(A French version of this letter will follow shortly - Une version
francaise de cette letter vous parviendra prochainement)
Gender and Agriculture in the Information Society
Winners announced for GenARDIS Small Grants Fund - more than 360
nominations received
GenARDIS small grants fund was initiated by CTA, IICD and IDRC, to
support work on gender issues in ICTs in ACP agricultural and rural
development. The fund supporters are pleased to announce that the
selection of GenARDIS grant winners has been completed. The overwhelming
response of more than 360 submissions provides a clear indication that
there is a real need for support in the field of Gender and Agriculture
in the Information Society. The fund provides an opportunity for
organisations in ACP countries to strengthen gender-related work on ICTs
in agriculture and rural development.
The programme was developed in recognition of the constraints and
challenges encountered by rural women in ACP countries with respect to
ICTs. The challenges include limited time availability to participate in
training and use of ICTs, minimal access to technology such as radios,
mobile telephones or computers, and inadequate availability of
information in local languages that is relevant to local contexts.
Submissions consisted of research programmes, small projects,
publications, broadcasts, theatre productions, promotion materials, etc.
- whatever need could be addressed by the means available to the many
creative applicants for the grant. All projects focused on innovative
use of ICTs by or for rural women to improve the well-being of their
families and communities.
The expert panel who judged the submissions consisted of Aida
Opoku-Mensah (UNECA), Helen Hambly-Odame (ISNAR), Fackson Banda (Panos),
Ramata Thioune (IDRC), Julie Ferguson (IICD), and Gesa Wesseler (CTA).
The high number of responses, in combination with the excellent quality
of so many of the applications, made the final selection a challenge,
says Gesa Wesseler. However, the winning entries excelled in their
creativity and innovative use of ICTs, whilst addressing a clear need
with a feasible solution.
We congratulate the winners and honourable mentions, and extend special
thanks and appreciation to all those people and organisations who put
time and effort into preparing applications for the GenARDIS fund.
WINNERS of EUR 5000 one-time grants:
1. Grace Agouna, Audy Magazine, Tchad: La radio communautaire au service
du developpement de la femme rurale au Tchad
2. Dorienne Rowan-Campbell, Networked Intelligence for Development,
Jamaica, ICT tools and services in support of development of organic
agriculture in the Caribbean: a regional training workshop for women
entrepreneurs
3. James Onyango, Kenya AIDS Intervention Prevention Project Group
(KAIPPG), Kenya, Health and Agriculture Community Radio Network
4. Alice Djinadou Igue Kouboura, Institut National des Recherches
Agricoles du Benin (INRAB), Renforcement des capacites des femmes
fonctionnaires qui oeuvrent pour l'autonomisation economique des femmes
rurales pour la securite alimentaire et la reduction de la pauvrete au
Benin
5. Akello Zerupa, Makerere University, Uganda, Women's access to and the
use of basic ICTs in accessing information on new agricultural
technologies
6. Bessie Nyirenda, Computer Land Limited, Malawi, FarmWise
7. Joana Francis Adda, Participatory Community Development (PACODEV),
Ghana, Proposal to use Participatory Community Planning (PCP); ICTs as
tools to give rural women a voice in decision making to promote a new
social awareness about their roles in managing natural resources for
sustainable agriculture through biodiversity conservation.
8. Joseph Kiplang'at, University of Zululand - Department of Library and
Information Science, South Africa, Diffusion of ICTs in communication of
agricultural information for rural development among women in Kwa-Zulu
Natal
9. Pantaleon Shoki, Community Development and Relief Agency (CODRA),
Tanzania, Mainstreaming Gender into Information, Communication and
Technology in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case Study of Northern Tanzania
* Congratulations to all these winners! You will be contacted
shortly for follow-up and next steps towards implementation *
Honourable Mentions go to:
* Leslie Tom Nestor Mboka, Community Advocacy and Development
Project-CADEP, Sierra Leone, Integrating Information and Communication
Technologies in the work of rural women for empowerement and rural
development
* Patricia Maridalho, Voluntariado Internacional para o
Desenvolvimento Africano Mozambique, Mozambique - VIDA, Rural women's
information networks - a Mozambican case study
* Esther Igandu Njiro, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research
(CSIR), South Africa, Promoting Gender-related Agricultural Extension
through use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) in South
Africa
* Eric Eboh Chiedum, Natural Resources and Environmental Economics
Group,
