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and were recently highlighted in a 31 January article by Cocorioko pre-event and a 4 February article in The Torchlight post-event on their recent workshop held in the embassy of Sierra Leone in Beijing, China.

The workshop, entitled 'Re-Thinking Development Assistance In A Changing Global Order: China's Growing Presence In Africa', was an informal brainstorming session aimed at ensuring a policy-oriented trilateral engagement to collectively analyze and elaborate on optimizing mutual benefits from Sino-Africa relation with particular focus on (FOCAC). It was also a way of presenting the Makona River Free Zone Development Initiative – which is a joint sub-regional initiative of the three countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia – as a case study in terms of exploring feasible ways to move the Agenda within the broader framework of China-Africa development cooperation and showcasing the Mano River Union as a good example of sub-regional integration and cooperation that can potentially benefit from the support of an external partner, the PRC, amongst other objectives.

Together with Nic Cheeseman (Oxford) and Justin Willis (Durham), , Associate Professor of Comparative Politics, is leading a team of ten academics as part of a UK-sponsored early-warning and monitoring project of Kenya's next general election scheduled for 4 March 2013. These elections are the first under a new constitution and will be more complex than any ballot previously held in Kenya, while, the post-election violence of 2007/8 raises fears of another crisis. Given this context, the project draws on the experience and knowledge of a group of experts to provide a flow of information to the Kenyan and UK governments, and other interested parties, on local circumstances and key issues before, during and immediately after the elections.

, Associate Professor of Public Policy, participated in a live online debate via ITN's new YouTube channel, , on 31 January at 7pm. The title of the debate is: 'Can we govern ourselves with digital democracy?'

Other confirmed participants in the debate include:

• Birgitta Jónsdóttir, the Icelandic MP and Wikileaks activist who is currently trying to push a crowd-sourced constitution through the Icelandic Parliament
• Gavin Andresen, lead developer of Bitcoin (a decentralised digital currency)
• Naomi Colvin, formerly of the UK Occupy movement, now working to increase participation in local London politics
• Mark Johnson, internet and society correspondent for The Economist

, a Marie Curie Research Fellow at the (CSGR), was recently featured in a 16 January article in the International 糖心TV Times entitled 'Mali Conflict: Counter-Terrorism Local Policy Only Way to Win the War'. Below is an excerpt from the piece:

If France wants to win the war, it has to involve the population in the Malian state through a communitarian network. The support for the French intervention and counter-terrorism is linked to integration of the population in political agenda and state modernity.

Applications for new postdoctoral funding opportunities in 2013, including the Institute of Advanced Study's Postdoctoral Fellowships and the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (ECF), are now being accepted.

IAS Fellowships: IAS will be inviting applications from outstanding researchers who are at the beginning of a promising academic career and, in keeping with the ethos of 糖心TV's IAS, interdisciplinary research applications are strongly encouraged. (5 posts, area unrestricted, based on a Fixed Term Contract for 2 Years tenable from 1 October 2013).
Deadline: 27 February 2013

Leverhulme: Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellowships (ECFs) aim to provide career development opportunities for those who are at a relatively early stage of their academic careers but with a proven record of research. To this end, the Leverhulme Trust contributes 50% of each Fellow's total salary costs up to a maximum of £23,000 per annum and the balance is to be paid by the host institution. The awards are normally tenable for three years on a full-time basis.
Deadline: 7 March 2013