Last Days To Request Press Passes for the African Film Festival of Cordoba-FCAT

Last days to request press passes for the African Film Festival of Cordoba-FCAT 

Journalists interested in attending the event must fill in the online application form before next Monday 1st of October

Cordoba, 27th October 2013. The African Film Festival of Cordoba-FCAT returns from the 11th to the 19th of October in order to celebrate its 10th anniversary striving for the contribution to a better understanding of the neighbouring continent through the projection of 66 films made in 31 different countries. At this special occasion, we are eager to invite journalists from all over the world to join us to share and celebrate our love for African cinemas under the shape of this unique film festival in Spain. 

The deadline for the press pass request finishes on the 1^st October. The procedure is twofold. On the one hand, journalists will fill an online application form, available at our website (www.fcat.es) until the 1st of October. After submitting the online form, journalists must send a digital copy of their passport or press ID. Once the deadline is over, the media office will send confirmations to the accredited journalists. 

The festival, which gathered together almost 13 thousand people at the last year edition, meets again this year across the city of Cordoba, with film projections at the majestic Teatro Góngora, the Casa Árabe, the Vimcorsa hall, the Cultural Centre Rey Heredia Veintidós and the Instituto Andaluz de la Juventud. Audiences will have the opportunity to enjoy a wide selection of films to keep contributing to the comprehension of this continent through its vast and rich cinematographic culture. 

Press pass request                                                                                       Press dossier

Films catalogue                                                                                               Festival programme

International Media Officer:

Estrella Sendra

Tel.: +34 667 39 26 13

media@fcat.es

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Factors That Give Rise to Corruption in Higher Education in Nigeria and other Countries

25 September 2013 14:39 Africa/Lagos  


FACTORS THAT GIVE RISE TO CORRUPTION IN HIGHER EDUCATION


 BERLIN, 23 September 2013 / PRNewswire Africa / - Imagine these scenarios:


• A dormitory manager in Romania accepts money in return for providing campus accommodations to ineligible students.

• To improve his publication record in advance of a promotion review, a faculty member in Greece engages in plagiarism.

• In Nigeria, a faculty member pays a journal to publish her article without scientific review.

• In Ghana, several faculty members lose their jobs when they are discovered selling university admission to students who would not otherwise qualify.

• A professor in Bosnia and Herzegovina allows only those students who bought the book authored by the professor to take the examination.

• In the United States, the former president of a university was indicted for embezzlement after she submitted false bills for construction that had not occurred.

These are all real cases. They demonstrate that corruption in higher education does occur. Its nature and prevalence is the topic of Transparency International's Global Corruption Report: Education. This report offers a wide range of specific examples of the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, along with thoughtful analysis of the reasons why corruption persists, even in organisations devoted to discovering and transmitting knowledge.

As the report points out, four factors have converged to create conditions that can foster corrupt practices.
First, in some countries government support for higher education has lagged. Even in countries where government funding of higher education has increased, the rapid increase in the number of students has sometimes led to a lower per-student allocation. The response in some countries has been an erosion in salaries and conditions of service for instructional staff. To compensate, some instructional staff turn to inappropriate behaviour on campus such as selling grades; or seek supplemental employment opportunities off campus which draw them away from their university responsibilities.

Second, the decline in government support is often paired with an emphasis on universities finding more of their own funding. For example, one university in Thailand operates seven hospitals, including one veterinary hospital, and uses the profit to help finance operation of the wider university. Meanwhile, a university in Malaysia has established a consulting company through which it sells faculty expertise to business and industry. Faculty members are coming under intensified pressure to increase their teaching loads, teach in special weekend courses, secure funded research and commercialise the products of their research.
Third, as universities seek wider recognition through higher placement in international rankings, faculty members have come under intensified pressure to conduct research and publish in top-tier journals.
Fourth, as part of expecting universities to raise more of their own resources, these institutions are being granted greater administrative autonomy. Decisions that were once centralised in a state or provincial education ministry are now made by campus- and departmental-level administrators.

In short, faculty members are coming under greater job pressure, sometimes within contexts characterised by less oversight of their behaviour. Together, the impact of these factors creates the motive and the opportunity for corrupt practices to enter into the equation.

While the Global Corruption Report: Education documents cases of corruption in higher education, it also offers strategies for addressing such problems. Among other things, the report argues the importance of clear codes of conduct for students, faculty and administrators; transparency in administrative procedures and decision-making; and mechanisms for calling problems to the attention of appropriate personnel. However, these actions must begin with wider recognition of the threat posed by corruption in higher education. Only as those involved in the operation of higher education systems and of individual colleges and universities understand the threat, will they be able to launch effective responses.

SOURCE Transparency International

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Rabies is Deadlier than HIV/AIDS

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One person dies from rabies every 10 minutes, on average, with the disease claiming 55,000 lives every year.
World Rabies Day, today, highlights the fact that rabies can be prevented.
However, experts say that the high cost of safe and effective vaccines – up to US$ 50 in Asia, where the average daily income is US$ 1-2 per person – and the fact that the disease is virtually invisible, mean those who should be able to prevent rabies often don't see its dangers.
Nicki Chadwick reports
Duration: 2’17″
**********************

The following is a news release from Dr. Olufemi Oboye (DVM, Ibadan), CEO, K-9ine World Ltd.

RABIES !  DEADLIER THAN HIV/AIDS

Saturday, September 28 is the United Nation’s world rabies day. This date has been set aside because it marks the anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur, a scientist who with the collaboration of his colleagues developed the first efficacious rabies vaccine.

During the world rabies day, the United Nations and other international human and veterinary health organizations raise awareness on how to prevent and eliminate the main global sources of a disease that kills more than 55,000 people worldwide every year.  

Rabies is not a foreign challenge alone. In Nigeria, more than 10,000 people are still at risk of contracting this disease that is deadlier than HIV/AIDS. During the world rabies day, local human and veterinary organizations such as the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), K-9ine World Limited, Lagos Dog breeders club, etc., come up with several awareness campaigns and free anti-rabies vaccination for pets. 

Rabies is a deadly zoonotic disease (a disease that can be transmitted from animals to man, and vice versa.) that is transmitted when the virus in the saliva or brain tissue of an infected animal or person, enters into the body through a bite, scratch or open wound. Signs of rabies in an infected animal include- change in normal tone of bark, difficulty in swallowing, excessive or frothy salivation, unusual aggression to people and stationary objects, and muscle in coordination.  

In an infected person, signs of rabies include- fever, cough, sore throat, restlessness, hallucinations and seizures. The final stage is coma and death. 

To prevent rabies, avoid contact with unfamiliar animals, have your pets vaccinated, keep your cats indoors, never handle the brain tissue of a dead animal, and veterinary doctors and animal health workers should collect a preventive rabies vaccination. 

If you have been bitten by or exposed to an animal without a history of vaccination, or with signs of rabies, immediately, wash the affected area with soap, rinse with plenty water, then seek immediate medical attention. The doctor will administer post exposure rabies vaccines that will help the body’s immune system to destroy the virus at the early stages.

Exposure to a rabid animal does not always result in death if treatment is obtained promptly following exposure. However is symptoms appear before treatment, the disease progresses rapidly and the infection will probably lead to death

Rabies kills! Please ensure that you vaccinate your pets today.

Have a blessed weekend.

 
Dr. Olufemi Oboye (DVM, Ibadan)
CEO, K-9ine World Ltd.,
And, Columnist in Friday Punch Newspapers (Health- wise page)

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Volunteers at FCAT Cordoba Against the Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Women and Children

  From left to right: Isabel Romero, Soledad Perez, Bashira Escudero and Ángel.

Volunteers at FCAT Cordoba against the sexual exploitation and trafficking of women and children 

The team of volunteers has organised a Cineforum under this topic in celebration of the International Day Against the Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Women and Children

 

Cordoba, 25^th September 2013. The African Film Festival of Cordoba counts on an important body of volunteers who have been involved in a wide range of activities since early September. As part of them, there has been a cineforum at the Film Archive of Andalusia on trafficking of women and children, in celebration of the International Day Against the Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking of Women and Children. This initiative has been sponsored by the Women Andalusian Institute (Instituto Andaluz de la Mujer) and NGOD Women in Conflict Zones. 

The event, entitled “In Search of the End” [“En Busca del Fin”] has taken place from 17.30 to 20.00 on the 24^th of September at the venue Josefina (Film Archive of Andalusia). The volunteers have vividly participated in a debate chaired by Soledad Pérez (MP of Junta de Andalusia) and Bashira Escudero (Women in Conflict Zones). “Very often women captured in these nets are not aware of their condition of victim”, Escudero stated, “thus we do not just identify these women, but we offer them a psychological support and juridical assistance”. However, the audience was shocked after Pérez read the report of 2012 of the actions to prevent the trafficking of women and children and sexual exploitation. “There is a very weak chain from the risk, to crime and conviction”, Pérez has claimed. “At the moment, there is no strategy to prevent and act for the eradication of this problem. This debate has disappeared from the political discourse”. Finally, she has enjoyed the occasion to denounce the fact that “in Spain, as a country, we have never fully rejected prostitution. And many youngsters even see it as something fun to do with their friends”.  The problem, as the debate has pointed out requires as well to rethink the notion of trafficking, very often mistaken with that of prostitution. This forum has concluded with the screening of the documentary film Les filières africaines de la prostitution, by Olivier Enogo, aimed precisely at raising awareness of this issue, which has given faces to the issues discussed during the debate.  

With this activity, the team of volunteers at FACT Cordoba wants to claim the need for implementing a comprehensive law on trafficking of people for sexual exploitation. This law should focus on preventing this scourge, the development of actions to avoid inappropriate sexual content in publicity and to establish services for the protection of the victims.

PRESS PASS REQUEST:

http://www.fcat.es/FCAT/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=421&Itemid=11  

International Media Office:

Estrella Sendra

Tel.: +34 667 39 26 13

media@fcat.es

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In Most Parts of the World, When A Girl is Born...

10x10 and Nigerians Report Present the Nigerian Premiere of "Girl Rising" on Friday October 11, 2013, to celebrate the United Nations' International Day of the Girl Child, from 11 am at the Silverbird Cinemas, Silverbird Galleria, 133, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos, Nigeria.

 Supported by United Nations Information Center, Zonta International Clubs in Nigeria, Kudirat Initiative for Democracy (KIND), Kiddies and Brands Company and Silverbird Cinemas.

Directed by Academy Award-nominee Richard E. Robbins and narrated by Cate Blanchett, Priyanka Chopra, Selena Gomez, Anne Hathaway, Salma Hayek, Alicia Keys, Chloë Moretz, Liam Neeson, Freida Pinto, Meryl Streep, and Kerry Washington, the movie is at the center of 10x10 – a global campaign to educate and empower girls.

“If to see it is to know it, this film delivers hope; reasonable, measurable, tangible hope that the world can be healed and helped to a better future," said Meryl Streep, one of the film’s narrators. 

As a result of passionate organizers stepping up to captain screenings on demand in their local cinemas, more than 1,700 screenings have been requested around the U.S to date.   

“I believe in the power of education to change not only a girl, but the world,” said Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, Publisher/Editor of Nigerians Report Online and the Nigerian Captain of Girl Rising.

“By bringing Girl Rising to Nigeria, we are showing our people a beautiful film that demonstrates the impact education can have on girls’ lives around the globe.  I am proud to be part of this revolution, among hundreds of others who are organizing global screenings.”

“Girl Rising is about the world-changing power of educating girls,” said Holly Gordon, Executive Director of 10x10. “I am incredibly moved by the thousands of individuals, businesses and organizations who have stepped up to bring this important film to movie theaters and communities around the country. Girl Rising is the centerpiece of our global campaign, and these organizers are the foundation. Together, they are driving transformative change one community at a time.”

“It's a powerful film that has potential to inspire change in the world. If you're not moved, you're not breathing," said Alicia Keys, who also narrates the film.

A portion of Girl Rising ticket sales go to support girls’ programs around the world through the 10x10 Fund for Girls’ Education. The Fund is distributed to 10x10’s high-impact network of non-profit partners who are working on the ground: A New Day Cambodia, CARE, Girl Up/United Nations Foundation, Partners in Health, Plan International USA, Room to Read, UNICEF, and World Vision.

Girl Rising is from the award-winning producers of The Documentary Group and Vulcan Productions, with strategic partner Intel Corporation and global television distribution partner CNN Films.

ABOUT 10X10

10x10 was founded by award-winning journalists at The Documentary Group and Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Productions, along with strategic partner, Intel Corporation. 10x10 is built on a foundation of partnerships with NGOs, corporations, policy makers, and grassroots organizations — all working to change minds, lives, and policy. 10x10’s coalition of NGO partners include a high-impact network of champions and leaders in girls’ education. These organizations provide life-changing services to girls every day, and are among the best practitioners of their kind. 10x10’s film, Girl Rising, has been acquired by CNN Films and will be broadcast on CNN in the summer of 2013.

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Our Hearts Are With the Dozens of Victims of Nairobi Terror Attack

NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the government and people of Kenya, as the country endures a horrific terrorist attack in a popular shopping mall in Nairobi. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100816/AJCLOGO) Shabab, a Somali-based Islamist group affiliated with al-Qaeda, has claimed credit for the attack, which began yesterday, and has left at least 59 dead and more than 175 wounded. "Our hearts go out to the families of the victims and our prayers are with the wounded in the hope of their full recovery," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "Tragically, the radical Islamist group Shabab has once again demonstrated the limitless depths of its depravity, having targeted innocent men, women and children who had simply set out to shop, dine and enjoy time in the shopping mall." The United States has designated the al-Qaeda-affiliated Shabab a terrorist group. Several terrorists remain inside the Nairobi mall in a stand-off with Kenyan security forces. SOURCE American Jewish Committee CONTACT: Kenneth Band
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14:25	SOUTH AFRICA CONDEMNS THE TERRORIST ATTACK IN KENYA

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Kofi Awoonor: 13 March 1935 – 21 September 2013

Kofi Awoonor (13 March 1935 – 21 September 2013) was a Ghanaian poet and author whose work combined the poetic traditions of his native Ewe people and contemporary and religious symbolism to depict Africa during decolonization. He started writing under the name George Awoonor-Williams.


 Professor Kofi Awoonor was among those who were killed in the September 2013 attack at Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya.


ACROSS A NEW DAWN

Sometimes, we read the
lines in the green leaf
run our fingers over the
smooth of the precious wood
from our ancient trees;

Sometimes, even the sunset
puzzles, as we look
for the lines that propel the clouds,
the colour scheme
with the multiple designs
that the first artist put together

There is dancing in the streets again
the laughter of children rings
through the house
On the seaside, the ruins recent
from the latest storms
remind of ancestral wealth
pillaged purloined pawned
by an unthinking grandfather
who lived the life of a lord
and drove coming generations to
despair and ruin

*

But who says our time is up
that the box maker and the digger
are in conference
or that the preachers have aired their robes
and the choir and the drummers
are in rehearsal?

No; where the worm eats
a grain grows.
the consultant deities
have measured the time
with long winded
arguments of eternity

And death, when he comes
to the door with his own
inimitable calling card
shall find a homestead
resurrected with laughter and dance
and the festival of the meat
of the young lamb and the red porridge
of the new corn

*

We are the celebrants
whose fields were
overrun by rogues
and other bad men who
interrupted our dance
with obscene songs and bad gestures

Someone said an ailing fish
swam up our lagoon
seeking a place to lay its load
in consonance with the Original Plan

Master, if you can be the oarsman
for our boat
please do it, do it.
I asked you before
once upon a shore
at home, where the
seafront has narrowed
to the brief space of childhood

We welcome the travelers
come home on the new boat
fresh from the upright tree


From “Promises of Hope: New and Selected Poems,” selected by Kofi Anyidoho, University of Nebraska Press and the African Poetry Book Fund, 2014


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