AAW

News

The following are news items and stories on gender, women and information and communications technologies with a focus on Africa. They cover APC-Africa-Women news as well as news from partners and beyond. You are welcome to send us your news to africa AT apcwomen.org

08/25/2007 - Media in central African conflicts: a difficult choice between impartiality and propaganda
Information has become a powerful weapon that can be manipulated during times of conflict. This was seen again in central Africa between 1993 and 1994, as revealed by Sylvie Niombo of APC-Africa-Women in her analysis of the work, The media and conflicts in Central Africa, edited by Marie-Soleil Frère and published in 2007 by the Panos Institute of Paris.
In summary, the book The media and conflicts in central Africa has the merit of providing detailed information on the role of the media in times of conflict and social crisis, and identifying deterrents to freedom of expression. In this latest search for professionalism, journalists need support to redress the situation. The public, tired of partisan and extremist media, tend much more towards impartial and “messianic” types of media, supposed to restore hope. However, our analysis of the book showed up insufficient information on the electronic press. A single case of action against the electronic press was mentioned in the book. Then, the influence of numerous partisan websites, which have been created especially by those in exile or the diaspora, whose reality is not covered by the book.

Are male and female journalists affected differently by repression and conflicts? Is there a feminist press in times of conflict? What are the weaknesses of women’s professional associations? With regard to the contribution by international organisations to the media sector, have there been any gender considerations? These are interesting issues which could have been looked into.

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08/25/2007 - Les media et les conflits en Afrique centrale : un choix difficile entre l’impartialité et la propagande
L’information est devenue une arme puissante qui peut être manipulée pendant les périodes de conflit. Ceci a été le cas en Afrique centrale entre 1993 et 1994, comme révélé par Sylvie Niombo d’APC-Femmes-Afrique dans son analyse du livre Les média et les conflits en Afrique centrale, édité par Marie-Soleil Frère et publié en 2007 par l’Institut Panos de Londres.

En résumé, ce livre a le mérite de donner des informations détaillées sur le rôle des médias en période de conflits et de crises sociales et de relever les freins à la liberté d’expression. Dans cette ultime recherche de professionnalisme, les journalistes ont besoin d’appui pour redresser la barre. Le public, quant à lui, las des média partisans et extrémistes, se rue beaucoup plus vers des média qui démontrent l’impartialité et des média « messianiques » censés redonner de l’espoir.

Cependant, son analyse du livre a relevé l’insuffisance d’informations sur la presse électronique, les considérations de genre, les dérapages des médias internationaux et les cas d’impunités de la presse.

Un seul cas d’action contre la presse électronique a été cité dans le livre. Les questions relatives aux sites web partisans qui sont créés surtout par des exilés ou la diaspora n’ont également pas été couvertes par le livre.

Les journalistes hommes et femmes sont-ils affectés différemment par la répression et les conflits ? Y a-t-il eu une presse féministe en temps de conflit ? Quelles sont les faiblesses des associations professionnelles féminines ? Dans l’appui apporté par les organisations internationales dans le secteur des médias, y a-t-il eu des considérations de genre ? Ce sont des questions intéressantes à creuser.

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06/05/2007 - Online Discussion : Financing for gender equality and the empowerment of women
You are invited to participate in the online discussion on the theme €œFinancing for gender equality and the empowerment of womenâ€, which is being organized by the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women. The discussion will run for four weeks from 18 June to 15 July 2007. The purpose of the online discussion is to contribute to a further understanding of the existing mechanisms and processes of financing for gender equality and the empowerment of women at the national, regional and global levels; identify good practices and lessons learned and highlight gaps and challenges requiring further action.

The online discussion is part of the preparatory process of the 52nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) held 25 February to 7 March 2008, which will consider Financing for gender equality and the empowerment of womenâ€ as its priority theme. To register, please click on the following link to fill out an online form: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/forum/forum-daw-financing.htm by June 8th.

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05/22/2007 - Invitation à participer au forum virtuel sur l'utilisation des TIC par les jeues citoyennes dans la lutte pour l'abandon de l'excision.
A DIFFUSER LARGEMENT DANS VOS RESEAUX.

(ENDA Tiers-Monde, Dakar, 21 mai 2007) - ENDA
Tiers-Monde a le plaisir de vous inviter à participer à la liste de discussion électronique MGF-TIC : "Contribution des TIC à l'abandon des MGF en Afrique francophone : rôle citoyen des jeunes", dans le cadre d'un projet de recherche mis en oeuvre avec le soutien du Centre de Recherches sur le Développement International (Canada). D'autres informations sur ce projet sont disponibles à :
http://www.famafrique.org/tic-mgf/accueil.html

Cette invitation s'adresse plus particulièrement aux jeunes de 15 à 25 ans, aux institutions actives dans les domaines des Mutilations Génitales Féminines (MGF), des Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication (TIC), de la jeunesse et du développement communautaire, et de l'intégration des politiques africaines; aux
chercheurs, aux décideurs communautaires, civils et politiques.

Le débat s'articulera autour des questions suivantes : Evolution des visions, pratiques, problématiques et politiques MGF en Afrique francophone de l'Ouest ; Etat de la recherche ; Utilisations et applications citoyennes de TIC
par les jeunes pour l'abandon de l'excision ; Appuis aux initiatives locales, nationales et sous régionales ; participation citoyenne des jeunes à la préparation à l'intégration des politiques ouest-africaines sur les MGF.

Il débutera le 4 juin 2007 et s'achèvera en février 2008. La discussion sera facilitée, modérée et animée, et se déroulera en français. Pour vous inscrire, envoyez un message vide à
MGF-TIC-subscribe@yahoogroupes.fr

A bientôt avec le plaisir de vous accueillir dans la liste MGF-TIC.

Mor Ndiaye Mbaye, Facilitateur de la liste. Pour plus d'informations, contacter morfattah@hotmail.com

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05/09/2007 - GENRE, TIC et Logiciels Libres' Dakar 20 juin 2007
Fidèle à sa démarche de création de Synergies, le Club de la Solidarité Numérique http://www.club-solidarite-numerique.org ) invite toutes les femmes Sénégalaises et d'Afrique francophone porteuses de projets liés aux TIC à s'inscrire et participer à la demi-journée 'GENRE, TIC et Logiciels Libres' dakar 20 juin 2007.
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05/08/2007 - Tell the World You've created a Difference
APC WNSP AND GKP GENDER AND ICT AWARDS - Read about the grantees.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) play a growing role in the world's societies, and have the potential to help disadvantaged groups increase their participation in the civic, social, political, and economic processes critical to achieving change. However, women – particularly women in developing countries – don’t benefit from these new technologies, a reflection of the existing unequal power relations in societies as a whole. ICTs can be used to either exacerbate or transform unequal power relations. ICTs cannot create gender equality, or end poverty, but they can be tools for social action and positive social change.

In 2005, the Gender and ICT Awards focus was on empowerment, specifically ICT initiatives that promote women’s economic empowerment as it relates to development.
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05/08/2007 - Increasing rural entrepreneurs women income – the case of Buwuma Multimedia Centre
Approximately 100 participants to the GenARDIS workshop and the conference on Women in the on Women and Science in Food and Nutrition Security, most of them women, have been invited to a field trip in rural areas of Uganda.
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05/08/2007 - Will women really benefit from the digital revolution?
The book “The Gender Digital Divide in Francophone Africa, a Harsh Reality” written by Marie-Helene Mottin-Sylla has just been translated into English by APC, the Association for Progressive Communications. On this occasion, Sylvie Niombo, Deputy Coordinator of APC’s Africa-Women network, interviewed Marie-Helene on the content of the book.
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05/04/2007 - Interview: AAW member researches women, empowerment and ICTs in Africa
Sylvie Niombo, APC Africa Women Co-coordinator interviews Kutoma Wakumuna, who is currently undertaking a PhD in Gender and Information Communication Technologies at Coventry University.

Kutoma Wakumuna is a Zambian woman researching women and ICTs. She recently joined the APC Africa Women (AAW) network. She has published several research papers on gender and ICTs and also contributed to a case study for the “Women's ICT-Based Enterprise for Development" project coordinated by the University of Manchester's Institute for Development Policy and Management.
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05/04/2007 - The Executive Director of the AWDF receives the `Changing the face of Philanthro
The Executive Director of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), Ghana, Ms Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, has been honoured with the 2007 `Changing the Face of Philanthropy’ award by the Women’s Funding Network, an international network of Women’s Funds from across the world.

AWDF, co-founded by Ms Joana Foster from Ghana, Dr Hilda M. Tadria from Uganda and Ms Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, was established in June 2000. It is the first Africa-wide fundraising and grant-making fund, which aims to support the work of organisations working to promote women’s rights in Africa. AWDF gives grants to women’s organisations working on a range of social justice and empowerment issues. AWDF receives its funding from international institutional donors, private foundations, and individual donors within and outside Africa. Since AWDF started awarding grants in October 2001, it has funded over 386 women’s organisations in 40 African countries, and has given away over U$4m in grants.

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05/04/2007 - GenARDIS: supporting the use of ICTs by women farmers for social change
The GenARDIS grants programme was developed in recognition of the ICT-related constraints and challenges faced by rural women in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The grants winners took part in a knowledge sharing workshop on gender, agriculture and rural development in the information society in Entebbe, Uganda from July 3 to 8. The following is a report by Sylvie Niombo - Deputy Coordinator of APC-Africa-Women- about the crossroads of gender, rural development and ICT, the impact of GenARDIS grants, and recommendations for policy makers.
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08/01/2006 - Will women really benefit from the digital revolution?
The book “The Gender Digital Divide in Francophone Africa, a Harsh Reality” written by Marie-Helene Mottin-Sylla has just been translated into English by APC, the Association for Progressive Communications. On this occasion, Sylvie Niombo, Deputy Coordinator of APC’s Africa-Women network, interviewed Marie-Helene on the content of the book.
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07/07/2006 - Field trip to the St Jude rural training centre in Masaka - Could ICTs add a value in organic farming business?
We were impressed by the leadership of Josephine Kizza and her determination to run a small family project on organic farming successfully, when we visited her training centre called St Jude in Masaka on July 05th 2006.
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07/07/2006 - GenARDIS winners attend a workshop in Entebbe
The workshop on knowledge-sharing on gender, agriculture and rural development in the information society (GenARDIS) started on Monday at the Imperial Resort Beach hotel in Entebbe, Uganda coordinated by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) and Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET).
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07/07/2006 - Accroître le revenu des femmes entrepreneurs en milieu rural – le cas du Centre du Multimédia de Buwuma
Près de 100 participants de l’atelier GenARDIS et de la conférence sur les femmes, la science et la sécurité alimentaire, en majorité des femmes, ont été invités à la visite de projets dans les zones rurales de l’Ouganda.
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07/07/2006 - TIC et plaidoyer pour le genre dans une zone post-conflit
La situation est souvent difficile dans les zones touchées par les conflits en Afrique, c’est le cas de Uvira qui se trouve dans la province du Sud Kivu en République Démocratique du Congo. Les femmes ont été les plus touchées par les conflits armés à Uvira en 1996 et en 1998. L’association Arche de l’alliance travaille pour la promotion et la défense des droits de l’homme. Leurs bénéficiaires sont en majorité les femmes économiquement défavorisées et victimes de violences sexuelles.

Une subvention de GenARDIS en 2005 leur a permis de réaliser le projet d’utilisation de campagne d'accompagnement et de sensibilisation des femmes rurales d'Uvira sur la promotion des TIC à des fins de plaidoyer pour le genre.

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07/07/2006 - Les gagnants des subventions de GenARDIS se rencontrent à Entebbe
L’atelier sur le partage de connaissances sur le genre, l’agriculture et le développement rural dans la société de l’information (GenARDIS) a commencé le lundi à l’hôtel Imperial Resort Beach à Entebbe en Ouganda sous la coordination du Réseau des Femmes Ougandaises WOUGNET et l’Association pour le Progrès de la Communication (APC).
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06/12/2006 - Why Are Congolese Women Absent from Decision Making in ICTs?
The Republic of Congo is located in Central Africa, with an estimated population of 2,854,600in 2000. The urban population is at 66% and is concentrated in the southern areas of the country. Telecommunications infrastructures are decrepit, limited to the two biggest cities of the country (Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire). Despite the existence of private telecommunications companies, only mobile telephony penetrates faster in rural areas. Telecommunications infrastructures are, thus, unable, to meet the needs of the Congolese population, especially those of women who constitute 51 per cent of inhabitants.
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06/10/2006 - Gender and ICTs in Africa: Let’s talk research
Performing research can be challenging, especially when researchers turn to their own communities. In the - GRACE project, researchers will meet to share their findings and develop their writing skills in early June in Durban, South Africa. Organised in fourteen different teams, they “live and work” in twelve African countries and all tackle a fundamental question: How do women in Africa use information and communication technologies (ICTs) for empowerment?
The dream behind GRACE (Gender Research in Africa into ICTs for Empowerment) is to evolve into a sustainable research network that will continue to engage women into ICTs and gender issues beyond its own duration.
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06/06/2006 - GRACE Project: State of the Research
GRACE is a group of 14 research teams working in 12 African countries focusing on Gender Research in Africa into ICT’s for Empowerment, supported by a research grant from the International Development Research Centre of Canada. This two-year research project will be completed in April 2007.

The dream for GRACE is to evolve into a sustainable research network that will continue to engage research into women, ICTs and gender issues beyond the limited time frame of this project and will expand its base of participating researchers and countries beyond the current ones. Inspired by this vision, GRACE embraces a strong emphasis on research capacity building in all the phases of the research process. Furthermore, creating a nurturing research environment for junior researchers is a priority for all involved: for the Grace coordinating team as well as for the site projects’ senior researchers.
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05/27/2006 - Rural Women in the Wired World
Women who live in rural areas are at a particular disadvantage in the digital world — facing multiple barriers related both to gender and location. Given their central role in the agricultural economy, for example, rural women often have too much work and too little time to become familiar with these new technologies. And with their special responsibilities for children and the elderly, women typically cannot migrate as easily as men to towns and cities where training in the new technologies is more available. Cultural attitudes preventing women from visiting public access points frequented by men — in addition to generally lower levels of education and less political and economic power than their male counterparts — also limit women’s ability to enter the new world of ICTs. Add to this the lack of ICT materials in local languages, and the obstacles seem formidable indeed.

The small grants fund from GenARDIS (Gender and Agricultural/Rural Development in the Information Society) selected 10 projects aimed at breaking down those barriers separating rural women from the benefits of ICTs.

Keane J. Shore offers a snapshot of GenARDIS projects and of how a variety of tools and tactics — for instance, providing access to cellular phones, getting women connected to the Internet, and creating educational video — serve both rural women’s day-to-day needs and the longer-term goal of advancing the position of women within society.
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08/01/2003 - THE APC WNSP AND GKP GENDER AND ICT AWARDS
Recognizing Innovative and Effective Efforts

The Gender and ICT Awards aim to honor and bring international recognition to the innovative and effective projects by women to use ICTs for the promotion of gender equality and/or women's empowerment. The awards are open to projects from all around the world.

The Gender and ICT Awards will be launched, and winners will be showcased and celebrated, at a special event and venue parallel to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, Switzerland, from December
10-12, 2003.

One representative from each of the 4 winning initiatives will be flown to Geneva for the awards celebrations in December.

Applications will be accepted from July 15 to September 10, 2003. (Applications sent by postal mail must be postmarked by August 25, 2003). Winners will be selected and announced by November 1, 2003.

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05/21/2003 - Réseau genre et TIC (Regentic)
Le réseau genre et TIC (regentic) a été créé à l'issue de l'Atelier "Dimensions de genre des politiques de TIC au Sénégal", ( ENDA-ART-OSIRIS, Dakar, Sénégal, novembre 2002), organisé avec le soutien de l'Association Mondiale pour la Communication Chrétienne (WACC) pour faire le point sur l'état de développement du secteur des Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication (TIC) au Sénégal, d'en faire l'analyse du point de vue de l'égalité de genre, et amorcer un processus de concertation entre les instances de régulation, les organisations de femmes et celles de la société civile actives pour la promotion des femmes au Sénégal.
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01/15/2003 - APC WNSP Forum in Tanzania
The GEM Regional Workshop in Africa was preceded by an Association for Progressive Communications and Women's Networking Support Program Forum in Dar Es Salaam. Before local ISP's and NGO's, APC WNSP Coordinator Karen Banks recalled the APC's role in Tanzania's early connectivity. Fatma Alloo from Tanzania Media Women's Association (TAMWA) talked about how connectivity has been transformed in Tanzania and women's organizations and networking as well.TISPA, the local ISP association, promoted civil society involvment in ICT policy, stressing the importance of local internet exchange, newly announced in Tanzania in November 2002. Women's organizations took a keen interest in Action Applications, APC's open source software for web content management. After the Forum, the APC WNSP headed to the island of Zanzibar for the GEM Africa Workshop, with nine ICT initiatives from the region scheduled to test the GEM Tool.
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