WOUGNET Update Newsletter - April 2003

[Dorothy Okello <dokello@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

WOUGNET Update Newsletter - April 2003
**************************************************
A monthly electronic newsletter from Women of Uganda Network
(WOUGNET) - http://www.wougnet.org
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This month's contents:
1.    Women Organisations in Uganda
2.    Documents on Women's Issues in Uganda
3.    ICT Policy
4.    Links & Resources
5.    News & Events
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WOMEN ORGANISATIONS IN UGANDA
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= FAWE: The Sarah Ntiro Lecture and Award
The Sarah Ntiro Public Lecture and Award was conceived by the Forum
for African Women Educationalists - Uganda Chapter (FAWEU) to be a
special recognition and appreciation of Sarah Ntiro, the first woman
university graduate in East and Central Africa. The inaugural
ceremony featured a number of activities including a cash prize to
Sarah Ntiro herself as the first beneficiary. Subsequently, the
annual award has gone to Elizabeth Byanjeru Kakonge Rubaihayo (2002)
and Irene Margaret Nafuna Muloni (2003).
http://www.wougnet.org/Awards/sarahntiro.html


= CEEWA: Notice of move to new location
Council for Economic Empowerment for Women of Africa Uganda Chapter
(CEEWA-U) announces its move to a new location: Plot 38, Lumumba
Avenue, Telephone: +256-41-253790/1.
CEEWA-U's goal is to promote the economic empowerment of women in the
development process through advocacy, training, research and
documentation. Priority areas of concern are: Women and Agriculture,
Women and Finance, Gender and Economic Decision-Making, and Women and
Entrepreneurship Development through ICTs.
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/ceewau.html



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DOCUMENTS ON WOMEN'S ISSUES IN UGANDA
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= Towards a Gender-Aware Energy Policy: A Case Study from South
   Africa and Uganda
   (Mariëlle Feenstra, University of Twente, December 2002)
Despite the efforts of South Africa and Uganda to genderize their
energy policy, a clear idea of what engendering energy policy is
about is still lacking. The study addresses the question: what are
the characteristics of a gender-aware energy policy and what
conditions, based on the experience of South Africa and the
developments in Uganda, enable the integration of gender in a
national energy policy?
http://www.wougnet.org/documents.html#GEP



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ICT POLICY
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= Online Forum: An Information Society for Uganda,
   April 14 - 30, 2003

Following the WSIS PrepCom II in Geneva, two basic working documents
have been produced: a draft Declaration of Principles and a draft
Plan of Action. Comments to the two working documents may be
submitted by May 31, 2003. To facilitate contribution to the WSIS
working documents and Uganda's input to the WSIS, WOUGNET is hosting
an online forum: 'An Information Society for Uganda'. For details and
to register, send email to ictpolicy@xxxxxxxxxxx or visit:
http://www.wougnet.org/WSIS/ug/isug.html



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LINKS & RESOURCES
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a) Agriculture

= Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET)
FEWS NET's goal is to strengthen the abilities of African countries
and regional organizations to manage risk of food insecurity through
the provision of timely and analytical early warning and
vulnerability information. FEWS NET is a USAID-funded activity that
collaborates with international, national, and regional partners.
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/agriculture.html#FEWS


= Side Event: Gender and Agricultural Information Management
The "Side Event: Gender and Agricultural Information Management" was
held at the Second Consultation on Agricultural Information
Management (COAIM) at FAO Headquarters in Rome in September 2002.
The event noted that rural women and girls usually have less access
than men to information and to new technologies. Without equal access
to information, they are at a disadvantage in making informed choices
about what to produce and when to sell their products. On the other
hand, if women gain access to information technologies, they will
benefit from increased educational opportunities and channels for
better networking.
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/agriculture.html#GCOAIM



b) Development

= African Development Foundation
The African Development Foundation (ADF) is the principal agency of
the U. S. Government that supports community-based, self-help
initiatives that alleviate poverty and promote sustainable
development in Africa. ADF is primarily interested in funding micro
and small enterprises,micro-credit, HIV/AIDS education and prevention
and community-based Natural Resource Management.
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/development.html#ADF


= African Evaluation Association
The African Evaluation Association (AfrEA) was founded in 1999 in
response to a growing demand in Africa for information sharing,
advocacy and advanced capacity building in evaluation. It is an
umbrella organization for a growing number of national evaluation
associations and networks in Africa. It also involves individuals in
countries where national bodies do not exist.
AfrEA is in the process of developing, in partnership with UNIFEM, a
Special Interest Group (SIG) in Gender and Development. This SIG will
focus on the creation and sharing of knowledge for engendering
monitoring and evaluation in Africa. It will aim to strengthen the
effectiveness and gender-responsiveness of development programs and
projects in Africa through the use of rights based and results
oriented participatory systems of monitoring and evaluation. AfrEA
and UNIFEM would like to encourage other partners to join them in
this effort.
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/development.html#AfrEA



c) Health

= Gender and HIV/AIDS web portal
Developed by UNIFEM in collaboration with UNAIDS, the Gender and
HIV/AIDS portal is a  one-stop online resource center on the gender
dimensions of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. UNIFEM's Executive Director,
Noeleen Heyzer, in announcing the launch of the portal on February
21, 2003,  stressed the importance of placing gender equality at the
very core of the fight against HIV/AIDS.
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/health.html#GHAweb


= UNESCO HIV-AIDS and Investigative Journalism
The UNESCO-HIV/AIDS investigative journalism initiative aims to build
on the strategic role the media play in the fight against its
extension and prevalence. Through the networking of journalists,
media and UN organizations as well as the establishment of a Media
Resource Centre/ Clearing House the aim is to effectively engage with
journalists in eastern Africa in a way that encourages them to
continue coverage of HIV/AIDS in their countries.
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/health.html#HIVIJ


= Gender Mainstreaming in HIV/AIDS: Moving from Policy to Practice
The Commonwealth Secretariat Social Transformation Programme
Division, in collaboration with UNIFEM and the Commonwealth Regional
Health Community Secretariat, hosted a regional workshop in Arusha
in March 2003 to assist countries in the region to share experiences
and strengthen their national response to HIV/AIDS through the
incorporation of gender sensitive principles into national HIV/AIDS
policies and practices.
Highlighting the importance of gender as an integral planning
framework for HIV/AIDS is a priority for all three organizations,
given the recent rise in the numbers of women affected by and
infected with HIV/AIDS. Currently women account for 60% of the new
infections (WHO 2001). UNIFEM has played an important role in the
recent global recognition that  HIV/AIDS is an integral gender issue
and that the fight against the pandemic cannot be waged without
addressing the specific gender dimensions of prevention, mitigation,
care, treatment and support. The "Arusha Commitments on Gender and
HIV & AIDS" is available online at:
http://www.wougnet.org/Documents/UNIFEM/arusha_genderhiv.html



d) Human rights

= Mobilising Communities to Prevent Domestic Violence: A Resource
   Guide for Organisations in East and Southern Africa
The Resource Guide, developed by Raising Voices in collaboration with
UNIFEM and Action Aid-Uganda, sheds new light on how community-based
organisations can design and implement a participatory project to
prevent domestic violence. It describes a conceptual framework for
preventing domestic violence and provides extensive strategy and
activity suggestions for organisations interested in working
systematically to affect individual and social change within their
communities. Special features in the Resource Guide include:
rights-based program ideas and activities; full color examples of
learning materials such as posters, games, murals and booklets; a
comprehensive community activism course; and, simple, ready to use
documentation and monitoring tools. For more information by email,
contact info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/rights.html#RVOICES



e) ICT-related organisations/resources

= Sustainable ICT Case Studies
The Case Studies have been generated by Gamos and BigWorld as part of
a research programme into Information and Communication Technology
(ICT) sustainability factors. Funded by the Department of
International Development (DFID), the research programme identified
activities from across the world that sought to benefit the poor and
had an ICT component. In particular it considered programmes where
ICTs had enhanced ongoing development activities, the ICT activity
could be replicated without sizeable investment, and there was a
measure of sustainability.
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/ictresources.html#SICT


= Time To Get Online (TTGO)
Time To Get Online (TTGO) is an Internet capacity-building project
for West African civil society organizations that was launched by
Kabissa in November 2002. Initially, the project targeted
organizations in West Africa whose main agenda concerns human rights,
freedom of information, responsive government and democratization. A
set of self-learning materials has been developed to help civil
society activists and organizers to get online and to integrate the
Internet into their organizations. The materials can be used as both
a self-taught curriculum and as a reference guide for users with
varying levels of Internet experience and expertise. The materials
are available for download for African civil society organizations.
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/ictresources.html#TTGO


= eGovernment for Development website
The site aims to help public officials, consultants, and others in
developing/transitional economies seeking information and assistance
with e-government initiatives. eGovernment is the use of ICTs to
improve the activities of public sector organisations. The project
focuses sequentially on specific e-government topics; the first being
success factors and failure avoidance in e-government initiatives.
The "eGovernment for Development Information Exchange" project is
coordinated by the University of Manchester's Institute for
Development Policy and Management. The project is funded and managed
by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation as part of the UK
Department for International Development's "Building Digital
Opportunities" programme.
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/ictresources.html#eGOV



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NEWS & EVENTS
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March - December 2003

= THETHA - The SANGONeT ICT Discussion Forum
The Southern African Non-Governmental Organisation Network
(SANGONeT) has been providing networking, information and training
services to Southern African civil society organisations (CSOs) since
its inception in 1987. SANGONeT's mission is to be a facili tor in
the effective and empowering use of information communication
technology (ICT) tools by development and social justice actors in
Africa.
As one of very few CSOs in Southern Africa dedicated to providing ICT
services to the local CSO sector, SANGONeT will organise 5 one-day
SANGONeT ICT Discussion Forums during 2003, called Thetha, which will
focus specifically on the role and relevance of ICTs to CSOs.
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews03.html#THETA



May 2003

= Africa SMME Awards: Call for nominations
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. Deadline for
nominations is May 31, 2003.
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews03.html#AfricaSMME


= Forum on ICTs and Gender, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 27-30, 2003
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



June 2003

= Computers For Africa (CFA): Call for applications
CFA celebrates the safe arrival and disbursement of its latest
shipment of 17 computer labs (200 computers) to communities in
Uganda. Applications for the 2003-2004 cycle are now open. The
on-line application is available at http://www.computers4africa.org
on the Applicant Information page. You may also e-mail CFA at
info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx requesting the e-mail version. The deadline
for receiving applications from the general public is June 30, 2003.
Recipients will be notified by Oct. 31, 2003. We expect to ship late
winter/early spring of 2004.
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/cfaea.html#M2003



November 2003

= 2003-2004 Stockholm Challenge Award
The Stockholm Challenge is an international awards programme for
pioneering projects using IT in innovative ways, in areas such as
environment, education, health, culture, e-government and e-business.
The focus is on how IT can benefit people and society - technology
itself is not the issue. The Stockholm Challenge was initiated in
1994 by the City of Stockholm, and is run in conjunction with the
European Commission. Deadline for submitting an entry is November 1,
2003.
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews03.html#SCA2003



To list your event/news on the WOUGNET website, send details about
the event/news including contact information to: news@xxxxxxxxxxx


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