WOUGNET Update Newsletter - July 2007

[Dorothy Okello <dokello@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

WOUGNET Update Newsletter - July 2007
***********************************************************************

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. ICT Policy
3. Links & Resources
4. Project News and Events
5. TechTip
6. WOUGNET News
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-

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


= Were Nigiwan Rural Women and Youth Effort (WERUNIWYE)
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/weruniwye.html

Were Nigiwan Rural Women and Youth Effort 
(WERUNIWYE) is an organization whose mission is 
to economically empower women, youth, rural 
farmers and other vulnerable persons through 
capacity building towards self-sustainability, 
response toward the needs of the vulnerable, 
needy and environmental concerns. The 
organization based in Tororo District, Eastern 
Uganda, focuses on capacity building and economic 
empowerment of women, youth, rural peasant 
farmers and other vulnerable persons, child 
nutrition and educational support, public 
healthcare in areas of HIV/AIDS, hygiene, 
nutrition etc., environmental conservation and 
management, sustainable resource utilization.
WERUNIWYE targets women, youth, rural farmers, 
the needy children and other vulnerable persons. 
The organization intends to extend to other areas 
as and when funds allow. WERUNIWYE is willing to 
work in partnership with any other organization 
both governmental and non-governmental in the 
support of the needy persons, economic 
empowerment of the members of the communities and 
environmental conservation and management, which 
are the core objectives of the organization.
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#WERUNIWYE



= Isis-WICCE: Gender in Social Transformation
http://wougnet.org/Profiles/isis.html

Isis-Women's International Cross Cultural 
Exchange (Isis-WICCE), in partnership with the 
Commonwealth Foundation and UNIFEM, hosted a 
3-day workshop on the theme ?Democracy, Peace and 
Conflict? during the Commonwealth Partners' 
Forum. The Partners? Forum took place from 8 - 10 
June 2007, at Speke Resort Munyonyo, Kampala, 
Uganda. The workshop was aimed at fostering 
dialogue on resource mobilization, women's 
effective participation in peace building and 
conflict management for democracy and development.
It was envisaged that the outcomes and 
discussions of the workshop would raise awareness 
and inform the Eight Women Affairs Ministerial 
Meeting (8WAMM) on the key priorities and 
concerns of civil society organisations on 
democracy, peace and conflict issues in 
Commonwealth member countries. This would further 
build into the agenda of the Commonwealth Heads 
of States meeting (CHOGM) on Financing Gender 
Equality for Development and Democracy, in November 2007.
The objectives of the 3-day workshop were:
- To provide an overview of the current realities 
of women in armed conflict situations in Commonwealth countries.
- To demonstrate the impact women have made in 
peace building and democratic change.
- To engage women leaders to influence change and political agendas
- To urge Commonwealth member governments to 
priorities gender mainstreaming and its financing 
in peace building and development work, and to be 
at the forefront of all policy and programme initiatives.
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#ISIS



 = FOWODE:  Making NAADS work for women
http://wougnet.org/Profiles/fowode.html#NAADS

In 2004, OXFAM GB in Uganda and Forum for Women 
in Democracy (FOWODE) conducted an assessment to 
establish the impact of National Agricultural 
Advisory Services (NAADS) of Uganda, the most 
advanced Plan for Modernization of Agriculture 
(PMA) component so far on female subsistence 
farmers. The intention was to determine the level 
of consonance between NAADS activities and 
budgets with the agricultural needs of grassroots 
poor women and men. A report was published which 
sparked off a debate on the findings of the 
research. Among other things it was noted that a 
wider study on the impact of PMA/NAADS in other 
districts would have helped to strengthen the 
research and that important variables needed to be included.
As a follow up to the recommendations that 
emerged from the previous research, FOWODE 
increased its sample size to three districts and 
a research on ?Making NAADS work for women: 
Enhancing women?s entitlements and effective 
participation in NAADS? was commissioned in 2006. 
The report of the research is now available from FOWODE.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ICT POLICY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

= Integrating ICTs - Gender Mainstreaming and HIV/AIDS in urban areas.

WOUGNET was invited to present a paper on 
?Integrating ICTs - Gender Mainstreaming and 
HIV/AIDs in Urban areas? for a workshop that was 
organised for the Parliamentary Committees on 
HIV/AIDS and Gender.  The workshop was held from 
the 14th to the 16th of June 2007 at Speke Resort 
Muyonyo in Kampala. The objectives of the workshop were to:
- Familiarise Members of Parliament (MPs) on 
their role in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic
- Sensitize MPs on the current HIV/AIDS situation 
in Uganda as per the Sero-behavioral survey 
2004-2005 and the HIV/AIDS National strategic framework 2007/08- 2011/12
- Provide an insight to MPs on the HIV/AIDS 
situation in Urban areas and the role of the Political leadership
- Enhancing HIV/AIDS workplace policies
- Integrate ICTs into Gender mainstreaming and HIV/AIDS in Urban areas
- Understand gender dimensions of Poverty, HIV/AIDS and MDGs

The WOUGNET presentation included practical 
examples and provided an introduction on why it 
was important to use ICTs in addressing gender 
mainstreaming and HIV/AIDS in urban areas. The 
presentation highlighted some of the gender 
issues in relation to HIV/AIDS and that 
contribute to HIV transmission. Given that the 
target group is in the urban areas, a wide 
variety of information and communication 
strategies could be employed using different types of ICTs.
For more details on the full paper presented or 
to obtain a copy by email, send your request to info@xxxxxxxxxxxx


= UN takes a byte to save Africa from e-waste
   (Source: Highway Africa News Agency)

The United Nations has called for policies to 
protect African nations from unregulated imports 
of electronic wastes (e-waste) that release heavy 
metals and chemicals. This call comes after the 
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 
announced that over 50 million metric tonnes of 
electronic e-waste are produced globally, much of 
which finds its way to the African continent as charitable donations.
The 8th meeting of the Basel Convention 
conference, in Nairobi the capital of Kenya was 
to discuss digital dumping. African governments 
are urged to adopt a framework to tighten 
shipments and disposal of all kinds of electronic wastes.
Some computers, cell phones and other gadgets 
going out of use within months of production, 
so-called e-waste is considered the fastest 
growing part of municipal waste in Africa. Often 
left to rot in expansive dumping grounds, 
electronic waste may contain traces of the toxins 
cadmium, mercury and lead, which can contaminate 
water supplies, wreak havoc on once fertile lands 
and contain carcinogenic elements. Most of it is 
shipped to the poor world, mainly Africa, under 
"refurbished" banner and ends up in junkyards 
where the goods rot and release lead, canadium, 
mercury and other deadly compounds that pollute the environment.
Experts speculate that anywhere between 25 to 75 
percent of the e-waste that enters Africa - 
mostly through Mombasa, Lagos and Dar es Salaam 
ports, is useless. It is also reported that in 
Nigeria alone, about 500 containers full of used 
electronic cargo pass through the Lagos port 
every month, according to a recent study by 
Seattle-based Basel Action Network. According to 
Kenya's Environment Minister Kivutha Kibwana, 
while Africa bore the brunt of e-waste, the 
entire world will have to face the aftermath of resultant pollution.
The European Union (EU) recently passed 
legislation mandating phase-outs of toxic 
constituents in computers, as well as requiring 
all manufacturers selling electronic equipment in 
the European Union to take back equipment at 
end-of-life and ensure its safe recycling. A 
joint enforcement operation carried out last year 
in 17 European seaports examined 3 000 shipping 
documents and physically inspected 258 cargo 
holds and found that illegal trading was widespread.
The Basel Convention is the most comprehensive 
global environmental agreement on hazardous and 
other wastes. The Convention that came into force 
in 1992 has 170 Parties and aims to protect human 
health and the environment against the adverse 
effects resulting from the generation, 
management, transboundary movements and disposal of hazardous and other wastes.



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

a) Development

= Support for Orphans, Widows and Elderly Development Initiative (SOWEDI)
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/development.html#SOWEDI

Operating in Nakasongola, Luweero district of 
Uganda, SOWEDI?s mission is to improve the 
standards of living and livelihood of the 
vulnerable groups in society. The organization, 
which was established in 2007, focuses on orphans 
education, HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns, women?s 
economic empowerment and training women in improved farming methods.
SOWEDI?s activities include providing orphans 
with scholastic materials and school fees, 
HIV/AIDS prevention seminars, agriculture 
training, distribution of improved seeds and 
starting up development projects. This while 
targeting orphans, widows, elderly, people with 
disabilities, and the local people (HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns only).


= Agency for Madi Orphans and Widows (AFMOWO)
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/development.html#AFMOWO

AFMOWO?s head office is found in Adjumani 
district of Uganda. The organization?s mission is 
to look after orphans, widows in their districts 
and to keep themselves current but not to be 
polluted by evil (James1: 27). The organization 
operates in 4 sub-counties in Adjumani district 
of Uganda and 3 sub-counties in Moyo district of 
Uganda. Activities are focused on empowerment, 
involvement of women in income generating 
activities and HIV/AIDS awareness as well as 
social counseling. Attention is paid particularly 
to women (widows) and orphans.


b) ICT-related resources

= Knowledge Management for Development Journal
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/ictresources.html#KM4D

The KM4D Journal is an open access, 
community-based journal on knowledge management 
in development ­ for and by development 
parishioners and researchers. As an open access 
journal, all the papers can be viewed and 
downloaded at the journal online platform. The 
journal offers peer-reviewed, practice-based 
cases, analysis and research concerning the role 
of knowledge in development processes and 
provides a forum for debate and exchange if ideas 
among practitioners, policy makers, academics and 
activists worldwide. By challenging current 
assumptions, it will seek to stimulate new 
thinking and to shape future ways of working. It 
is published three times a year in May, September and December.
The journal is strongly related to the KM4Dev 
community of practice at www.kmdev.org and, at 
the same time, aims to promote knowledge 
management approaches in the wider professional development community.


c) Women and Gender

= BRIDGE: Gender and Indicators Cutting Edge Pack
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/aboutwomen.html#GI_CEP

In July 2007, BRIDGE will publish 'Gender and 
Indicators' - the latest in a series of Cutting 
Edge Packs. What does a world without gender 
inequality look like? Realising this vision 
requires inspiring and mobilising social change. 
But what would indicate we are on the right track 
- and how do we know when we get there? The 
Gender and Indicators Cutting Edge Pack provides 
a comprehensive overview of gender and 
measurements of change with a focus on 
indicators, highlighting good practice from the 
grassroots to the international level, and making key recommendations.


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


June 2007

= Commonwealth Partners' Forum 2007 at the 8WAMM, 
Kampala, Uganda, 8 - 10 June 2007
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews07.html#CPF07_June

Prior to the 8th Commonwealth Women Affairs 
Ministers Meeting (8WAMM), representatives from 
civil society came together at a Partners' Forum 
from 8 - 10 June 2007, at Speke Resort Munyonyo, 
Kampala, Uganda. The forum was to discuss and 
report on issues pertaining to the 8WAMM theme: 
"Financing Gender Equality for Development and 
Democracy" and to develop and write a communiqué 
to be presented to the Ministers. This forum 
attracted over 250 representatives of civil 
society organisations from around the 
Commonwealth as well as magistrates, judges, 
parliamentarians, businesswomen and development 
partners interested in gender equality issues.
The Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) Partners 
Forum fed into the plenaries of the Ministerial 
meetings, in which every sixth speaker was a 
civil society representative. The thematic 
working groups at the 8WAMM offered opportunity 
for informal exchanges between government and 
civil society representatives as well as 
promoting open and constructive discussion in the 
government-civil society dialogue. Participation 
of civil society in the 8WAMM provided a unique 
opportunity for dialogue between governments and 
civil society on key gender issues of interest to 
Commonwealth countries. The Partners Forum final 
communiqué to the 8WAMM is available online.

= 8th Women's Affairs Ministers Meeting - 8WAMM, 
Kampala, Uganda, 11 - 14 June 2007
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews07.html#8WAMM

The 8th WAMM was held in Kampala, Uganda, from 11 
- 14 June 2007. Women's Affairs Ministers 
Meetings (WAMMs) are held triennially. The 
Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Don 
McKinnon, is responsible for the general 
organisation and conduct of 8WAMM which is 
serviced by the Commonwealth Secretariat in 
London. The previous meeting, 7WAMM, was held in 
Fiji Islands from 30 May ­ 2 June 2004, and 
Ministers agreed the new Commonwealth Plan of 
Action for Gender Equality 2005-2015.
The 8WAMM is of strategic importance for a number 
of reasons. It is the third WAMM to take place in 
Africa, the previous two were held in Nairobi 
(1985) and Harare (1987). It is the first WAMM 
being held since the new Commonwealth Plan of 
Action for Gender Equality 2005-2015 was agreed 
by Ministers at the 7WAMM (2004), presented to 
the UN Beijing+10 Global Review, and endorsed by 
Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) at their 
meeting in Malta 2005. Finally, it is being held 
five months prior to CHOGM in the same host 
country, Uganda, which offers potential for 
bringing women's empowerment and gender equality 
to the attention of Heads of Government.


September 2007

= Gender Festival 2007, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 11 - 14 September 2007
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews07.html#GF07

The 2007 Gender Festival on 'African Feminist 
Struggles in the Context of Globalization' will 
take place at Tanzania Gender Networking 
Programme (TGNP) Gender Resource Centre, Mabibo, 
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from 11 - 14 September 
2007. The Festival is an open space for bringing 
together feminist and gender-focused groups, 
other civil society organizations, institutions, 
activists and other development actors working at 
various levels to meet, reflect and strategize on 
the progress made in feminist struggles for 
gender equity, social transformation and 
participatory democracy in Tanzania. Discussions 
will take into account the present context of 
corporate-led globalization and 'free market' 
ideology, and their impact on development and 
democracy in Africa and the world over, and 
examine alternative frameworks and strategies.
The 2007 Gender Festival provides a major 
opportunity for feminists, gender and human 
rights activists, civil society organizations, 
students, researchers and others to reflect on 
?herstory?, and take stock of achievements, 
constraints, challenges and potential 
opportunities for fostering joint action to build 
an alternative and better world. At the 
conference, participants from a wide spectrum 
will share their experiences, sharpen their 
skills and capacities, network and establish 
further linkages amongst and between themselves and other actors.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TechTip
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


= Simple guide to setup of a computer

In this month?s tip we cover the setup of a 
computer including monitor, keyboard, mouse and 
so on. A number on organizations have got 
second-hand/refurbished computers without the set 
up instructions, so we hope this will be helpful. 
When available, always read the installation 
instructions to be sure that you are following 
the correct installation method.
1) Installing the Keyboard

Installing a keyboard is very straightforward and 
easy to do, but first you need to determine if 
the keyboard uses a PS/2 or USB connector. The 
PS/2 connector for keyboards is round and 
typically colored purple to match the connection 
on your computer although not all connectors are 
color coordinated. If your keyboard has a USB 
connector, the connector will be flat and rectangular in shape.

2) Installing the Mouse

Installing a mouse is very similar to installing 
a keyboard. You will still find mice with either 
USB or PS/2 connectivity. To complete the 
installation, simply plug the mouse into the 
proper port, (typically colored green for the PS/2).

3) Installing the Monitor

Installing a monitor (also known as a ?display?) 
requires a free power outlet and identifying the 
connection port you will use to connect the 
monitor to your CPU (?Computer?). On the CPU, 
this port is typically colored blue.

4) Installing the Printer

Most printers on the market today will also use a 
USB connection; however, parallel port printers 
are still fairly common. You can also set up a 
printer over the network if you have another 
computer on a local area network (LAN) with a 
printer attached and shared. This method is beyond the scope of this tech tip.
Typically, you will either be connecting your 
printer via USB or parallel line printer (LPT) 
ports (usually colored red). Printer installation 
typically requires that you install the drivers 
(printer operating software) first then plug the 
printer in via USB or parallel port. The OS 
(operating system) will finish up the install for you after that.

5) Installing a Scanner

Installing a scanner is almost identical to 
installing your printer. Again, you will simply 
need to install the drivers and then plug the USB cable in.

Remember, when available, read the installation 
instructions to be sure that you are following 
the correct installation method.

This Tech Tip was compiled by the WOUGNET 
Technical Support Team. Adopted from an article by Shane McGlaun:
<http://www.geeks.com/techtips/2006/techtips-24aug06.htm>
For more information or for assistance in 
managing your computer, contact techsupport@xxxxxxxxxxx


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

= Citizen Journalism in Africa
http://www.wougnet.org/Projects/wougnetprojects.html#CJA

The Citizen Journalism in Africa project is a new 
three-year initiative funded by both Hivos and 
the EU. Hivos is working with SANGONet (South 
Africa) on this project. The aim of the project 
is to increase civil society organisations? use 
of and interaction with various forms of media. 
This will help them maximise their communication 
strategies and reach. It is hoped that this will 
strengthen the organisations? use of media and 
increase quality information dissemination 
capacity using multiple platforms. The project is 
targeting six countries i.e. South Africa, 
Uganda, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia and 
Tanzania. In each of these countries, two Country 
Focal Points (CFPs) will act as country hubs, 
working with 15 local organisations. The focus of 
the interaction with local organisations will be 
knowledge sharing, learning journalism skills, 
media, publication skills and information 
dissemination. It is hoped that these 
organisations will also learn how to use these 
skills and resources effectively.
In Uganda, the CFPs are WOUGNET and Busoga Rural 
Open Source Development Initiatives (BROSDI). To 
inaugurate the project, Hivos organised a Get ­ 
to ­ know workshop that was held in Pretoria, 
South Africa from 3 - 6 July 2007. This workshop 
is the inception of a three tier-approach:
-	Build the capacity of two forerunner 
organisations in each country to act as a country 
learning hub, or in other words ­ the country 
focal point. These organisations are the focal 
points for 15 participating organisations in 
their countries. The vision behind this is that 
with the creation of a firm training and 
knowledge sharing base and network in a country, 
strong(er) organisations can act as a catalyst for weaker organisations.
-	Provide, encourage and facilitate pro-active 
online learning activities. The project will have 
its? own e-learning platform.
-       Encourage peer-to-peer review and on-the-job learning.


Learning activities will focus on digital media 
skills, journalistic professionalism and publishing skills.
The expected results of the Hivos/SANGONet programme are:
-	Improved capacity of Selected African CSOs 
including community media organisation to use 
media tools (edge-of the net applications, 
traditional and digital media tools) effectively 
and in a journalistically sound manner
-	Increased collaborative networking, learning 
and knowledge sharing between participants and 
training partners on the regional and the country 
level facilitating improved access to and higher 
quality of media contributions.
-	Increased presence of and access to diverse and 
journalistically sound content on the situation 
of women and other marginalized groups (as 
defined in this proposal) in the media of the target countries
Organisations targeted are mainly organisations 
working in HIV/AIDS, women (gender), youth and 
children and rural communities (sustainable production/microcredit).
For more information on the Uganda program, contact info@xxxxxxxxxxxx



= Call for expressions of interest: Refurbished Computers

Ten years ago, Tony Roberts and two colleagues 
came up with the idea of assisting communities in 
less developed countries with computers. They 
started Computer Aid, a UK based charity that 
refurbishes computers and ships them to various 
communities in the world. This year, the charity 
celebrates a decade with an aim of surpassing the 
100,000 computers' mark. To date, Computer Aid 
has provided about 90,000 computers to various 
organizations, 75 per cent of them in Africa, and 
the numbers are rising by the day.
As a result of the WOUGNET - Computer Aid 
Partnership, a shipment of refurbished Pentium 
III and IV 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. All interested please 
contact Milton Aineruhanga, Technical Support, by 
email: techsupport@xxxxxxxxxxx or call 
077-2411556 or 041-4532035 for more details and to make a booking.


***********************************************************************

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

WOUGNET is supported by APC, CTA, Dimitra/FAO and Hivos

***********************************************************************