strategic use and foss

On 30 and 31 August 2014, 39 women engineers and technologists created nine prototypes of software applications aimed at solving social problems in the north of Costa Rica, at the First Women's Hackathon, organised by APC member organisation Sulá Batsú through its TIC-AS project, with the support of UN Women's Fund for Gender Equality.

“Strategising Online Activism: A Toolkit” was designed for and by women activists but can be used by everyone. Key chapters include: strategising and planning your online activism; creating your campaign’s identity; social networking and security on the internet. vioThe guide provides practical and accessible step-by-step advice, while keeping a political and feminist eye. It was developed by APC…

Les logiciels libres sont une vraie solution aux problèmes de fracture numérique qu’engendre le sous -développement. En effet, il est désormais indéniable qu’ils ont, avec l’implication des femmes et leur prise en compte comme actrices incontournables, une part importante à jouer dans la création d’un environnement favorable à un développement équitable et durable.

Fatma Mint Elkory Oumrane takes a look at the progress Mauritania is making in encouraging open access to materials, its copyright regime and how these impact on women. She examines the role of women as ICT graduates and looks at how the government is helping overcome the various digital divides - and the large amount of work that remains to be done.

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…

The GenARDIS grants programme was developed in recognition of the ICT-related constraints and challenges faced by rural women in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The grants winners took part in a knowledge sharing workshop on gender, agriculture and rural development in the information society in Entebbe, Uganda from July 3 to 8. The following is a report by Sylvie Niombo - Deputy…

FOSS has the potential to change the way women relate with ICTs, allowing for more control over the tools they use. As Users, women will have the freedom from steep licensing fees and the opportunity to influence software development to meet their needs. As developers, the open principle behind FOSS encourages a more collaborative environment, in which women may discover more freedom to create…

Olga Paz, Administrative and Project Coordinator at Colnodo, a Colombian member of Association for Progressive Communications (APC), explains in this interview with GenderIT that in her country there is still not a clear gender perspective on national ICT policies and that there is still a way to go in achieving an understanding of the role of ICT as a political and strategic issue that can be…

Sulamita Garcia is a 28-year-old consultant who specialises in Unix systems and is completely enthusiastic about free and open source software. She is responsible for the LinuxChix Brasil project. In this interview for GenderIT, Sulamita tells about the recent experience of LinuxChix Brasil, which is delivering online courses on FLOSS for women. She speaks about prejudice, stereotypes and the…

Wireless networks is attracting growing attention across the globe, as a plausible way of providing internet access in marginal areas or in cases where costs are prohibitive. Cristo Redentor Telecentre co-ordinator Cristina Ojeda joined a workshop on wireless networking organized by the Latin American School of Networking EsLaRed) in Mérida, Venezuela and narrates her experience.