PULA NO. 1: FEBRUARY 2003
A Newsletter on Women and ICTs in Africa

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Newsletter of the Association for Progressive Communications Africa Women (APC-Africa-Women). Pula aims to promote and profile the work and activities of women's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) initiatives in Africa and to act as a communicative tool to link women to each other and to initiatives and opportunities.

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CONTENTS
1. Editorial
2. Who produces Pula?
3. Our Voices: Stories from the field
4. Profile of an ICT Champion
5. Policy Focus
6. News and Events
7. Resources
8. World Corner
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PULA, N°1 FÉVRIER 2003
Bulletin d'information sur les femmes et les TIC en Afrique

Outil de communication et de liaison entre les femmes, les actions et évènements, l'objectif de Pula est de rendre visible et de promouvoir le travail et les initiatives de Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication (TIC) des femmes en Afrique. Pula est publiée par le Programme Régional en Afrique de l'Association pour le Progrès des Communications (APC-Femmes-Afrique).

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SOMMAIRE:

1. Editorial.
2. L'équipe de rédaction
3. Nos voix, témoignages du terrain
4. Virtuoses des TIC
5. Au centre des politiques
6. Nouvelles et évènements
7. Documents
8. Actualités du monde

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1. EDITORIAL
[Version en francais ci-dessous]

Welcome to the first edition of Pula. We have called our newsletter Pula, a Tswana word for rain, because we believe that the information shared will encourage the growth of ICTs for women's empowerment, development, and social justice in Africa.

The aim of Pula is to promote and profile the work and activities of women and ICTs in Africa. Pula seeks to encourage networking and alliance-building among African women's organisations and facilitate access to regional and global opportunities. We will highlight current issues and encourage the production of new knowledge on African women's use of ICTs. We hope that Pula will provide a forum to share information on resources, events and activities.

The development of Pula by APC-Africa-Women (AAW) is in response to the growing need for a forum to encourage the cross-fertilization of ideas, stories and strategies around the use of the Internet by women in Africa.

We welcome contributions to the newsletter in English and French and are planning to include articles in Portuguese in the future. Contact details appear at the end of the newsletter.

EDITORIAL

Pula vous souhaite la bienvenue dans son premier numéro. Son nom est Pula (signifiant la pluie, en Tswana) car nous croyons qu'en partageant l'information, les TIC permettront de promouvoir la condition des femmes, le développement et la justice sociale en Afrique. Notre but est de promouvoir l'action en réseau et les alliances entre les organisations de femmes en Afrique et d'informer sur les possibilités régionales et mondiales. Pula traitera de l'actualité ainsi que de la promotion des nouveaux savoirs sur l'utilisation des TIC par les femmes africaines : Pula est un forum de mise en commun de l'information, des ressources et des actions.

Durant nos huit années d'activité, nous avons éprouvé l'utilité d'un tel espace d'enrichissement mutuel d'idées, de témoignages et de stratégies sur l'utilisation d'Internet par les femmes africaines.

Nous accueillerons volontiers vos contributions - en français ou en anglais, et bientôt en portugais. Nos coordonnées sont mentionnées en fin de bulletin.

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2. WHO PRODUCES PULA?
http://www.apcafricawomen.org

APC-Africa-Women is a network of organisations and individuals that work to empower African women's organisations to access and use Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for equality and development. APC-Africa-Women is the Africa regional programme of the Association for Progressive Communication's Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP).

L'équipe de rédaction
http://www.apcafricawomen.org

APC-Femmes-Afrique, réseau d'organisations et de personnes, oeuvre pour l'utilisation des Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication (TIC) par les organisations de femmes d'Afrique actives pour l'égalité et le développement. APC-Femmes-Afrique est le programme régional Afrique du Programme d'Appui aux Réseaux de Femmes (APC WNSP)

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3. OUR VOICES - STORIES FROM THE FIELD
by Rita Mijumbi

Our Voices is a regular column to profile the work and achievements of women who are using ICTs for social change. In this edition, we invited Rita Mijumbi to write about the CD ROM entitled, 'Rural Women in Africa: Ideas for Earning Money'. Rita works for Uganda Development Services and is a consultant to the International Women's Tribune Centre on the CD ROM project. She is from Kampala, Uganda and obtained a B.Com degree in Economics and a Masters degree in Business Management.

A day after the Kampala Know How conference, Anastasia (71 year-old beneficiary of the CD ROM project), said to me, "I want a mobile phone so that I can be in touch with you about how women are using the CD ROM." My immediate response was, "Would you afford the monthly service fee and airtime?" Her response was, "Yes, I will sell one of my chickens or surplus food so that I can service my phone every month." She went on to tell me that she would budget to buy one airtime card every month which she would use during an emergency.

The CD ROM is a response to the dire need for women in Uganda to be able to access information in order to improve their productivity and socio-economic status.

Why the title, 'Rural Women in Africa: Ideas for Earning Money'?

The subject of economic empowerment was something rural women in Uganda wanted to know about. It was the information most relevant to their needs. It was their choice.

The target audience for the project was largely uneducated, and only spoke their local language, therefore the ICT-based learning material was developed around simple, step-by-step instructions on how to establish a business, as well as providing information on the basics of marketing and management.

The CD ROM consists of an introductory section and three content sections. The introductory section is a guide to using the computer and the CD ROM. Section one, entitled, 'Starting with what we have', emphasizes the need to identify assets that we have and that we can build on. Section two is about making money from a product or service and section three is about expanding business opportunities.

The CD ROM has proven to be a useful tool for rural women to access information relevant to their daily lives. It has also helped to demystify the concept of technology and has given them confidence and hope to face the future.

It is inspiring to see how much excitement and determination the women show when they use the CD Rom: excitement to learn a new technology that actually talks to them in their local language, and determination to acquire the knowledge that will make a change in their lives.

But amidst all the gratitude being offered there are still unanswered questions about issues such as access to credit, the few access centres, limited education, problems with language, and their restrictive gender roles for women in rural Africa.

What has been achieved is still so small and there is still so much to do, but let us keep the momentum going towards making a difference in the rural African woman's life.

Read more information
http://www.wougnet.org/News/cdupdate.html
To view the English copy of the CD ROM
http://www.iwtc.org/files/!start.html
To view the Luganda copy
http://www.iwtc.org/luganda.html

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4. PROFILE OF AN ICT CHAMPION
http://www.apcafricawomen.org/regina.html
[Click above to view a photograph of Regina]

In this first issue of Pula we pay tribute to REGINA CAMMY SHAKAKATA who died on the 17 November 2002 a true African ICT champion and advocate for women's rights. This tribute contains contributions by Sara Longwe, Anriette Esterhuysen and Mercy Wambui.

Regina was born on 13 December 1950 and died at her farm in Lusaka from complications associated with high blood pressure. She was a single parent and is survived by three daughters and a son in-law.

Regina achieved a BA and a post-graduate Diploma in Librarianship. Before holding several positions at the University of Zambia, she moved to the World Health Organisation. Regina was an active founding member of the Zambia Association for Research Development (ZARD). She was part of the 1985 ZARD delegation to the 3rd World Conference on Women held in Nairobi, Kenya, where she actively promoted the appropriate use of technology for women's development.

Mercy Wambui reflects on her memories of Regina. "Personally, the one thing that stands out when I think of Regina is her relentless commitment to development work. We shared experiences about the difficulties of our work as women in the African ICT sector. I remember her saying how important it is for us to work tirelessly without giving up, and that the sometimes thankless hours we put in to lay the foundation would pay off in the years to come."

Through ZARD, Regina introduced many Zambian women NGOs to ICTs. She played a major role in the establishment of the now-famous ZAMNET at University of Zambia (UNZA) - the first national Internet server. Through APC-Africa-Women she created opportunities for Zambian women to be part of the 'Information Superhighway' through assisting in getting them connected. She was one of the APC-African-Women members that spearheaded the linkage of the Beijing process to Africa through the Internet. Regina also encouraged many Zambian delegates to open their first e-mail addresses.

After Beijing, Regina played a leading role in the establishment of the vibrant HealthNet information service which helps doctors based in remote rural clinics to consult with senior doctors in Lusaka via the Internet. Regina was active in linking women writers to the annual Harare Book Fare by displaying women's published work at ZARD stand.

Anriette Esterhuysen remembers Regina. "She had a great sense of humour and also she was just so good at her work. I learnt a lot from her every time we were together."

May her soul rest in peace.

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5. POLICY FOCUS

5.1. LE RÉSEAU GENRE ET TIC: PROMOUVOIR L'ÉGALITé DE GENRE DANS LA SOCIÉTÉ DE L'INFORMATION
http://www.famafrique.org/smsi/genrticsn/accueil.html
[French]

Créé en novembre 2002 à l'issue de l'Atelier Dimensions de genre des politiques de TIC au Sénégal", (organisé par ENDA (Environnement et Développement) en partenariat avec l'Agence sénégalaise de Régulation des Télécommunications et OSIRIS (l'Observatoire des Systèmes d'Information, Réseaux et Inforoutes du Sénégal), avec le soutien de l'Association Mondiale pour la Communication Chrétienne - WACC), le Réseau Genre et TIC a pour mission de faciliter la concertation entre les organisations de femmes et de la société civile et l'ensemble des acteurs du secteur des TIC pour promouvoir l'égalité de genre, la paix et le développement dans la Société nationale, africaine et mondiale de l'information.

Il est composé de personnes et d'organisations actives pour la promotion de l'égalité de genre dans le secteur des TIC et agit en partenariat avec les acteurs des secteurs publics, privés, nationaux et internationaux actifs dans le contexte de la coopération au développement. Son objectif est d'impulser et faciliter, en concertation avec l'ensemble des acteurs nationaux et partenaires internationaux, l'appropriation nationale et la participation aux processus de décision dans le secteur des TIC, dans une perspective d'égalité de genre.

Son plan d'action, actuellement en cours de développement, vise à organiser des activités pour promouvoir les capacités et l'expertise en genre et TIC des organisations de femmes et de la société civile, et faciliter leur action concertée, assurer un plaidoyer pour la prise en compte des relations de genre et des préoccupations de la société civile dans la formulation et mise en œuvre des politiques de TIC et participer à la consultation et au conseil des organes de régulation, d'information, de communication.

Ainsi débute la mise en œuvre locale des recommandations émises par la communauté africaine et mondiale au cours de la préparation du Sommet Mondial sur la Société de l'Information. La principale préoccupation, en effet, est que "la fracture numérique interne de genre" - en d'autres termes : la grande marginalisation des femmes dans la communauté nationale de demain - risque de neutraliser le potentiel de développement que représentent les technologies de l'information et de la communication (TIC).

Cette orientation réintroduit à leur juste place les femmes - leurs organisations, leurs visions, leurs besoins - aux cotés des autres acteurs qui bâtissent activement la société de demain : les techniciens, les politiques, les économistes, les commerciaux, les médias, la société civile. Cette vision, dont la pertinence est de plus en plus reconnue, doit se traduire par des avancées en termes de stratégies prospectives, de mécanismes, d'applications et d'actions locales et régionales que le plan d'action du réseau Genre et TIC va chercher à promouvoir.

Les documents produits dans le cadre de l'atelier sont disponibles sur le site web famafrique, espace d'information et de ressources sur le développement durable pour les femmes d'Afrique francophone :
http://www.famafrique.org/smsi/genrticsn/accueil.html

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6. NEWS AND EVENTS

6.1. ANNOUNCING A NEW GENDER AND ICT ONLINE DISCUSSION LIST

The WSIS NGO Gender Strategies Working Group (WNGSG) is pleased to announce the launch of the NGOwomen@genderit.org discussion. NGOwomen@genderit.org is an electronic mailing list that is one of the group's efforts in strategising and organising women's participation in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) process.

The list aims to build on current initiatives relating to gender and ICTs and to further enrich discussions for the benefit of all women. The list welcomes contributions in French and English. It runs until the end of March 2003.

WNGSG was formed by the African Women's Development and Communications Network (FEMNET), Agencia Latino Americana de Informacion, the Association for Progressive Communication-Women's Networking Support Programme, the International Women's Tribune Centre, and Isis International-Manila.

To subscribe write to karenb@apcwomen.org

Visit the WSIS NGO Gender Strategies web site:
http://www.apcwomen.org/wsis
[English]

6.2. ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA: NEW MEDIA AWARDS PROGRAMME
http://www.uneca.org/aisi/mediaaward.htm
[French and English]

A media awards programme has been launched to promote and encourage more informed and consistent reporting and analysis of the information society and issues related to the development potential and impact of ICTs. The AISI Media Awards Programme is named after the African Information Society Initiative, a framework launched by the Economic Commission for Africa six years ago to help develop national information and communication infrastructure plans and to engender an information society in African countries. The deadline for applications is 28 February 2003.

6.3. AFRICAN GENDER EVALUATION METHODOLOGY WORKSHOP HELD IN TANZANIA
http://www.apcwomen.org/gem
[English and Spanish]

Stonetown, Zanzibar was the venue for a vibrant and interactive Gender Evaluation Methodology workshop for Testers and Testing partners held from 19-23 November 2002. Participants from a variety of African ICT and networking initiatives met to learn, give feedback and work together on the GEM tool. GEM is an innovative gender analysis tool for ICT initiatives and ICT evaluation produced by the APC Women's Networking Support Programme (APC WNSP). The tool is being developed for use by practitioners who share a commitment to gender equality and women's empowerment in ICTs. Participants are now applying the tool in their own ICT networking contexts and social spheres. Their feedback will assist in enriching the GEM methodology. GEM Workshops have been held in Latin American, Asia and Africa and will be held this month in Central and Eastern Europe.
For further information on GEM Africa email falloo@zitec.org
For GEM Global contact Chat Ramilo email chat@apcwomen.org

6.4. LINKING AFRICAN WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
http://www.comminit.com/pdskdv82002/sld-5614.html
[English - From the Communication Initiative]

This is an initiative to link African ICT entrepreneurs living in Africa with those living in the African Diaspora. The goal of the programme is to help bridge the digital divide by providing African women with access to ICTs in order to help improve their livelihood. UNIFEM will provide training for African women's organisations and business associations.

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7. RESOURCES

7.1. EXPERT MEETING ON ICTS AND THE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN - REPORTS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/
[English - follow links to Expert Group Meetings]

The Division for the Advancement of Women, Department for Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, convened an Expert Group Meeting on "Information and Communication Technologies and their impact on and use as an instrument for the advancement and empowerment of women", organized in collaboration with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the United Nations ICT Task Force Secretariat.
The meeting was held in Seoul, Republic of Korea, from 11 to 14 November 2002. These reports will be used for the upcoming Commission on the Status of Women.

7.2. PUBLICATION: NEW ELECTRONIC JOURNAL - FEMINIST AFRICA (FA)
http://www.feministafrica.org
[English]

Feminist Africa is a publication which has grown out of the African Gender Institute's many years of commitment to capacity-building, research, networking and teaching in an environment in which market-oriented approaches now threaten to undermine progressive African gender initiatives. FA provides a platform for cutting-edge, informative and provocative gender work attuned to African agendas. As the first journal on gender with a continental focus, it provides a forum for the publication and dissemination of high quality feminist scholarship in African contexts.

7.3. PUBLICATION: - GENDER INEQUALITY DRIVES THE HIV-AIDS EPIDEMIC
http://www.ids.ac.uk/bridge/
[English]

BRIDGE has developed an information pack on Gender Inequality and HIV-AIDS. Learn about how organisations and individuals from around the world have responded to the challenge. Access the latest tools that can help us take action on gender and HIV/AIDS. Read the arguments for approaches that empower and transform gender relations. BRIDGE is a gender and development information service that supports gender-mainstreaming efforts by bridging the gaps between theory, policy and practice with accessible gender information.

The HIV-AIDS and Gender Inequality information pack is downloadable free from the BRIDGE website http://www.ids.ac.uk/bridge

The pack costs UK £20, but can be sent free to southern-based organisations - contact bridge@ids.ac.uk

7.4. CONFERENCE REPORT: INFORMATION ACCESS FOR RURAL WOMEN
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/iarw.html
[English, French, Spanish and Swahili]

In June 2002, Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) hosted an online conference on Information Access for Rural Women. Information, communication and entertainment are as critical for rural living as they are for urban living, and indeed there is increasing demand for information and communication equipment and services in rural areas. However, major challenges exist in terms of available means of information access and dissemination as well as how to operate the audio-visual systems used in rural areas. The conference objective was to facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences on information access for rural women.

7.5. CONFERENCE REPORT: THE HORN OF AFRICA REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON WOMEN AND ICT
http://www.acwict.or.ke
[English]

The conference on "Women and ICTs: Towards a Horn of Africa Regional Women's Knowledge Network" was aimed at raising awareness of ICTs amongst women in the Horn of Africa Region and exploring opportunities for harnessing the technology to work as a tool for their advancement.
The conference was held in Nairobi in June and was organized by the African Centre for Women, Information and Communications Technology (ACWICT).

7.6. NEW PROJECT WEB SITE: FROM THE AFRICAN GENDER INSTITUTE
http://www.gwsafrica.org
[English]

The Strengthening Gender & Women's Studies for Africa's Transformation
(GWS Africa) project web site is the first site to be wholly dedicated to the promotion and development of gender and women's studies on the African continent. The African Gender Institute has established this website in collaboration with the community of scholars currently engaged in gender studies all over the continent, and invites ongoing dialogue and networking.

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8. WORLD CORNER

8.1. CONFERENCE: EMPOWERING WOMEN THROUGH INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE: FROM ORAL TRADITIONS TO ICT
http://uwc.takingitglobal.org/
[English - follow events links - June 2003]

Sponsored by SNDT Women's University & Centre for Women's Development Studies, New Delhi, India, this conference will be held from 10 to 13 June 2003 at the University World College, Paud, Pune, Maharastra, India. The Conference focuses on information and knowledge created by women for women or about women. It covers content and processes involved in academic, social and creative situations.

8.2. WOMENSHUB.NET - WOMEN LAUNCH INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT WOMENS ACCESS AND USE OF ICTS IN THE PHILIPPINES
http://www.womenshub.net
[English]

WomensHub is a recently formed organisation of women who work in the field of information and communications as librarians, communication facilitators, technicians, and information designers. WomensHub recognises the potential of ICTs to create spaces and opportunities to advance social equity and development. WomensHub is currently involved in is conducting a research on women in the ICT sector in the Philippines as well as developing a Gender and ICT Policy monitor.

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If you have e-mail access, you can get web resources listed in this Newsletter by sending a message to www4mail@kabissa.org with the web address (usually starting with http://) in the body of your message.

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We welcome your opinions about this newsletter. Contributions for publication in French, English and Portuguese and for suggestions and ideas, please email africa@apcwomen.org

To subscribe or unsubscribe email africa@apcwomen.org

Pula is produced by APC-Africa-Women, a project of the Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
http://www.apc.org

Vos commentaires sont les bienvenues. Envoyez vos contributions, idées et suggestions en français, anglais et portugais à africa@apcwomen.org

Pour vous abonner/vous désabonner, envoyez un message électronique à africa@apcwomen.org

Pula est publiée par APC-Femmes-Afrique, un projet de l'Association pour le Progrès des Communcations (APC)
http://www.apc.org

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CopyLeft 2003. Association for Progressive Communications (APC). Permission is granted to use this document for personal use, for training and educational publications, and activities by peace, environmental, human rights or development organizations. Please provide an acknowledgment to APC.
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