the Economic Innovation Group, tweeted after the census data release. “Now there are more Americans 80 and older than 2 or younger.”
The great migration continues
The US also continued its 80-year-long trend of shifting to the South and the West.
Florida, Montana and North Carolina each saw enough growth to add a congressional seat, while booming Texas gained two. Colorado and Oregon also gained new seats, while Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania lost seats.
The snapshot tells a familiar story: Americans have moved out of the industrial Midwest and Northeast, chasing jobs, more affordable housing, growing new suburbs and vibrant cities.
But, strikingly, California, a longtime symbol of American expansion and possibility, was not seen as a destination for a new beginning.
California’s growth rate wasn’t enough to retain its 53-seat delegation in the House. The nation’s most populous state lost a congressional seat for the first time in its history, a fact that is already forcing debate over whether Democrats’ control of state government is to blame.
Delegates from African member states of the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR), are embarking on a study tour in Ghana as part of efforts to promote networking and establish partnership for investment in the bamboo sector.
The three-day tour, which will take the delegates to project sites of INBAR in the Greater Accra, Eastern and Ashanti Regions also seeks to share successful best practices and achievements in the bamboo sector in Ghana with the delegates from other African Countries.
INBAR is an intergovernmental organisation headquartered in China with 47 member states including 20 from Sub-Saharan Africa.
Participating delegates are coming from all the 20 African member states including Cameroon, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Benin, Burundi, Central African Republic and Eritrea.
The rest are Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Kenya and Uganda.
The delegates are made up of key industry players such as policymakers, bamboo advocates, private sector entrepreneurs, smallholder farmers and women from member states.
The tour comes on the back of the significant progress that Ghana has made in the development of the bamboo sector, which has created a favourable policy environment, thereby attracting investments to the sector.
Mr. Michael Kwaku, the National Coordinator of INBAR-Ghana, told the Ghana News Agency ahead of the tour that it was designed to provide participants the opportunity to learn about Ghana’s experience in sustainable bamboo development.
He said the tour would also inspire deliberations and extensive exchanges on how to add value to the native bamboo resources in the countries of participants as well as how to make strategic plans for the industrialization of the bamboo sector based on local conditions.
Among the places to be visited by the participants are the Bamboo and Rattan Unit of the Forestry Commission (FC), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Boomers Bamboo Bicycle Factory, Pamplo Ghana Limited, Global Bamboo Product Limited and the Animal Science Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). GNA
