The concerns for African children should not be confined to the disadvantaged position of Africa, but rather extended to search into the virtues of their cultural heritage, historical background and values of the African civilisation as the basis for reflecting on the rights and welfare of the child. In other words, the perspectives on the African child are shaped by a multiplicity of factors that include both the worldview of the researchers, donor priorities and pressures, as well as what will ‘sell’ better in peer review journals. This implies a real concern with what is going on in terms of research on child issues in Africa, in order to avoid generalisations and particularising the African children in ways that portray them in an unfavourable light.
Departing from this theoretical and philosophical background, scholars from 13 countries in Africa converged in Dakar to discuss issues related to child research in Africa. This monograph is about this extremely important exercise undertaken by Childwatch International and CODESRIA in collaboration with the Child and Youth Research and Training Programme at the University of the Western Cape, the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town and Kenyatta University.
It comprises three papers that were presented at that occasion as well as the discussion that follows. Recognising the challenges that face researchers and their institutions, and the existing gap between policy makers and researchers, the monograph is an excellent evaluation of the child research potential in Africa. It examines the feasibility of the child research on the continent by exploring ways through which researchers and institutions across Africa can strengthen the quantity and the quality of child research in Africa. An assessment of the available research resources, in particular the technical skills of African researchers, and available financial resources is also part of the analyses.
Maylene Shung King, Rose September, Frederick Moses Okatcha and Carlos Cardoso Codesria 2006New
Depuis l'indépendance, le Sénégal s'est lancé dans un mouvement de décentralisation qui a abouti, en 1996, à la régionalisation. La loi ne définit pas la décentralisation, encore moins la régionalisation. Dans le préambule du code des collectivités locales, néanmoins, il est précisé que les nouveaux textes cherchent à promouvoir « des autorités décentralisées et proches des citoyens, libres de leurs décisions, des représentants de l'État sur le terrain dotés de pouvoirs déconcentrés, un contrôle de légalité adapté et rapproché ». Ainsi les régions, à l'image des communes et communautés rurales, sont-elles érigées en collectivités locales, dirigées par des conseillers élus. De plus, dix domaines de compétence - dont la gestion des ressources naturelles et l'environnement - sont transférés aux régions, communes et communautés rurales (RDS 1996b).
El Hadji Dialigué Ba
ISBN : 2-86978-190-3
CODESRIA 2006