access

Civil society entities, academic figures and government officials met in Sao Paulo during the first few days of July to participate in the first seminar of the preparatory process for the meeting of the Internet Governance Forum, with the aim of developing proposals to take to that forum next November. Amongst the presentations, the talk “Internet governance and issues of gender” by gender and…

Is there a direct connection between empowerment and access to information and communication technologies? Patricia Litho interrogates this question through the CEEWA ICT project case study in rural Uganda. She examines the conceptualisation of empowerment, and its relationship with infrastructure, skills, connectivity, access and participation.

Natalia Fernández-Diaz identifies the difficulties of understanding feminist concerns regarding the needs and potential benefits of emerging technologies in what is usually known as ‘Arab countries’. Locating the relationship between women and ICTs in women’s movements, Fernández-Diaz interrogates the concepts of technologists, producers, users, victims and indirect beneficiaries in this complex…

In the area of telecommunications, Ghana appears to perform relatively well in relation to its neighbours in the West-African region. How does it fare in terms of ensuring that gender concerns are taken into consideration whilst promoting ICTs for development? Emily Nyarko examines this question through a closer look at the Strategic Document for ICT and Gender in the national ICT policy agenda.

Uruguay has one of the highest rates of internet coverage in Latin America, but studies that demonstrate this fact is gender-blind. So what have been the experiences of Uruguayan women with new technologies in relation to the three basic dimensions of any digital inclusion initiative, connectivity, education and infrastructure? This article is translated from the original version written in…

Dafne Sabanes Plou is the regional coordinator for Latin America for the APC Women’s Networking Support Programme (WNSP). In mid-March she coordinated the “Building inclusive community networks” workshop in Comodoro Rivadavia, Chubut Province, Argentina, in which women interested in learning about strategic uses of information and communication technologies took part. This is an account of the…

This article examines the discrepancy between Pakistan's national IT policy and the reality of access and use on the ground. It argues a case for the revision of this policy by taking into existing account socio-cultural inequalities.

Cris Ojeda, a network technician and Nodo Tau collaborator in Argentina, recounts her experience at a wireless roaming nework training project carried out in Paraguay, during which she was the sole female participant.

The London Offices of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) recently received an unprecedented appeal for increased food aid. What was different about this appeal was the manner in which it was sent. According to a United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights report, a Somali refugee in Northern Kenya's Dagahaley refugee camp sent a text message by mobile phone to the WFP offices…

Cheekay Cinco, member of APC WNSP, interviews Nancy Hafkin, woman pioneer of networking and ICTs development in Africa on her thoughts about the current gender and ICT policy environment. She reflects on the WSIS process and the recent Commission on the Status of Women, and articulates what is urgently needed to render visible the gender dimensions of ICTs at policy levels.