The Summer 2007 issue of the Community Media Review, “Community
Media and Social Change,” is available. The guest editor of the
issue is Betty Yu, community outreach and media specialist at Manhattan
Neighborhood Network (MNN).
“It’s an uphill battle to bring African languages onto the Internet. While there are lively communities on Wikipedia preserving European languages like Welsh or Frisian, most of the speakers of minority African languages, like Ewe or Bambara, have little net access and less net expertise. There’s the very real concern that some of these languages may die out before their native speakers start writing online.”
“Hacienda La Puente Unified School District near Los Angeles will issue Dell notebook computers to middle and high school students to boost student achievement and narrow the community’s digital divide.”
“Libraries offer free high-tech resources and services to the entire community, yet nationally the Hispanic community is trailing when it comes to being computer-savvy.”
“Software that will enable teachers worldwide to share educational materials, form communities and collaborate on projects will be available for free early in 2007, says its developer, the nonprofit organization Teachers Without Borders. According to the organization, these new tools will provide the world’s 59 million teachers with easy access to online educational materials that previously have been available only in developed countries with access to high-speed Internet connections and elaborate computer networks and platforms (software that provides the framework for various applications and programs)”
Call for Writers:
To send contributions for the upcoming Agenda journal on Women and ICTs (working title)
At the forefront of feminist publishing in South Africa for 20 years, the Agenda journal raises debate around womenÃs rights and gender issues. The journal encourages critical thinking, debate and social activism and strengthens the capacity of women and men to challenge gender discrimination and injustices.
Agenda will publish a journal focussing on the topic of Women and ICTs in May 2007.
This Agenda journal will explore how women can take advantage of the ICT revolution and what womenÃs obstacles are to using ICTs.
Proposed contributions should cover one or more of the following key areas from a womenÃs rights or feminism perspective:
What opportunities will ICTs offer women in achieving the Millennium Development Goals? What are the obstacles to using ICTs to economically empower women? How can ICTs empower women in the informal economy? How can ICT policies be engendered?
What are the dangers of creating a digital divide, a disparity between those who make use of ICTs efficiently and effectively, and those who do not? Do women in Africa have the capacity and skills to make effective use of ICTs? The ICT revolution has only really impacted the major cities so far - how can we deploy a sustainable ICT infrastructure that empowers marginalised people living in rural areas, particularly women?
Contributions:
Contributions need to be written in English language and in a style accessible to a wide audience. Please submit abstracts to editor@agenda.org.za.
All submissions must contain the following:
Specify the specific key area you would like to write on
Provide a 200-300 word overview/abstract
Provide full contact details: your name, institution/organisation, telephone, email and the country in which you reside/country of origin
Deadline: Please submit no later than January 28th, 2007.
Background
ICTs are key tools to transform the way women live, and the way development takes place. The use of ICTs enables more information to be found, retrieved and disseminated faster than ever before ñ it means we are moving to an information- and knowledge-based society. ICTs have many potential benefits for women, for example an increased ability to work from home, improved employment opportunities in the fast-growing IT sector, improved global market access through e-commerce and improved access of women, especially rural women, to distance learning and distance work programme.
Yet, ICT use remains difficult, if not impossible, for the majority of women worldwide. Women often find themselves at a disadvantage, whether through a perception that technology is a male domain or due to lack of skills, education, opportunity or access to finance. There is also a lack of gendered access to ICTs and ICT training - especially for rural women; a lack of awareness of women to the benefits of ICTs and language barriers to the use of ICTs for non-native speakers of English.
There are multiple challenges to ICTs becoming a positive force for women’s economic empowerment, including the large percentage of women in developing countries who work in the informal sector; the lack of support for women working in the formal sector and the lack of infrastructure in developing countries for conducting e-commerce. Engendering ICTs is not merely about greater use of ICTs by women. It is about transforming the ICT systems using a rights-based approach.
Kristin Palitza
Editor
Agenda
Empowering Women for Gender Equity
20 Diakonia Avenue
Durban, 4001
South Africa
Tel +27 31 304 7001
Fax +27 31 304 7018
editor@agenda.org.za
www.agenda.org.za
Here is a list of open source course management systems compiled by Scott Leslie.
Interested in learning about linux and education. Check out these links:
“New information and communication technologies are seen as a potent source of advancement for many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and have increasingly featured as topics of discussion in international fora. Who benefits from the rapid rise of this issue on the international agenda? This article argues that the promotion of the digital divide as a policy issue benefits four major groups: information capital, developing country governments, the development “industry,” and global civil society.”
by Brendan Luyt