----- Original Message -----
From: "Kanti Kumar" <kanti.kumar@oneworld.net>
To: <wsis-prep1@lists.cpsr.org>
Sent: Saturday, September 13, 2003 12:26 AM
Subject: [wsis-prep1] New Gender & ICT online forum from Digital Opportunity
Channel
> Dear Friends,
>
> We invite you to join the new discussion list on 'Gender & ICT:
> Issues, Implications & Opportunities'. Digital Opportunity Channel
> (www.digitalopportunity.org <http://www.digitalopportunity.org>) of
> OneWorld South Asia is launching this email-based discussion forum
> in partnership with i4d (information for development)
> (www.i4donline.net <http://www.i4donline.net>), an ICT initiative of
> the Centre for Spatial Database Management & Solutions based in
> India.
>
> The economic and political marginalization of women, especially in
> developing countries, is leading to their stunted growth. Gender
> discrimination in the access to information is hampering sustainable
> development. It has been substantiated that information and
> communication technologies (ICT) have a major role to play in
> bridging this gap. But the gender gap in the 'digital divide' itself
> is now an increasing concern.
>
> How ICT can support gender empowerment is something that still needs
> to be discussed and understood. If access to and use of the new
> technologies is directly linked to social and economic development,
> then it is essential to ensure that women in developing countries
> understand the significance of these technologies and use them. If
> not, lack of access to ICT becomes a significant factor in their
> further marginalization from the economic, social and political
> mainstream - both within their countries and in the world. Without
> equal and full participation in ICT use, women will be left out from
> participating in the global world of the 21st century.
>
> Several conferences and summits held on gender, in particular, the
> UN World Conferneces on Women, Beijing and Beijing +5, have
> reaffirmed the need to focus on gender equality issues through ICT
> use. We will move ahead with their aims and objectives in our
> discussion, and attempt to provide concrete inputs to the upcoming
> WSIS 2003.
>
> If you want to join the ongoing debate of a digital gender divide,
> this is the right place to bring in your perspectives and ideas.
> This platform will attempt to increase awareness, raise concerns and
> make our commitments to give a gender perspective to policies and
> design of development tools. It will circulate information on
> resources, practices and events on how women globally are being
> empowered by ICT.
>
> WHAT DO WE WANT TO ACHIEVE?
>
> We aim to:
> - Help stakeholders in the fields of gender and ICT issues exchange
> ideas and debate issues about the gender issues and implications of
> ICT applications in development and the opportunities that they
> offer.
> - Provide them with a platform to take their voices to policymakers
> in order to influence national, regional and global strategies.
>
> In real terms, this would mean that,
> - It would be a time-bound, topics-based, objective-oriented
> discussion channel.
> - Each month we would select a topic and that topic would be
> critically analyzed, would be featured with examples and best
> practices, would be discussed with challenges and opportunities and
> would be highlighted with policy implications, preconditions,
> successes and failures.
> - All the discussions will be streamlined in a summary report each
> month and would be presented to concerned authorities and at various
> events where agendas are being discussed in the context of gender
> and ICT, so that these can influence national, regional and global
> strategies.
>
> WHAT WILL WE DISCUSS?
>
> Among the questions the forum is expected to debate are:
>
> 1. Does ICT facilitate gender equality or create a gender bias?
> 2. What are the progress and challenges in transforming the gender
> relations in ICT arena?
> 3. How can the current uneven and unaffordable access to information
> by women be improved through ICT?
> 4. How can ICT enhance women's participation in socio-economic and
> political development leading to a knowledge society?
> 5. What is the impact of ICT and globalisation on women's work and
> lives?
> 6. How will ICT bring in employment and entrepreneurship
> opportunities for women?
> 7. What role can NGOs, civil society organizations and other
> networks play to create equality for women and to disseminate
> gender-related information?
> 8. What are the steps to ensure gender concerns in national ICT
> policies?
>
> IS THERE ANY SCHEDLUE?
>
> The discussions will continue until December 2003 and will be broken
> into time-bound thematic modules. To begin with, we will focus on
> the following three themes:
>
> - Access to ICTs and their use
> - Gender implications of ICTs
> - Capacity building & entrepreneurship
>
> Future themes for discussion will be announced subsequently in the
> forum.
>
> HOW TO JOIN?
>
> Joining this discussion list is very easy! Just visit the Join page
> of this forum and submit your email address
>
> OR,
>
> send a blank email to: join-GenderICT@dgroups.org
>
> On successful sign-up, you will receive an email asking you to
> confirm your subscription. Please follow the instructions in the
> email to activate your subscription. This is a security measure to
> prevent you from being signed up by someone else.
>
> Once you activate your subscription, you will start receiving mails
> posted to the discussion list. You can fully participate in the list
> through emails itself, or through this site.
>
> WHERE TO CONTACT?
>
> Moderator & contact details
>
> This discussion list is being moderated by Anuradha Dhar, Research
> Associate, i4d. If you face any subscription problem, please contact
> Anuradha at dharanuradha@rediffmail.com or Kanti Kumar, Editor,
> Digital Opportunity Channel at kanti.kumar@oneworld.net.
>
> For more information about the forum, visit
> http://www.dgroups.org/groups/GenderICT/
> <http://www.dgroups.org/groups/GenderICT/index.cfm>
>
> We look forward to your active participation in this discussion list.
>
> Kanti Kumar, Editor, Digital Opportunity Channel
> Anuradha Dhar, Research Associate, i4d
>
> ABOUT i4donline.net
>
> I4d is a bi-monthly magazine published by India-based Centre for
> Spatial Database Management & Solutions and available both in print
> and on the Web (www.i4donline.net <http://www.i4donline.net>). The
> i4d print magazine is one of its kind that utilizes the strength and
> potential of print media to provide a much needed platform for
> exchange of information, ideas, opinion, experiences both inside and
> outside the ICT4D sector.
>
> ABOUT Digital Opportunity Channel
>
> Digital Opportunity Channel is a joint endeavor of OneWorld
> (www.oneworld.net <http://www.oneworld.net>) and the Digital Divide
> Network (www.digitaldividenetwork.org
> <http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org>), dedicated to ICT for
> development issues.
>
> _____________________________
> Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) is the oldest
> non-profit, mass membership organization
> working on social impacts of computer technology.
>
> To learn more, go to http://www.cpsr.org
>
> To join, use http://cpsr.org/membership
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