WOUGNET Update Newsletter - May 2005

[Dorothy Okello <dokello@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

WOUGNET Update Newsletter - May 2005
******************************************************************************************
A monthly electronic newsletter from Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) - 
http://www.wougnet.org
For comments or queries, contact info@xxxxxxxxxxx
To subscribe/unsubscribe to the WOUGNET Update Newsletter, send a message 
to wougnet-update-request@xxxxxxxxxxx with the following command in the 
subject or body of your message: subscribe/unsubscribe

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
This month's contents:
1. Women Organisations in Uganda
2. World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
3. Links & Resources
4. Project News and Events
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

WOUGNET Marks 5 Years

This month, May 2005, marks five years since the initiation of WOUGNET in 
May 2000 by several women's organisations in Uganda to develop the use of 
information and communication technologies (ICTs) among women as tools to 
share information and address issues collectively. Five years ago, it was 
agreed that there was need for the following:
-	an electronic mailing list that would facilitate exchange of ideas and 
information between subscribers;
-	a companion website that would profile women organisations and use the 
web to provide additional exposure to their activities;
-	information and support on how to maximize the potential of ICTs within 
women organisations.
From an initial membership including eighteen women organisations by year 
end 2000, WOUGNET membership now includes over eighty women organisations. 
A big thank you to all the WOUGNET members and partners, then and current, 
who continue to make WOUGNET what it is today. A special thank you to all 
who have contributed, financially and in-kind, to WOUGNET programs 
including Global Fund for Women, Hivos, and Technical Center for 
Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP/EC (CTA).
This year, WOUGNET is embarking upon a three year program, 2005 - 2007, 
whose main objective is strengthen the use of ICTs among women and women 
organisations, build capacities in ICT use and application, and expand 
activities to reach out to women in the rural areas. In support of this 
objective, WOUGNET activities will be carried out under four major program 
areas:
a) Information Sharing and Networking: This program aims at facilitating 
access to relevant information by WOUGNET members in urban and in rural areas.
b) Technical Support: This program aims at supporting WOUGNET members to 
access, utilise and apply ICTs in addressing their development problems.
c) Gender and ICT Policy Advocacy: This program aims at building the 
capacity of WOUGNET members and partners to effectively influence the 
formulation and implementation of gender sensitive ICT policies and programs.
d) Rural Access: This program aims at improving rural women, and WOUGNET 
members and partners? access to ICTs as well as strengthening their 
capacity to use and apply ICTs.
We look forward to continued collaboration and networking among WOUGNET 
members and with WOUGNET partners to promote and support the use of ICTs by 
women and women organisations in Uganda, so that they can take advantage of 
the opportunities presented by ICTs in order to effectively address 
national and local problems of sustainable development.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WOMEN ORGANISATIONS IN UGANDA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

= Uganda Old-Women Welfare Foundation (UGOWEFO)
   http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#UGOWEFO
UGOWEFO's mission is to initiate, implement, coordinate, promote and 
support programs and projects,  policies and strategies geared at improving 
the health, social, economic and political status of older people, 
especially women, their dependants, orphans, vulnerable children and other 
vulnerable groups.
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/ugowefo.html


= Mahaanga Kelema Iyeta Farmers Association (MKIFA)
   http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#MKIFA
Based in Mbale, MKIFA's mission is to empower women to improve their 
household incomes through agriculture.
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/mkifa.html


= Ibanda Catholic Women's Guild (ICWOGU)
Based in Ibanda-Bufunda parish, ICWOGU's mission is to improve the quality 
of life among Catholic Women in Ibanda County through participating in 
income generating projects and promoting leadership activities. ICWOGU 
started in March 1993 with membership of 48 rural women. At present, it 
comprises of 25 women groups (Mos) called Centres with membership of 1,360 
active women. Photos depicting a variety of ICWG's activities are also 
available online at:
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/icwg.html


= St. Bruno Doll Making Group
?St. Bruno Doll Making Group? is a community-based group that specializes 
in doll making. Rapha African dolls under St. Bruno was initiated way back 
in 1995 by Etheldreda Yatuha under the supervision of Sister Regina of St. 
Franciscan Sisters of Nsambya. With the knowledge of art and tailoring, she 
made a doll which she code-named RAPHA. The doll was made from cut-offs she 
picked from a tailor. Soon after, Etheldreda picked the cut-offs again and 
made a man for RAPHA. She also made babies, a boy and a girl to make a 
family for RAPHA. After 3 years, RAPHA asked for another baby, which she is 
now carrying on her back. To Etheldreda?s surprise, a customer offered to 
buy the whole family (Rapha family) at 50, 000/=. This then became the 
initial start up capital for St. Bruno.
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/sbdmg.html


= Joint Women's Restoration and Welfare - Uganda (JOWORWU)
Based in Aduku, Apac District, JOWORWU's mission is to uplift the standard 
of living with in the rural folk of Apac by introducing income generating 
activities with much emphasis on women and youth.
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/joworwu.html


= Baropobo Women's Group
Operating in Kwania County, Apac District, Baropobo Women's Group's mission 
is to transform the rural groups into economically viable groups through 
initiation of income generating activities in order to fight poverty 
amongst the vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities, women, 
orphans and persons living with HIV/AIDS.
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/bwp.html


= Report on the Outcomes of the 49th Session of the Commission on the 
Status of Women (CSW-Beijing+10) during the Uganda Gender Forum Meeting, 5 
April 2005
On Tuesday April 5, 2005, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social 
Development in partnership with the EASSI held a Uganda Gender Forum 
meeting to report on the outcomes of the 49th Session of the Commission on 
the Status of Women (CSW-Beijing+10). The objectives of the Uganda Gender 
Forum meeting were to:
1) Disseminate and give feedback on the global review meeting that took 
place on February 28 and March 11, 2005, in New York under the auspices of 
the 49th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women 
(CSW-Beijing+10).
2) Strategise on the outcomes of the global review meeting and chart a way 
forward for Uganda.
The meeting was attended by over 50 participants from government 
institutions, civil society organisations, the media, a representative from 
the Diplomatic Mission in Uganda and representatives from United Nations 
Agencies. A copy of the report is available online at:
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/eassi.html#49CSWreport



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

= WSA-Uganda: The Best of the Pearl of Africa
The World Summit Award (WSA) is a global initiative for selecting and 
promoting the best in e-Content and creativity. The first awards were 
announced at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, 
Switzerland, in December 2005. This is a call for nominations of Ugandan 
projects/products that should be considered during the second round of the 
WSA. Self-nominations are welcome. The WSA 2005 awards will be presented 
during the second phase of the WSIS in Tunis, Tunisia in November 2005.
For the first phase of the WSIS in 2003, a total of 803 projects from 136 
nations participated in the World Summit Award. An international Jury of 
prominent experts selected 40 finalist best products in the world in the 
eight categories. WOUGNET was one of only two (2) African winners. The 
other was ?Time to Market ­ T2M? from Senegal. For the second phase of the 
WSIS in November 2005, WOUGNET has been nominated to the panel of experts 
responsible for nominating candidates from Uganda in each of the 8 categories.
To nominate a project/product, submit the following information about your 
project/product by May 31, 2005:
- Name of the nominator(s)
- Title of project/product
- WSA award category for which project/product should be considered 
(e-Learning, e-Culture, e-Science, e-Government, e-Health, e-Business, 
e-Entertainment, e-Inclusion). Descriptions of the various categories are 
available online or from the WOUGNET office - see contacts below.
- Description of the project/product, including its objectives, the people 
involved and/or the target audience, language(s) used, how/when 
project/product was started, website (if available), and lessons learned 
and challenges for the project/product.
- Reason(s) why project/product is nominated
Self-nominations are welcome. It is preferred, where applicable, that you 
provide a copy of your e-content to WOUGNET by email (wsa2005@xxxxxxxxxxx) 
and/or on CD.
For further information or to nominate a project/product, visit 
http://www.wougnet.org/WSIS/ug/wsa2005.html or contact:
Milton Aineruhanga
WOUGNET Program Officer
Office: Room 13, Plot 59 Nkrumah Road (NDA Building)
Tel: 041-256832 or 077-411556
Email: wsa2005@xxxxxxxxxxx

The deadline for submitting projects/products is May 31, 2005.
http://www.wougnet.org/WSIS/ug/ugandawsis.html#WSA



= World Telecommunications Day Symposium, May 17, 2005 - Creating an 
equitable Information Society: Time for Action
http://www.wougnet.org/WSIS/ug/ugandawsis.html#WTD05

On World Telecommunications Day, May 17, 2005, Uganda Communications 
Commission (UCC) in partnership with the Ministry of Works, Housing and 
Communications (MoWHC) and WOUGNET will host a symposium under the theme 
"Creating an equitable Information Society: Time for Action ". The 
objectives of the symposium are to:
1) Raise awareness of the WSIS process and consider ways to incorporate the 
targets for universal access as outlined in the WSIS Action Plan
2) Raise awareness of the state of telecommunications in Uganda and assess 
the problems that stand in the way of achieving the connectivity goals set 
out in the WSIS Action Plan
3) Promote awareness of ICTs as a tool for economic and social development

The keynote address will be by Hon. John Nasasira, Minister of Works, 
Housing and Communications and other presentations will address:
a) Creating an enabling environment for the information society: A critical 
Analysis of Laws and Polices in the ICT Sector
b) Coordination and Implementation framework for the National ICT policy
c) Realizing WSIS Objectives: Actions taken (by Government)
d) The Role of Civil Society in the Information Society
e) The Media and the Information Society
f) Private Sector Initiatives in Enhancing WSIS goals

The event will take place at the Kabira Country Club, Bukoto. Participation 
is open to the public, and free of charge, but registration is required. To 
register, contact WOUGNET or UCC as follows:
Ms. Berna Ngolobe
Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)
P. O. Box 4411, Kampala, Uganda
Tel: 256-41-256832
Fax: 256-41-234924
e-mail: info@xxxxxxxxxxx

OR

Uganda Communications Commission
12th Floor, Communications House
P. O. Box 7376, Kampala, Uganda
Tel: 256-41-348830/1/5 or 340336 or 340572
Fax: 256-41-348832 or 345278
e-mail: ucc@xxxxxxxxx



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LINKS & RESOURCES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a) Agriculture

= Matsanza Farmers Union - Uganda (MFU)
   http://www.wougnet.org/Links/agriculture.html#MFU
Based in Mbale District, MFU's mission is to educate, support and develop 
the grassroot community initiative towards sustainability development.
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/matsanza.html


b) Business

= Empowering Rwandan Women through ICT
UNDP and UNIFEM have begun working together in Rwanda to open up access to 
ICTs for women and girls, and to empower them through the use of ICTs, to 
improve their social and economic rights and build a more secure economic 
future for themselves and their families. With funding from the Japan Women 
in Development Fund, UNDP and UNIFEM are collaborating to build on the 
strong political commitment of the Rwandan government to using ICTs for 
development and the promotion of gender equality.
As the first pilot project of the Digital Diaspora initiative, the Rwanda 
project is using the technical and market knowledge of Africans in the 
Diaspora to build the capacity of women?s business-oriented organisations 
to use ICTs to promote business linkages and influence policy-making, in 
order to situate women?s issues and concerns at the centre of efforts to 
reduce poverty.
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/business.html#ERW


c) Development

= Ntungamo Development Network - Uganda (NDN)
Based in Ntungamo District, NDN's mission is to advocate for good 
development policies through good governance, capacity building and 
networking. NDN has launched its website at:
http://www.ntungamodevelopmentnetwork.org
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/ntungamodn.html


d) Health

= Community-led HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) Project
The Community-led HIV/AIDS Initiative (CHAI) project is administered by the 
Uganda HIV/AIDS Control Project (UACP) under the Uganda AIDS Commission 
(UAC). The project's overall objectives are to: reduce the spread of HIV 
infection; mitigate the health and socio-economic impact of HIV/AIDS at 
individual, household and community level; and strengthen the national 
capacity to respond to the epidemic.
The project was initiated in 2001 and is currently being implemented in 30 
Districts around the country. Government of Uganda recognized that the 
HIV/AIDS problem was widespread in the communities, yet different community 
groups had not been adequately involved in identification, implementation 
and management of their priority AIDS activities. The CHAI project was 
therefore designed to assist the different communities/social groups to 
organize and appreciate the HIV/AIDS problem as well as to identify and 
manage their desired sub-projects within their means.
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/health.html#CHAI


e) Human Rights

= Empower Children and Communities Against Abuse (ECCA) Media Analysis, 
January - March 2005
Media analysis is a key information Gender-Based Violation monitoring tool 
for ECCA from which we are able to identify the various forms of abuse 
affecting the Ugandan Populace.  The purpose of the analysis is mainly to 
assess the extent to which these forms of abuse are prevalent in our 
society but increase awareness and obtain the best possible solutions in 
addressing Gender-Based Violence. A copy of the January - March 
2005  report is available online at:
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/eccaug.html#EMA0105


f) ICT-related resources

= East African Centre for Open Source Software (EACOSS)
EACOSS is the first specialised Free and Open Source Software training 
centre focusing on the East African region. The mission is to promote the 
use and access to Free and Open Source Software in the East African 
community and contribute to the development through empowering people with 
skills to use ICT. EACOSS was founded in April 2004 and opened its doors in 
August 2004 on Port Bell Road in Nakawa - Kampala Uganda. The training 
center is located at the premises of Uganda Institute of Information and 
Communication Technology (UICT).
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/ictresources.html#EACOSS



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PROJECT NEWS AND EVENTS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

May 2005

= Peaceful demonstration on the Domestic Relations Bill (DRB)
On behalf of the DRB Coalition, Uganda Women's Network (UWONET) invites all 
to a peaceful demonstration on the Domestic Relations Bill. The date for 
the demonstration is Wednesday 4th May 2005 starting at 8:00am.  The march 
will start from Centenary Park, Jinja Road, to Parliament to present a 
Petition to the Speaker at 10:00am. The DRB Coalition requests that each 
one mobilises as many of your membership, partners and allies to be part of 
the demonstration because as we know, the DRB has many faces so shouldn't 
be considered a women-only matter.
For further information or a copy of the petition, contact:
Solome Nakaweesi Kimbugwe
Coordinator, UWONET on behalf of the DRB Coalition
Email: uwonet@xxxxxxxxxxxxx


= Understanding Human Rights Systems: The Domestic Implementation of 
International, Regional and Local Human Rights Systems -- Training for 
Human Rights Organisations and Practitioners, Seeta, Uganda, May 23 - 27, 2005
Uganda is a signatory to a number of international human rights treaties 
and a member of a number of international human rights organizations. This 
membership is in simple terms a promise that it will improve the lives of 
its citizens by ensuring that their human rights and dignity are observed, 
promoted and respected. The training will examine international and 
regional mechanisms for human rights protection. It will highlight the 
mechanisms for human rights protection under the United Nations System, but 
will however put more focus on the African Human Rights Systems to which 
Uganda is a state party, with the aim of finding ways of domestically 
implementing these treaties through Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews05.html#UHRS05



July 2005

= Eastern Africa sub regional African Women?s Leadership Institute (AWLI), 
Kampala, Uganda, July 17-29, 2005
Akina Mama wa Afrika will be holding the Eastern Africa sub regional 
African Women?s Leadership Institute (AWLI) from July 17th ­ 29th 2005, in 
Uganda. The AWLI aims to strengthen the personal and organisational 
capacities of young African women to influence policy and decision-making 
through training and networking. It serves as a networking, training and 
information dissemination forum for young women aged between 25-40 working 
on gender issues. Since it was established in 1997, the AWLI and its 
related programmes, has a network of over 700 alumni from all over Africa.
The countries from which young women will be selected to participate in 
this year?s Eastern Africa AWLI are: Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, 
Rwanda, Somalia, Somaliland, Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania. The deadline for 
the receipt of applications is Tuesday May 17, 2005.
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews05.html#AWLI05




**************************************************************************
The Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) website and
mailing lists are hosted by Kabissa - Space for Change in Africa
**************************************************************************