Applications for the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation's annual Fellows Programme are now open. This six week course is designed to attract senior scholars and practitioners in the field of transitional justice to reflect and write on the activities they have been engaged in, in their respective countries. The closing date for applications is 31 July 2008.

UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsura awarded this year's Prize for Peace Education to the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, on the recommendation of an international jury presided by Mr Mohammed Arkoun, Professor of History of Islamic Thought. The jury, which met on 19 May, chose the Institute "for its outsanding efforts in building sustainable reconciliation through education and in addressing systematic injustice in Africa."

The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation condemns, in the strongest terms, the recent and ongoing spate of xenophobic violence in our society. We call on all role-players for calm. We ask government to deploy the necessary resources to regain control and to address effectively and sustainably the plight of both refugees and poor communities in South Africa. We emphasise our commitment to developing options for the building of fair, democratic and inclusive societies and affirm our solidarity with the oppressed and marginalised.

The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation hosted the first Public Seminar in a series of seminars on Zimbabwe. Tendai Biti (Secretary General of the Movement for Democratic Change) was the main speaker with Elinor Sisulu (Board Member: Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition) responding. Download and listen to Tendai Biti's speech here!

Download Elinor Sisulu's speech at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation's 'Zimbabwe: Where to now?' public seminar.

Through regular audits of actual socio-political and economic transformation, bi-annual national surveys and ongoing anecdotal analysis of socio-political trends, the Reconciliation Barometer seeks to understand how far South Africa's national reconciliation process has evolved. The latest issue of the SA Reconciliation Barometer is now available.

News from the Great Lakes Desk: Civil society forum on traditional methods of conflict resolution: Ituri District, Democratic Republic of Congo, 10 - 19 March 2008

Each year the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation publishes the Economic Transformation Audit, reviewing how far South Africa has come in constructing economic justice - and how far we still have to go. The Transformation Audit Database is a comprehensive collection of documents from various sources including government, civil society, the media and academia.