The Economic Justice Network (EJN of FOCCISA) in partnership with the Center for Christian Spirituality, the St. George’s Cathedral Crypt Memory and Witness Centre and SAFCEI would like to invite you to a Crypt Conversation on Economy, Spirituality and the Sustainability of Our Planet. The conversation will be held on the 22nd of May at the St Georges Cathedral Crypt on 5 Wale Street, Cape Town. It will begin at 6pm and the main speaker will be Mr. Desmond D'Sa (Co-ordinator of the South Durban Communities Environmental Alliance (SADCEA). For further information, please click 
In an urgent desire to promote interactive dialogue among different stakeholders towards reflection on the status of the Extractive Industry in Mozambique, under the theme Just Profit or Just Mining in Mozambique, the Christian Council of Mozambique (CCM) hosted faith based organizations and civil society in Maputo at the Kaya Kwanga Lodge where they held the Mozambique National Alternative Mining Indaba. The event was very timely and relevant as it was held parallel to the government and private sector led Mozambique Mining and Energy Conference.
Since the avalanche of what has become known as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in Africa, there have been many red flags from researchers, farmers, environmental workers and NGOs. GMOs became a subject of discussion in the last decade or so attracting many arguments by the proponents for its beneficial properties as well as the potential for changing the face of agriculture on the continent. Conversely, there has been equal measure of counter arguments from anti- GM groups focusing on health and sustainability questions among others. 
US nominee Jim Yong Kim has been chosen as the new president of the World Bank. The Korean-American health expert is president of Dartmouth College in the US state of New Hampshire. He faced a strong challenge for the post, which has traditionally gone to an American, from Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Dr Kim will succeed Robert Zoellick, serving a five-year term beginning on 1 July, the World Bank said in a statement. 
Africa is not cashing in enough from its large gold resources, despite the spiralling price of the metal over recent years, a working paper published by the African Development Bank (AfDB) April 12, 2012 has said. The paper, entitled ‘Gold Mining in Africa: Maximizing Economic Returns for Countries’, points out that gold mining is a significant activity in at least 34 of the continent’s 54 countries.
Africa is in trouble. Its future is once again on the table, and it is Europe that holds the ace. Unlike the Berlin Conference of 1884 to 1885 which balkanized Africa among 13 European powers as guaranteed sources of raw materials and market, the current contraption under the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) spearheaded from Brussels is the modern day equivalent of the Berlin Conference. 
The C17 organised a march on the streets of Durban by members of civil society organisations and movements. The march was done on the 03rd December 2011, a Global Day of Action on Climate Justice. South African and international media gave global coverage of the march at global and national levels. Media reports reported that the march had almost 6000 participants marching together on the streets of Durban. Participants were from all provinces of South Africa, various countries of Africa and from other parts of the world. Mr. Pablo Solon (the ambassador of the Plurinational State of Bolivia to the United Nations) Mr. Salon and Mr. Zwelinzima Vavi (General Secretary of the South African Congress of Trade Unions, COSATU) presented the civil society documents to UNFCCC COP 17/ CMP 7 negotiators. They presented four civil society statements to the UNFCCC COP17 / CMP 7 President, Ms. Maite Nkoana-Mashabane (South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, DIRCO) and to Mrs. Christiana Figueres (UNFCCC Executive Secretary).
The Economic Justice Network (EJN) of the Fellowship of Christian Councils in Southern Africa (FOCCISA) was represented by Simon Vilakazi at the Civil Society Committee on UNFCCC COP 17 / CMP 7 from January 2011 to the 24th April 2012. The role of EJN’s representative at the C17 has been on the Education and Mobilisation Sub-committee and on other tasks that had to be done in the preparation of civil society activities on negotiations of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 7th Session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties (CMP7) to the Kyoto Protocol, held in Durban, South Africa from the 28th November – 11th December 2011.
