WOUGNET Update Newsletter - October 2007

[Dorothy Okello <dokello@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

WOUGNET Update Newsletter - October 2007
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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

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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. TechTip
6. WOUGNET News
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WOMEN ORGANISATIONS IN UGANDA
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= Marginalized Women in Development
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/mwdug.html
Based in Wakiso District, Marginalized Women in 
Development supports the social welfare, 
education, health care and development of the 
poor, needy, widowed and marginalized women and 
girl children. It is also meant to offer basic 
and vocational education to the target groups 
named above so that they attain knowledge and 
skills for their empowerment and self reliance.
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#MWDUG



= Mayuge Women Integrated Development Concern (MAIDECO)
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/maideco.html
Based in Mayuge District, MAIDECO's mission is to 
step up for women development and fight violence 
amicably. Activities include capacity building; 
engaging in policy planning and advocating for 
policies which favour women; and fighting for 
protection against women and child abuse, child labour and defilement.
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#MAIDECO



= Commonwealth Women's Network (CWN): Workshop on 
Realising Women's Potential in Transforming 
Commonwealth Societies through financing Gender 
Equality Work, November 20, 2007
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/cwnuganda.html

A workshop on realising women?s potential is 
being organized around the themes of the CHOGM 
?Transforming Commonwealth Societies to achieve 
Political, Economic and Human Development? and 
the Commonwealth People's Forum (CPF) theme of 
?Realising People?s Potential?. The workshop is 
scheduled for Tuesday 20th November, 2007 from 
12.00noon - 7.30pm at Hotel Africana Kampala 
Uganda. The workshop will be underpinned by a 
debate on financing gender equality work with specific objectives as;
- To facilitate policy dialogue on the importance 
of resource allocation for promoting Gender 
Equality specifically focusing on the need for 
engendered policy making processes in resource 
allocation for economic and human development 
spheres of the commonwealth society.
- To identify and discuss the centrality of 
financing gender and in particular promotion of 
women?s rights to achieving targets that will be 
set in CHOGM Declaration and CPF statement.
- To take forward discussions of financing gender 
equality work and to identify key massages from 
civil society for upcoming review of Paris 
declaration on Aid Effectiveness in 2008 in Accra Ghana
- To devise strategies for working towards the 
implementation of the commonwealth plan of action for Gender Equality.
The workshop will officially be opened by Hon. 
Syda Bbumba Namirembe, Minister for Gender Labour 
and Social Development, Republic of Uganda. We 
shall be joined by several other Commonwealth 
delegates. For the resource persons, we shall 
have a key presenter on the topic Ms. Zawadi 
Nyong?o who will also give the global experiences on aid effectiveness.
Ms. Elizabeth Eilor will give the African 
regional perspective of aid effectiveness,
Ms. Rae Julian will present on the Caribbean perspective
Ms. Paulette Senior will give the Canadian perspective and
Ms. Doris Bingley is to present on the European experience.
Ms. Nelcia Robinson from the Caribbean 
Association for Feminist Research and Action 
(CAFRA) will facilitate the group report back 
session. All the above attended the 8WAMM Partners Forum.
A copy of the Workshop Programme is available 
online at http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/cwnuganda.html


= Isis-WICCE: The Uganda Women Coalition for 
Peace commemorates the International Day of Peace
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/isis.html
The Uganda Women Coalition for Peace commemorated 
the International day of Peace, by organizing a 
two days skills building workshop, from 19th to 
21st September, spearheaded by one of its 
coalition members (Centre for Conflict Resolution 
CECORE), to strengthen the members' capacity in 
the spectrum of conflict handling mechanisms 
(focus on negotiations, mediation and 
reconciliation and strategies of communication), 
as preparation for Isis-Women's International 
Cross Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE) 
participation in the Juba peace talks continues. The training
was creative in that the practical hands - on, 
which involved developing a dummy Juba 
negotiation table where members carried out moots 
as a way of practicing their negotiation skills, 
lobbying in very complex circumstances such as those in Juba.
The coalition also held deep reflection of the 
successes, gaps and challenges that we have 
experienced as a way of guarding from situations
that could water down the resilience the 
coalition has so far attained, as well as 
planning for the future after the peace negotiations are over.
The key outcome included:
- identifying and mapping out a road map for 
women's participation in the peace process
- How to address the external forces that may 
derail our approach to the peace process
- Developing a media strategy to keep the 
coalition's contribution to the Juba peace 
process visible and recognized by the two parties
- Develop a programme for continuous consultation 
with the survivors of the conflict on what they 
would wish to be discussed, and providing the feedback
- Source for funding to enable members of the 
coalition participate in the commemoration of the UNR1325 among others.
For more information, please visit http://www.isis.or.ug/



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ICT POLICY
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= Launch of an interactive web-based platform in 
support of agriculture and rural development (Press Release)
?e-agriculture is a truly demand-driven 
platform,? according to FAO?s Anton Mangstl
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/agriculture.html#eAgric

28 September 2007, Rome ­ The UN Food and 
Agriculture Organization today announced the 
launch of a unique interactive web-based platform 
focusing on the role that Information and 
Communication Technologies (ICT) can have in 
supporting agriculture and rural development.
The online platform, www.e-agriculture.org, will 
enable users to exchange opinions, experiences, 
good practices and resources related to 
e-agriculture, and to ensure that the knowledge 
created is effectively shared and used worldwide.
Developed by global stakeholders in collaboration 
with FAO and partners, the platform is part of an 
e-agriculture Community of Expertise, a global 
initiative to enhance sustainable agricultural 
development and food security by improving the use of ICT in the sector.
The Community includes policy makers, rural 
service providers, development practitioners, 
farmers, researchers and information and 
communication specialists involved in agriculture and rural development.
Over 3400 stakeholders from 135 countries were 
involved in the development of the 
www.e-agriculture.org platform. They participated 
in an online survey, providing relevant content, 
and joining in virtual forums held during July and August 2007.
-- The digital divide

Over the past decade, the digital divide - the 
divide between those with regular, effective 
access to digital and ICT and those without - has 
been shrinking in terms of numbers of fixed phone 
lines, mobile subscribers, and Internet users.
Nonetheless, only 18 percent of the world's 
population have currently access to the internet. 
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 
estimates that one billion people worldwide still 
lack connection to any kind of information and 
communication technology. Of these people, most 
depend in some way on agriculture for their livelihoods.
?Stakeholders from around the globe have guided 
FAO and its partner organizations in what is now 
a truly demand-driven platform,? states Anton 
Mangstl, Director of FAO?s Knowledge Exchange and Capacity Building Division.
?We are confident that the e-agriculture 
Community of Expertise will help facilitate 
further global discussions and decisions facing 
farmers, governments and the international 
community-at-large related to the role that ICT 
can have in agriculture and rural development,? Mr. Mangstl also said.
The launch of e-agriculture.org coincided with an 
?e-agriculture Week?, a series of consultations, 
meetings and other events held at FAO 
headquarters, in Rome (including Web2for Dev), 
which brought together over 300 global 
participants looking at the role of information, 
communication and knowledge management in Agriculture and Rural Development.
To join the e-agriculture Community of Expertise, 
please visit www.e-agriculture.org
For more information, Contact:
Charlotte A. Masiello-Riome
Communication and Promotion Officer
Knowledge Exchange and Capacity Building Division
Knowledge and Communication Department
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Telephone: +39 06 57055972
Email: Charlotte.Masiello@xxxxxxx




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

a) ICT resources

= International Journal of Computing and ICT Research (IJCIR)
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/ictresources.html#IJCIR
A bi-annual journal - The International Journal 
of Computing and ICT Research (IJCIR) - has been 
launched by Makerere University, Uganda. The 
journal's main aim is to highlight new research 
developments, experiences and best practices in 
computing and the use of information 
communication technologies (ICT) in development. 
IJCIR publishes and seeks papers in Computer 
Science, Computer Engineering, Software 
Engineering, Information Systems, Data 
Communications and Computer Networks, ICT for 
Sustainable Development, and other related areas.


b) Women & Gender

= ICON
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/aboutwomen.html#ICON
ICON is a socially responsible development 
organisation in Uganda that strives to shape 
individual citizens and local organisations that 
are productive, financially healthy, efficient 
and effective in all they do. ICON envisions a 
totally transformed, developed and violence free 
Africa led by a new breed of women leaders and 
young leaders. The mission is to fully unleash 
the visionary leadership potential of African 
women and young people through self-help, 
self-determination and self-employment.
The pillar of ICON's work is a Women and Young 
Leaders Network (WYLN) that aims to nurture 
generations of visionary leaders and citizens 
through the provision of tailored on-going 
mentorship and technical support to individual 
women leaders, young leaders and their 
organisations. Eligble members of this network 
are women leaders in any field, young people 
(children and young adults) and male leaders who 
are working with women and young people.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PROJECT NEWS AND EVENTS
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December 2007

=nGOmobile - SMS Competition for NGOs
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews07.html#nGOm

Mobile phone use is spreading through the 
developing world quicker  than a bushfire. This 
should be great news for the non-profit 
sector,but not everyone is reaping the benefit quite yet. The massive
potential of mobile technology, particularly at 
grass-roots level, has already been demonstrated. 
Examples from around the world include ... 
patients receiving text message (SMS) reminders 
to take their medicine, so they no longer waste 
time and money travelling to their  nearest 
clinic. Farmers finding out the current market 
price before  deciding whether to take their 
produce to market that day. National  parks 
communicating details about dangerous animals, 
providing an early warning system to mitigate 
against human-wildlife conflict. Unemployed 
youths in Nairobi's shantytowns receiving texts 
alerting them to job opportunities in the city...
kiwanja.net have just launched their latest 
mobile initiative - nGOmobile which is a 
competition which encourages grassroots NGOs in 
developing countries to submit ideas on ways they could use text
messaging in their work. The breadth of SMS use 
is staggering, but kiwanja.net have the feeling 
that we're still only just scratching the 
surface. nGOmobile wants us all to dig a little 
deeper. Better still, we want to give you the 
opportunity to exploit the full potential of mobile technology in your work
nGOmobile is a text message-based competition 
aimed exclusively and unashamedly at grassroots 
non-profit organisations working for positive 
social and environmental change throughout the 
developing world. Behind the scenes, these unsung 
heroes of the NGO community battle against the 
daily realities of life in a developing country, 
where it can take all day to fulfil the simplest 
task. These people don't lack passion and 
commitment. They lack tools and resources.  We're 
here to change all that. Every year, nGOmobile 
will enable four worthy winners to leapfrog the 
mobile technology barrier. The competition wants 
to encourage NGOs to think more about how mobile 
technology could be applied in their work. If you 
need inspiration, there are plenty of examples in 
the kiwanja Mobile Database 
<http://www.kiwanja.net/database/kiwanja_search.php>.
NGOs from developing countries are invited to 
submit a short proposal outlining how text 
messaging could make their job easier. The ideas 
don't need to be rocket science, or even 
earth-shatteringly original. Sometimes the best 
ideas are the simplest, easiest and most obvious. 
We should know - most of ours have been! What we 
are looking for is impact - a clear indication 
that winning an amazing prize, and gaining access 
to mobile technology, would revolutionise your 
work and turn mission impossible into mission accomplished...
The best four entries will win laptop computers, 
Nokia phones, GSM modems and $1,000 in cash, 
courtesy of a range of sponsors which include 
Hewlett Packard, Nokia and Wieden+Kennedy.
The competition is open from now until 14th 
December 2007. Full details, and links to the 
entry form, are available on the competition 
website at http://www.ngomobile.org


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TechTip
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= Sending PowerPoint Handouts to Word

You can share the content of your PowerPoint 
presentation by printing your outline and all your notes and handouts.
1. Open a presentation in PowerPoint.

2. Choose File, Send To, Microsoft Office Word.

3. In the Send To Microsoft Office Word dialog 
box, select the desired page layout for your presentation:
Handouts: Choose either Blank Lines Next to Slides or Blank Lines Below Slides.
Notes: Choose Notes Next to Slides or Notes Below Slides.
Outline: Choose Outline only.

If you choose Handouts or Notes, specify whether 
you want to add the slides to Word as embedded 
files (paste) or linked files (paste link). Note 
that if you link the files, when you update them 
in PowerPoint they will also be updated in Word.
4. Click OK. Your chosen presentation information 
will appear as a new document in Word.
5. Edit, format, and print the information as desired.

- -
Complied by the WOUGNET Techsupport team from 
Vicki Blackwell?s Internet Guide for Educators, 
Techtip #69 http://www.vickiblackwell.com/tips.html
For more information or for assistance in 
managing your computer and in using the Internet, 
contact techsupport@xxxxxxxxxxx


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

= WOUGNET featured in eGov monitor: Enhancing 
Access to Information by Rural Women
   http://www.egovmonitor.com/womenict

It is given that ICT can make a huge difference 
in the quality of life of women and thus 
communities in all parts of the world. Yet, many 
cannot participate due to various socio-economic, 
cultural and other barriers. In the case of 
WOUGNET, the focus is on helping women with 
knowledge and economic empowerment but also 
enabling them to fully participate in Ugandan 
civil society. The last of a three-part series on 
WOUGNET featured activities with a focus on 
Enhancing Access to Information by Rural Women. 
The article is available online at: 
http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/14541. The 
article uses as examples two projects implemented 
in Apac District, Northern Uganda, under the Rural Access Program:
a)      The Enhancing Access to Agricultural 
Information using Information and Communication 
Technologies (EAAI)  project which is implemented 
in twelve parishes/villages of Atik, Abedi, 
Apac,  Kungu, Awila, Apoi,  Aumi, Agege, Angic, 
Adyeda, Bar Akalo and Adyang of Maruzi and Kole 
counties in Apac District. The project was 
initiated with financial support from the 
Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural 
Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA), and targets grassroot 
women farmers as the main beneficiaries while not 
excluding men or the youth in the project 
activities. Located in Apac town, the Kubere 
Information Centre (KIC) was also established to 
act both as an Information Resource point as well 
as to support project implementation and two-way 
linkages with the women farmers. Local 
agricultural content has been produced and 
disseminated via radio and SMS messages as well 
as on audiotapes, video tapes and CD-ROMs. The 
content is made available in the local language, 
Luo, and disseminated to farmers. The EAAI 
project was initiated in 2005 to develop and 
improve information and communication systems so 
as to enable easy access to agricultural information for rural women farmers.
b)     Since late 2006, WOUGNET is also 
partnering in an e-Society programme that seeks 
to foster collaboration between local government 
and civil society in Apac district through the 
use of ICTs.  With financial and technical 
support from Hivos and IICD, it involves local 
government at the district and sub-county levels 
as well as civil society organisations active at 
district and community level. Experiences with 
joint civil society and government activities in 
e-governance on a local level are not common and 
are not widely documented. Through the e-Society 
programme, IICD and Hivos wish to explore and 
operationalise, together with government and 
civil society partners, the opportunities of 
improved governance and service delivery through 
the use of ICT. Hivos and IICD consider this as 
an incubator for a workable e-Society model at 
the district level that can and should be rolled 
out in other districts. To ensure that lessons 
learnt do actually lead to improvement of the 
model, monitoring and evaluation will be key 
activities in this process ­ and it is here that 
WOUGNET and I-Network, the local national partners, play a major role.
The three articles on WOUGNET have been 
contributed under a project that the Center for 
Women and Information Technology (CWIT) is 
working with PDI/eGov monitor 
<http://www.egovmonitor.com/womenict> on a 
campaign to promote knowledge on "Women in 
Information and Communication technologies 
(ICTs)".  The project is called "Economic 
Empowerment of Women Through ICT" and was 
launched on 23 July 2007 with the following 
article from Samia Melhem, Senior Operations 
Officer, Policy Division (CITPO), Global 
Information and Communication Technology, The 
World Bank Group.  The launch article is 
available online at: 
http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/13082. The first 
article on WOUGNET was an overview of WOUGNET's 
activities in empowering women with ICT, and is 
online at http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/14194. 
The second article focused on WOUGNET's 
activities in advocating for gender-sensitive ICT 
policies in Uganda, and is online at http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/14373



= 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.


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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

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