[UgaBYTES] National Strategy on Strengthening the use of ICTs to combat Violence Against Women and Girls

[Sandra Nassali]

On the 22nd and 23rd of Sept.2009, Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)
in collaboration with the Association for Progressive Communication
Women's Network Support Program ( APC WNSP) held a National Strategy
Workshop at NobView Hotel, Kampala Uganda whose main objective was to
enable stakeholders in the areas of Violence Against Women (VAW) and
ICT to explore and understand the connections between VAW and ICT; and
develop strategies to find collective and integrated solutions to end
violence against women and girls, paying particular attention to ICT
policies and interventions.

It was argued that though ICTs continue to enhance social change and
economic development, their policies and interventions continue in
many ways to suppress the rights of women.

WOUGNET is implementing the “Strengthening Women's Strategic use of
Information and Communication Technologies to Combat Violence Against
Women and Girls” project in the country. The project builds on APC
WNSP's work on VAW and ICTs and is aimed at helping women participants
to negotiate fraught terrain of the new digital landscape, in which
ICTs hold out both the promise of greatly increased freedoms and also
the growing concerns about privacy and security. The project will use
multi-faceted approach to the intersection between ICT use and
violence against women and girls, which includes skills, knowledge,
advocacy and community building.

The project will promote and support the use of ICTs by women and
women organizations in Uganda so that they can take advantage of the
opportunities presented by ICTs in order to effectively address
national and local problems of Sustainable National Development.

During implementation of the project, there will be integration of
modern technologies and traditional modes of communication since these
reach different audiences in different geographical settings.

Among the proposed activities for implementing the project is “Take
Back The Tech Project”; which is a 16 day activism campaign aimed at
promoting the use of ICTs to fight against VAW through on-line and
off-line activities for instance through regional camps where young
girls will be targeted, peaceful demonstrations in main towns, through
the use of placards and bill boards in strategic places, through on
line forums and knowledge sharing platforms' among others.

“Feminist Tech Exchange” is also another value added service in the
project. This will empower participants (women) with ICT capacity
building skills e.g digital story telling, book marking, blogging,
basic computer skills, etc; which they will use in the long run to
help fight against VAW with in their homes and communities.

The 2 day workshop was a success as its main objectives were met. Lets
all hope for the best!!

Cheers

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Sandra Nassali
Community Facilitator
UgaBYTES Initiative (www.ugabytes.org)
Telecentre.org  (www.telecentrecommunity.ning.com)
Plot 2218 Ggaba Road,
2nd Floor Kangave House
P.O. Box 6081 K'la
Email  snassali at ugabytes.org
chat    (skype)- n.sandra.
Tel      +256-414-370163