WOUGNET Update Newsletter - March 2006

[Dorothy Okello <dokello@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

WOUGNET Update Newsletter - March 2006
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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 
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This month's contents:
1. Women Organisations in Uganda
2. ICT Policy
3. Links & Resources
4. Project News and Events
5. WOUGNET News
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WOMEN ORGANISATIONS IN UGANDA
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= NVIWODA: Ms. Cissy Nyarwa honored with "The Women Achiever Award"
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/nviwoda.html#WAA06
As part of the celebrations to mark the 
International Women's Day this year,  Stanbic 
Bank and The New Vision daily newspaper, honored 
women in what they called ?The Woman Achiever 
Award?. Ms. Cissy Edith Nyarwa, coordinator of 
Ntulume Village Women?s Development Association 
(NVIWODA) emerged the runner-up and received a 
cash prize. NVIWODA envisions a knowledgeable 
community of women, trained, equipped with 
entrepreneurial skills and capable of influencing and making decisions.
Ms. Nyarwa was recognized for her efforts to 
train other women in entrepreneurship skills, her 
readiness to share knowledge with the 
disadvantaged women and her willingness to 
counsel other women on issues that touch their 
lives. WOUGNET would like to congratulate Cissy Nyarwa on her achievement!
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#NVIWODA


=  TUWOGRO: New email address
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/tuwogro.html
Tusubira Women's Group (TUWOGRO) has obtained an 
email address: mulebetty@xxxxxxxxxx The 
organisation members whose mission is to be 
responsible, self reliant and developmental women 
in our homes and society at large are chaired by 
Betty Mulemezi and operate in Jinja District.
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#TUWOGRO


= FOWODE: Vacancy for Part-Time Librarian
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/fowode.html
Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE) is a 
non-partisan organization whose mission is to 
promote gender equality in all decision-making 
through advocacy, training, research and 
publishing. A resource center has been in 
existence at FOWODE since 1998 to facilitate 
women leaders at Parliamentary and lower 
levels.  Young leaders and students now can 
access the library.  We are looking for a 
committed librarian to participate in the on 
going reorganization of this Library.
Interested applicants should send their 
inquiries, applications and CVs to the Executive 
Director, Forum for Women in Democracy (FOWODE), 
Plot 15 Vubya Close, Nakawa Ntinda Road, P.O. Box 
7176 Kampala or by email to 
fowode@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Deadline for applications: 28th March 2006.
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#FOWODE


= UWONET: Vacancy for Information Officer
Uganda Women?s Network (UWONET) is an advocacy 
and lobbying coalition of national women?s 
organisations, institutions and individuals in 
Uganda formed in 1993. Uganda Women?s Network 
membership comprises of 15 national women?s 
Organisations and individuals. UWONET stands to 
promote and enhance networking, collective 
visioning and action among membership and with 
different actors working towards development and 
the transformation of unequal gender relations in 
the Ugandan society. UWONET focuses on 
influencing policy changes in respect to women?s 
access to power and decision-making, violence 
against women, economic empowerment, health and 
education. UWONET also works towards networking 
with various stakeholders, collecting, packaging 
and sharing information as well as capacity building of women?s organisations.
UWONET is looking for a dynamic, self-motivated 
and outgoing individual to work as Information 
Officer for its focal point, the Secretariat, 
which is the nerve centre of the Network. The 
minimum qualification required is a Bachelor of 
Library and Information Sciences, for additional 
information contact UWONET. Successful applicants 
will be employed on a three-year contract and 
should be ready and willing to start working immediately.
The interested candidate should send their 
handwritten application and CV including three 
references with contact details and copies of 
academic and professional testimonials to:
The Chairperson, Uganda Women?s Network (UWONET), 
Plot 198 Old Kira Road, Ntinda, P .O. Box 27991 
Kampala. Email: info@xxxxxxxxxxx Envelopes should 
clearly be marked Application for Information 
Officer. Please provide your telephone number to 
ease communication. Applications should reach 
UWONET not later than Friday 17th March 2006 at 5:00 pm.


= AmwA: Reminder - Eastern Africa sub regional 
African Women's Leadership Institute (AWLI) 2006
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/amwau.html#AWLI06
Akina Mama wa Afrika will be holding the Eastern 
Africa sub regional African Women?s Leadership 
Institute (AWLI) from April 24th ­ 5th May 2006, 
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 for this 
unique and exciting training programme 
is:  Friday March 17th, 2006. To request for an 
application form, please send email to <amwa@xxxxxxxxxxx>.
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#AMWAU



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ICT POLICY
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= Uganda Communications Commission: Internet 
Development Workshop, Fairway Hotel, 24 March 2006
Today, Internet penetration in Uganda remains 
significantly low with only a few people using 
it.  In recognition of the development 
opportunities available through use of the 
Internet, Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) 
is organising a workshop for Uganda?s Internet 
Community (industry, users and Government) to 
identify strategies for fostering Internet development in Uganda.
This half-day workshop that is open to all 
interested stakeholders, shall take place at the 
Fairway Hotel on Friday 24th March 2006 from 8.30am.  The agenda shall include:
- Results of an Internet survey carried out by UCC
- The management of country code top level domain name - .ug
- The proposed national Internet governance forum

Background documents can be obtained from the UCC 
website at http://www.ucc.co.ug. For more information, contact:
The Executive Director,
Uganda Communications Commission,
12th Floor, Communications House
Plot 1, Colville Street,
P O Box 7376,
Kampala
Tel: +256 31 2339000 / +256 41 339000
Fax: +256 41 348832
Email: ucc@xxxxxxxxx



= Call for Applications: Internet Governance 
Capacity Building Training and Research Programme. Deadline: March 24, 2006
DiploFoundation, in cooperation with various 
partners, is currently accepting applications for 
the Internet Governance Capacity Building 
Training and Research Programme. This programme 
aims at improving Internet Governance (IG) 
related knowledge and skills for participants 
from developing countries and facilitating 
community building among participants from 
different national, cultural and professional backgrounds.
The programme includes an online training phase 
(April 1 to July 10, 2006), a research phase 
(July 15 to November 1, 2006), and capacity 
building fellowships. Fellowships, which will be 
awarded to the most successful participants in 
the programme, include internships with partner 
organisations and attendance at Internet 
Governance related meetings including the 
proposed meeting in Athens later in 2006.
The application deadline for this programme is 
March 24, 2006. For further information and to 
apply online, please visit the Internet 
Governance Capacity Building Training Programme 
website: http://www.diplomacy.edu/IG/



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

a) Development

= Focus Youth Development Association - Uganda (FYDA)
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/development.html#FYDA
Operating in Kampala and Wakiso Districts, Focus 
Youth Development Association - Uganda (FYDA)'s 
mission is to empower young girls and youths with 
ICT skills as a gateway to the formal sector.
= Zondag Point Services Association (ZPSA)
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/development.html#ZPSA
Operating in Kampala District, Zondag Point 
Services Association (ZPSA)'s mission is to 
facilitate and enhance the work capacity of 
disadvantaged groups of society, resource 
mobilization and effective utilization to eradicate poverty.


b) Health

= The Health Rights of Women Assessment Instrument (HeRWAI)
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/health.html#HeRWAI
The development of the Health Rights of Women 
Assessment Instrument is an initiative of the 
Humanist Committee on Human Rights (HOM) with the 
aim to support the implementation of women's 
rights. HeRWAI is a practical tool for 
organisations that want to bring a human rights 
approach into practice. It contains practical 
guidance for a rights based analysis of a policy. 
Through a HeRWAI analysis, organisations can link 
what actually happens with what should happen 
according to the human rights obligations of a 
country. The analysis includes local, national 
and international influences and is based on the norms set by CEDAW and ICESCR.
HOM has developed HeRWAI together with a number 
of NGOs and women's organisations from the South 
and the North. The instrument focuses 
particularly on the health rights of women. In 
the future the same method may also be used for 
other issues. HeRWAI has been tested by 
organisations in Kenya, the Netherlands, Pakistan 
and Bangladesh. It was improved on the basis of 
the experiences of the test. The conclusion of 
the tests was that HeRWAI is a useful tool for 
organisations in different contexts. HOM 
published HeRWAI in January 2006. The booklet (70 
pages including annexes) is user friendly, with 
practical suggestions and easy references to relevant information.
For more information, you may also contact: info@xxxxxx



c) Human Rights

= Guidebook: "Youth Radio for Peacebuilding - a guide"
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/rights.html#RFPA
Radio for Peacebuilding, Africa (RFPA) announces 
the availability of the guidebook ?Youth Radio 
for Peacebuilding ­ a guide?. Youth radio is a 
tool with tremendous power to build peace. Just 
as youth are deeply involved in conflict, so too 
they have the possibility to play a role in 
building peace. Radio has the potential to 
harness the creativity of young people. This 
guidebook has been written with such young people 
in mind. It is designed to help them and those 
who work with them design and produce 
entertaining radio programmes which help construct a peaceful future.
The basis of this guide was developed in 
September 2005 at a workshop in Ghana bringing 
together presenters and producers from 12 
sub-Saharan African countries who explored the 
skills necessary to make youth programmes which 
engage the audience and have a positive rather 
than negative impact, helping resolve rather than 
inflame conflict. The principles include new ways 
of seeing their roles, new perspectives on 
conflict, and new objectives and techniques for presenting their programmes.
?Youth Radio for Peacebuilding ­ a guide? is 
currently accessible online in the manuals 
section and on CD-Rom (with other guidebooks), 
available on request; radiopeaceafrica@xxxxxxxx 
Please send an email with your name, the name of 
your radio station, and your full postal address. 
RFPA is a project of Search for Common Ground, an 
international NGO that works in the field of 
conflict transformation. The RFPA project aims to 
develop, spread and encourage the use of radio 
broadcasting techniques and content for peacebuilding.

= Kituo Cha Katiba (KCK) Documentation and Resource Center services.
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/rights.html#KCK
Kituo Cha Katiba has established a Documentation 
& Resource Center, which is open to the 
public.  Initially, the Resource Center will 
offer Library, Documentation & Internet services 
free of charge.  However, more services will be 
added as the Resource Center expands. Kituo Cha 
Katiba publications are also available from 
leading bookshops in Kampala. Enquiries about KCK 
Resource Center may also be made at e-mail: 
jakello@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or Tel: 041-541028.
Kituo Cha Katiba: East African Centre for 
Constitutional Development's mission is to 
promote multi and inter-disciplinary 
communication and dialogue on constitutional 
making and democratic governance in the East African region.



d) Resources about Women & Gender

= The Gender, Science and Technology Gateway
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/aboutwomen.html#GSTG
The Gender, Science and Technology Gateway is 
being relaunched, with a new look and more 
features. The Gateway is a portal to resources, 
organizations and programming around the gender 
dimensions of S&T for social development and 
policy.  It is a web site of the Gender Advisory 
Board, UN Commission on Science and Technology 
for Development and is meant to promote 
understanding of these issues and serve as a 
knowledge map on research, programming, policy, 
and resources for policy makers, NGOs, agencies, and development agents.
In addition to sections on the gender and S&T 
dimensions of education, employment, S&T for 
social development (needs of society), local 
knowledge, ethics of technology and 
sex-disaggregated data in S&T, the Gateway 
provides links to region-specific resources, e- 
resources (newsletters and portals on related 
topics), United Nations programming and 
policy.  Highlighted are new sections on Women in 
Science Organizations, and Guidelines and Toolkits for policy and programming.
The Gateway is hosted by Women in Global Science 
and Technology (WIGSAT) and made possible with 
funding from The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.




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

March 2006

= UNECA Forum on ICT, Trade and Economic Growth, 
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 14-16 March 2006
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews06.html#FITEG
The Economic Commission for Africa is hosting a 
forum on Information and Communication 
Technologies and their impact on Trade and 
Economic Growth under the auspices of the African 
Node of the Global ePolicy Resource Network 
(ePol-NET) supported by the Government of Canada. 
Approximately 100 delegates working in the field 
of ICTs and Trade are expected to attend. The 
meeting, to be held from 14-16 March, in the UN 
Conference Centre, Addis Ababa will generate 
debates on the economic significance of ICTs 
(particularly, IT and telecommunications) and 
determine the nature of expected economic effects on African countries.

= WSIS Follow-up Conference on Access to 
Information and Knowledge for Development, United 
Nations Conference Centre, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 27-30, 2006
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews06.html#CAIKD
The World Summit on the Information Society 
(WSIS) Follow-up Conference on Access to 
Information and Knowledge for Development is 
co-sponsored by the United Nations Economic 
Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government 
Information and Official Publications Section 
(GIOPS) and the Committee on Free Access to 
Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE) of 
the International Federation of Library 
Associations and Institutions (IFLA). The 
conference, will be delivered in two parts:
	1. Workshop on Building of African Capacity to 
Implement the Outcomes of the World Summit on the 
Information Society in the Sphere of Libraries 
and Access to Information and Knowledge, March 27 ­ 28, 2006; and
	2.      IFLA GIOPS/FAIFE Seminar on the 
Strategic Management and Use of Government 
Information in Africa, March 29-30, 2006.
Registration is free. However, participants are 
expected to cover their own travel and 
accommodation costs (unless individually informed otherwise in writing).



April 2006

= Reuters Digital Vision Program Invites 
Applications From Social Entrepreneurs. Deadline: April 3, 2006
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews06.html#RDVP
The Reuters Digital Vision Program at Stanford 
University, California, sponsored by the Reuters 
Foundation supports individuals who seek to 
develop technology-based solutions in the 
interest of humanitarian, educational, and 
sustainable development goals. The program is 
designed to foster social entrepreneurship and 
inter-disciplinary projects that address real 
needs in under-served communities. The nine-month 
program takes place at Stanford during the academic year.
The program awards approximately fifteen 
fellowships each year to exceptional social 
entrepreneurs and technology professionals from 
around the world. Successful candidates  have 
innovative ideas and are passionate about 
implementing a project to empower individuals and 
communities in the developing world. Applicants 
must have at least five years of full-time 
professional experience working with information 
and  communications technologies in their 
organizations. Applicants should have an in-depth 
knowledge of, and  interest in, the latest 
information and communications technology 
applications and their implementation in the 
developing world. There is no age limit, but the 
minimum educational qualification is a bachelor's 
degree. Typically, Digital Vision Fellows are at 
a mid-career stage,  and many have advanced 
degrees and/or technology backgrounds. The 
administrative and tuition costs associated with 
participating in the program will be provided by 
the Reuters Foundation and its co-sponsors. 
Additionally, DV Fellows are eligible to apply 
for funding from the  program in support of their prototype development.




May 2006

= ICTe Africa 2006, Kenyatta International 
Conference Centre (KICC), Nairobi, Kenya, May 17-21, 2006
Second Annual Conference on Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews06.html#ICTe06
ICTe Africa is a continental event for the 
presentation of technologies appropriate to 
development of ICT in Africa and for the 
discussion of a broad range of challenges and 
potential relevant solutions. The 2006 conference 
will feature presentations on next generation 
networks, infrastructure projects, Internet 
applications/solutions, rural telephony, ICT 
policies, ICT financing and solar energy for 
powering rural networks. The event will also 
feature professional development courses in fiber 
optics, broadband access, VoIP and other emerging 
technologies. By working in collaboration with 
NEPAD Kenya, Africa Telecommunications Union 
(ATU), IEEE Communication Society (COMSOC), NEPAD 
Council expects to attract Industry leaders, 
policy makers, financiers, leading engineers and 
scientists from Africa and the rest of the world.


= "Strategies for sustainable development of ICT 
infrastructure in Africa", ICT Africa Investment 
Summit 2006, Intercontinental Hotel, Kigali, Rwanda, May 4-6, 2006
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews06.html#IAIS
President Paul Kagame of Rwanda will open the ICT 
African Ministerial Summit scheduled to be held 
in Kigali from 4-6 May 2006. A recent Government 
announcement in Rwanda says ?The Government of 
Rwanda has placed emphasis on the importance of 
the ICT sector in the development of her growing 
economy, and has taken steps to embrace ICT in 
all the facets of her economic activities. It is 
therefore a unique opportunity for the Government 
of Rwanda to host such an important Forum where 
major stakeholders in the sector will be 
discussing relevant issues in the ICT sector?. 
Six Ministers from African countries have so far 
confirmed their attendance at the Summit. They 
are from Central African Republic, Ghana, 
Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda and host Rwanda.



August 2006

= Know How Conference 2006 PUEG-UNAM-MEXICO, 
"Weaving the information society: a gender and 
multicultural perspective", Mexico City, August 
21 - 26, 2006: Invitation and Call for Papers
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews06.html#KHC
The Know How Conference is hosted by Programa 
Universitario de Estudios de Género (PUEG) 
and  UNAM, in cooperation with the Know How 
Secretariat, and it is an initiative of the Know 
How Community, held once every four years. The 
Know How Community includes librarians, 
journalists, Information and Communication 
Technologies (ICTs) experts, researchers, 
indigenous and rural women?s information workers, 
publishers, information activists representing 
excluded communities of women, from all parts of 
the world. The mission of the Know How Conference 
2006 is to advance gender justice and respect for 
every nation?s cultural diversity within the 
information society, and promote access to 
information and communication as a fundamental women?s and human right.
Know How 2006 has the following objectives:
1.      To establish strategies that will promote 
the use of women?s information to improve women?s lives.
2.      To develop a strategic plan aimed at 
narrowing the information/digital gap for women.
3.      To share strategies that address the 
accessibility and availability of information for 
indigenous, excluded and rural women.
4.      To found a Latin American Network of 
Information Centers and Libraries on Women?s and Gender Studies.
The program of the Know How Conference Mexico 
will include training and updating workshops, 
known as Know How Academy. These workshops will 
be in August 21-22, 2006, as two days of academic 
training and the Conference will take place from 
August 23-25, 2006. Concurrently a book fair and 
a Feminist Film Festival will be held from August 
21-25, 2006. Interested participants are invited 
to submit a paper or workshop proposal or film. 
The deadline for receipt of proposals is March 30, 2006.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WOUGNET News
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

= WOUGNET Gender and ICT Policy Advocacy Training Workshops

Under WOUGNET's Gender and ICT Policy Advocacy 
program area, WOUGNET aims to support activities 
in advocating for gender concerns within Uganda's 
ICT policy processes. With support of the 
Association for Progressive Communications (APC), 
WOUGNET held a public forum under the theme 
"Uganda's ICT Policy: Does it address the Gender 
Digital Divide?" that took place on Tuesday 7th 
March 2006. The main objective of the forum is to 
raise awareness on gender issues in the ICT 
policies and programmes, and the need to 
integrate gender into ICT policies and 
programmes. A report will be made available. 
Follow-up workshops are being organised to 
sensitize policy makers, ICT experts, gender 
experts and journalists on gender issues in ICT 
Policy processes/programmes, and the implications of ignoring them.
For more information contact Berna Ngolobe, 
WOUGNET Assistant Advocacy and Support Officer, 
at info@xxxxxxxxxxx or call (041) 532035 or visit the secretariat at Plot
53 Kira Road, Kamwokya, Kampala.



= WOUGNET marks International Women?s Day

Every year March 8th is observed worldwide as 
International Women?s Day. The theme selected for 
this year in Uganda was ?Women and Multiparty 
Democracy? and national celebrations took place 
at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds in Kampala. The 
celebrations were organised by the Ministry of 
Gender, Labour and Social Development, and the 
guest of honour was President Yoweri Museveni.
On this day, development practioners in public 
and private sectors as well as civil society 
organizations, took stock of their contributions 
and successes towards the empowerment of women. 
The day was also used for advocacy to sensitize 
the public about women?s development issues. It 
also gave women the opportunity to learn about 
new technologies and ideas which they can adopt 
for their empowerment. An exhibition was held at 
Kololo where international and national NGOs, 
private and public sector organizations, women 
entrepreneurs as well as women groups exhibited 
their works. WOUGNET was privileged to be one of 
the organizations invited to take part in the 
exhibition. A report on the event will be made available.


= Reminder - Call for expressions of interest: Refurbished Computers

As a result of the WOUGNET - Computer Aid 
Partnership, a shipment of refurbished Pentium II 
and III computers is in Kampala and available for 
sale to NGOs, non-profit and faith based 
organizations, as well as educational 
institutions. The computers are priced at 100 
pounds Sterling each (Pentium IIs are on sale for 
60 Pounds sterling each) and come with a 1-year 
warranty. All interested please contact the 
WOUGNET Marketing Officer, Sauce Patty Waigonda, 
by email: swaigonda@xxxxxxxxxxx or 
info@xxxxxxxxxxx or call 0772-513079 or 
041-532035 for more details and to make a booking.


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The Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) website and 
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WOUGNET is supported by APC, CTA, Dimitra/FAO and Hivos

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