Please disseminate widely if you can...apologies if you receive this more than once...
> Dear colleagues and friends, > > The APC Women's Networking Support Programme is proud to announce the > launch of our new Gender and ICT Policy Monitor, GenderIT.org. > GenderIT.org is a practical tool for women's organisations and > policy-makers so that ICT policy meets women needs and does not infringe > on their rights. We hope that GenderIT.org will help to promote the need > for gender advocacy in ICT policy as well as the "how to" of pushing for > policy change. As a clearing house on gender and ICT policy issues, > GenderIT.org is an open platform for ANY gender and ICT advocate to > publish her/his resources and papers, and to register in the 'Who's who > in policy' directory of key actors. > > ***We are looking forward to your FEEDBACK, and CONTRIBUTIONS at > www.genderit.org!*** > > Please help us to circulate the attached press release as widely as > possible. > > Katerina Fialova, > Gender and ICT Policy Monitor coordinator > > > --------------------------- > > **PLEASE DISSEMINATE WIDELY** > **Apologies for cross-postings** > > ====================================================================== > PRESS RELEASE, April 11 2005: > NEW GENDER AND ICT POLICY WEBSITE HELPS WOMEN MAKE ICT POLICY A PRIORITY > > ====================================================================== > PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- Gender and technology activists, the APC WNSP, > have launched GenderIT.org, a new information and communications > technology (ICT) policy portal for women and policy-makers. > > ICT policy is not just about legislation of infrastructure and > operators. Good ICT policy can promote economic empowerment. It can > counter the negative uses of ICTs, such as trafficking of women. > GenderIT.org promotes the need for gender advocacy in ICT policy as well > as the “how to” of pushing for policy change. > > With the growth of infrastructure and access, ICTs are beginning to > permeate even the most isolated regions. Access or lack of access to a > medium that in some places has become a principal means of expression, > economic survival, and decision-making is vital for women. Kofi Annan, > Secretary General of the United Nations, has observed that: “There is no > tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.” > However, the gender implications of ICT policy are seldom taken into > consideration. > > The Association for Progressive Communications Women's Networking > Support Programme (APC WNSP) developed GenderIT.org to broaden awareness > of gender and ICTs and to offer a practical tool for ICT advocates, > especially women’s organisations and movements to ensure that ICT policy > meets their needs and does not infringe on their rights. > > “ICTs can assist in bringing food to the table or in promoting a > reproductive rights agenda,” says Ruth Ojiambo Ochieng of the ISIS - > Women's International Cross-Cultural Exchange in Uganda and a member of > the APC WNSP's worldwide network. > > > What does GenderIT.org feature? > > The issues: GenderIT.org spell outs technology policy issues and > implications so that women's activists can clearly see the links to > their work in the defence of women's human rights. > > Worldwide perspective: GenderIT.org offers special focus on Africa, > Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, and Latin America. Regular news > features come from GenderIT.org's policy-writers living in those regions. > > Events and Who's who in policy?: GenderIT.org presents the main actors > and arenas for ICT policy from the global level right down to the > national scene. > > Resources and articles: GenderIT.org links local to global, to ensure > that activists at home can take advantage of advances in international > policy instruments and processes. It highlights local and regional ICT > policy examples and implications. > > Policy-makers' section: GenderIT.org provides orientation for policy > makers too on how to draft gender-sensitive national ICT plans. > > Anti-jargon: GenderIT.org demystifies ICT policy and technical language. > > As a clearing-house for all resources, papers, and articles on gender > and ICT policy issues, GenderIT.org helps gender and ICT advocates keep > informed on pressing ICT policy issues and frameworks being planned > nationally, regionally and globally. > > > Who's using GenderIT.org? > > GenderIT.org is an open platform for ANY gender and ICT advocate to > publish her/his work. It brings together diverse actors to build > partnerships and alliances. > > "The Monitor project is a critical and unique tool to build our > technological literacy so that staff and partners have easy access to > resources that help us to understand the issues related to access, > content and policy,” comments Deputy Director Joanne Sandler at the > United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). “This is important > for ongoing work to support women's rights organising and particularly > timely in the lead up to the World Summit on the Information Society, > where we need to secure a clear and unswerving commitment to > incorporating women's interests and perspectives in ICT policy-making." > > “Engendering policy is a hard-enough task. The ICT-gender combination > makes advocacy in developing countries that much harder. You need to > address multiple audiences and tailor communication to specific > audiences. The APC WNSP GenderIT site is a wonderful resource that > addresses these needs and provides ammunition to gender advocates like > me,” says Anita Gurumurthy, Director of Advocacy at ITforChange.net > based in Bangalore, India. > > The creators of GenderIT.org hope that the portal will encourage more > women to become part of the ICT policy processes worldwide. “Our > participation in gender and ICT policy is critical because we need > policies to enable every individual's right to communicate. If we leave > it as it is, it will be very difficult for us to agree that we are > building an information society - as the majority will be left out,” > affirms Ojiambo Ochieng. > > > FOR MORE INFORMATION > > GenderIT.org: http://www.genderit.org. > > ABOUT THE APC WNSP > The Association for Progressive Communications Women's Networking > Support Programme (APC WNSP) supports women networking for social change > and women's empowerment through the use of ICTs. The APC WNSP network > comprises over 150 women from 38 countries. Over three-quarters of > members are active in regional WNSP networks in Africa, Asia, Central > and Eastern Europe and Latin America. > APC WNSP: http://www.apcwomen.org > > The APC WNSP is a programme of the Association for Progressive > Communications (APC). APC is an international network of civil society > organisations dedicated to empowering and supporting groups and > individuals working for peace, human rights, development and protection > of the environment, through the strategic use of information and > communication technologies (ICTs), including the internet. > APC: http://www.apc.org > > CONTACT > Katerina Fialova, GenderIT.org project manager > [EMAIL PROTECTED] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The Internet and Democracy Across Asia: MAY 2001 Online Trends in Governance, Civil Society and Media More information at: http://www.e-democracy.org/do Rule: No more than two posts a day per participant. To SUBSCRIBE, send e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNSUBSCRIBE, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Yahoo! 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