WOUGNET Update Newsletter - July 2003 ************************************************** A monthly electronic newsletter from Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) - http://www.wougnet.org For comments or queries, contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To subscribe/unsubscribe to the WOUGNET Update Newsletter, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the following command in the subject or body of your message: subscribe/unsubscribe ==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-== This month's contents: 1. Women Organisations in Uganda 2. ICT Policy 3. Links & Resources 4. News & Events ==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-==-== ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WOMEN ORGANISATIONS IN UGANDA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * Isis-WICCE: Women peace builders visit Kenya and Tanzania A group of 45 women community peace builders from Uganda will visit different women groups in Kenya and Tanzania from 17th to 21st June 2003. The exchange visit is the climax of the four year (1999 - 2002) training that Isis-WICCE has conducted on conflict resolution and peace building. The aim of the visit is to enable the group express solidarity with women of other ethnic groups who have gone through violent conflict as well as other conflicts and share the best practices, mechanisms and strategies utilised in their localities. The visit will also enable the women peace builders to form a strong network that will instill a culture of peace in communities. http://www.wougnet.org/Documents/IsisWICCE/womenpeacevisit.html * Reminder: WOUGNET evaluation of mailing list and website WOUGNET is conducting an evaluation of the website and mailing lists. The evaluation will conducted with the support of GEM Africa. Gender Evaluation Methodology (GEM) is an evaluation tool that integrates gender analysis into the evaluation of ICT initiatives for social change. WOUGNET would like to evaluate the impact of email and the web in enabling information sharing and outreach by women and women's organisations in Uganda. The outcome of this evaluation will help WOUGNET design programmes and activities to strengthen and further promote the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for information sharing and dissemination in order to effectively address national and local problems of sustainable development. Kindly download and complete the evaluation questionnaire available in WORD and PDF formats at: http://www.wougnet.org/eval/wevaluation.html Alternatively, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to request a copy of the questionnaire by email. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ICT POLICY ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * FOSSFA Action Plan, June 2003 Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA) in conjunction with APC (Association for Progressive Communications) has completed the 2003-2005 Action Plan and a brief state of OSS in Africa. For a copy of the document (zipped RTF format), visit: http://www.wougnet.org/ICTpolicy/opensource.html#FOSSFA * Kompyuta ne Yuganda Kompyuta ne Yuganda is a Luganda translation project to enable any literate Luganda speaker (and probaly speakers of some other bantu languages) make use of the power of electronic computers and information technology. The Translation Project is an international voluntary organisation whose aim is to coordinate software developers, people who can translate and computer users (running Linux, GNU and other *NIXen) in an effort to enable computers to "speak" in as many of the world's languages as possible. http://www.wougnet.org/ICTpolicy/ug/fosiug.html ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LINKS & RESOURCES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ a) African & International Women Organisations * Ruma Women's Group Based in Kenya, the driving force behind the formation of Ruma Women's Group in 1981 was to mobilise the women in Ruma village to contribute to their own development. The group has a variety of programs in health, education and economic empowerment. http://www.wougnet.org/Links/africa_int.html#RWG b) Agriculture * Science and Development Network The Science and Development Network (SciDev.Net) has established itself as an authoritative online source of information and debate about the way that science and technology can meet the social and economic needs of the developing world. SciDev.Net includes an African Gateway providing news coverage through its network of science journalists in the region. SciDev.Net also provides in-depth 'dossiers' on key topical issues in agriculture and enviroment including indigenous knowledge, GM Crops and climate change and has free access to selected articles from the journals 'Science' and 'Nature.' http://www.wougnet.org/Links/agriculture.html#SciDev * Developing Countries Farm Radio Network The Farm Radio Network is a Canadian-based, nonprofit organization working with 500 radio broadcasters in 70 countries to fight poverty and food insecurity. It supports broadcasters in developing countries to build the skills to develop content that responds to the local needs of small-scale farming and rural communities. The Network supports developing-country broadcasters by facilitating the exchange of information that increases food supplies and improves nutrition and health. The information conveyed must be simple, safe, and practical; ecologically sound and environmentally sustainable; clearly communicated by radio; proven useful and transferable within the developing world; requires resources available to small-scale farmers; requires little or no technical help to implement; and meets the needs of both women and men. http://www.wougnet.org/Links/agriculture.html#DCFRN * Rural women and Access to Land (Recommendations of International Workshop) The International Workshop Rural Women and Land took place in Thies, Senegal from 25-27 February 2003. It was organised by the Rural Women National Network of Senegal with the support of the Dimitra project and Enda-Pronat. The main goal was for rural women to speak out and highlight the problems they encounter in regard to accessing cultivable land, natural resources and land acquisition. Rural women, the majority of whom are farmers, are crucial partners in the fight against hunger, malnutrition and poverty. Nevertheless, their work still remains underestimated and local traditions can often increase discrimination against them. The Recommendations, Action Plan and other documents resulting from the conference are available online for consultation. Documents are available in English and French. http://www.wougnet.org/Links/agriculture.html#RWL c) Development * Uganda Art For Peace (UAFP) Uganda Art For Peace (UAFP) is a non-governmental organization which carries out awareness and sensitization programs that target the young people for peace and development using art; visual and audio-visual arts as the principle media. http://www.wougnet.org/Links/development.html#UAFP * African Youth Foundation (AYF) The African Youth Foundation (AYF) is a non-profit development organisation based in Germany. AYF was created to aid young people in Africa, as well as African Nationals abroad to undertake projects which will enable them obtain skills necessary for their future livelihoods. The organisation's mandate is to promote youth education for African Nationals abroad and in Africa, as well as gender equality, with a view to mobilising and developing the talents of the youth to contribute meaningfully to national and global development. A concept which will motivate the youth to begin their own enterprises particularly in the informal sectors, other than migrating to other countries. http://www.wougnet.org/Links/development.html#AYF d) Education * School-Based Telecenters (SBTs) SBTs were launched first in Zimbabwe and later in Uganda (2001) as a direct reponse to the challenge of bridging the digital divide and providing an opportunity for; increasing learning achievements; making learning more enterprising for learners and educators; as well as stimulating community development. The strategy entails establishing Telecenters (with networked computers connected to the fast Internet) at schools premises as shared facilities for school and neighboring communities. The SBT program is supported by the World Bank Institute, ICT for Education Program, World Links Organisation, Bill and Mellinda Gates Foundation, Government of Uganda and participating schools in Uganda and Zimbabwe. http://www.wougnet.org/Links/education.html#SBT e) HIV/AIDS * Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS initiative. Three women decided that they could do more for the communities they were living in by sharing the word of God to their neighbors. After several home visits, they discovered that the majority of the people they visited had no food, were bed ridden and suffering from HIV and its related complications. The three of them decided that they would pull their meager resources together to help these people most of whom could not afford even the basics like food and treatment drugs. Today an HIV community initiative called 'Reach out Mbuya HIV/AIDS initiative' has been started. http://www.wougnet.org/HIVAIDS/mbuya_reachout.html * Advocacy campaign on microbicides to begin. A campaign on the development of safe and affordable microbicides is set to begin in Uganda. This will be the first time that a large-scale campaign on microbicides is launched after years of ongoing research about the efficacy of this product. Microbicides are agents that kill or deactivate disease causing microorganisms, technically known as pathogens and are supposedly developed to prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in women. http://www.wougnet.org/HIVAIDS/microbicides_campaign.html f) ICT Resources * Library Bookmobile Project The Internet Bookmobile was created by the Internet Archive as a community-based means for achieving greater access to written knowledge, by enabling nearly anybody to print public domain and self-published works in small quantities at very low cost. With funding obtained from World Bank InfoDev, an Internet Bookmobile will be established in Uganda. The bookmobile will be based at Caezaria Public Library (about 40km from Kampala). The project will apply mobile print-on-demand technology to address a key need of Uganda: the dissemination of books (at all reading levels) to the rural population. http://www.wougnet.org/Links/ictresources.html#LBP ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEWS & EVENTS ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ July 2003 * Africa SMME Awards: Call for nominations (Extended deadline) The Africa Centre for Investment Analysis (ACIA), together with a number of national and international organisations, is hosting its fifth Annual Development Finance Conference in October 2003 in Johannesburg. Together with the SMME Awards, the best SMMEs of the year will also be announced. The Africa SMME Awards are presented to businesses that strive for excellence in order to be competitive in regional, national and international markets. These businesses are well established, in good financial shape and enjoy a reputation for quality, integrity and service. Furthermore, they act socially responsible, support community development efforts and create a work environment in which their employees can learn and grow. Nominations should be made before the July 31, 2003. http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews03.html#AfricaSMME * Cisco Networking Academy Program Announcement, Makerere University/Cisco Systems Networking Academy Are you a woman lacking strong ICT skills? Do you want to build ICT capacity in your organization? Are you deficient in maintaining your organization's computer infrastructure? Have you considered improving your organization's ICT knowledge base? If the answers to any of these questions are yes, you may like to strongly consider enrolling in the Cisco Networking Academy Program at the Institute of Computer Science at Makerere University. http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews03.html#MUKCS August 2003 * Forum on ICTs and Gender, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 20-23, 2003 (new dates) The Forum will be a multi-stakeholder initiative, bringing together public, private and not-for-profit stakeholders to examine issues surrounding gender and information and communication technologies. In general, the purpose is to foster a greater appreciation of the gender-related barriers that exist in developing and developed countries, to develop an understanding of why women need access to ICTs, and to discuss strategies for overcoming these barriers. This will translate into policies that support women's access to ICTs and successful networking to enhance women's participation in the information economy, especially in the developing world. http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews03.html#GICT September 2003 * ICT Stories Competition 2003: Now open to enter you story! Have you been working on a project that uses Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) as a tool for achieving development? Then this is an opportunity for you to share your experiences with the world! Knowledge is generated throughout the entire course of a project. The ICT Stories objective is to capture the learning process that accompanies the introduction and implementation of ICTs in a project in exemplary stories. Most Stories applicants have had to struggle to go through hurdles and a lot of ups and downs for their projects to happen, and their stories become vehicles to share such knowledge. These stories describe good practices and lessons learned from contributors' experiences. Deadline for submissions is September 26, 2003. http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews03.html#ICTS To list your event/news on the WOUGNET website, send details about the event/news including contact information to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ******************************************************** The Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) website and mailing lists are hosted by Kabissa - Space for Change in Africa ******************************************************** --- WOUGNET-Update is hosted on Kabissa - Space for change in Africa For comments or queries, write to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives: http://lists.kabissa.org/mailman/listinfo/wougnet-update ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. 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