African women and the informatin age: a rare opportunity

ECA-CEA

Economic Commission for Africa

Commission economique pour l'Afrique

THEME 3

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An lntemational Conference AddisAbaba, Ethiopia 28 April-1 May 1998

AFRICAN WOMEN AND THE INFORMATION AGE: A RARE OPPORTUNITY

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The information age has revolutionized the way in which knowledge and information flow. .Data and information can be accessed at a much faster speed and in greater quantity. These developments have changed the information dissemination system from one based on distribution to one where information is stored at a site which usen~ may access at any time. In contrast to the notion of information distribution, the notion of information access has become an essential characteristic of information and communications technologies.

The four sub- themes reviewed were the following:

• i,How to make information technology policies work for women;

• Establishing information centers for women;

• New information technologies as tools for democratization; and

• The impact of information and communications technologies on women's work.

In these areas, Africa was not starting from scratch. Participants shared their several experiences which should be documented, supported and consolidated and finally extended so that the expertise they were developing could be known.

Challenges

• The fact that women have no idea of the importance of the information revolution;

• Difficulty of access and prohibitive costs;

• Sustainability;

• Illiteracy;

• The access of women to needs-related knowledge should not conceal the need for them to produce their own information and develop their own knowledge base and experience;

• Infrastructures lacking in such utilities as electricity; and

• Competition among donors.

Policy options and strategic action •

• The impact of ICT on African women and the potential benefit they stand to reap should be clearly defined; ,

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• Such information should be disseminated among African women's groups in order to elicit itheir. participation in leT

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decision making; .. ^{0. .. • •.•.}

• Women should be equipped to .:participate in ICT po]i.cy discuasion in terms of technical expertise, knowledge of their needs and the regulatory framework;

• Gender issues generally concerning ICT production, use and acquisition should be identified;

• Governments should be encouraged to open up the ICT debate to all groups concerned;

• Working with governments to ensure that their policy options are in line with the AlSI proposals;

• Involving women in the incorporation of a gender perspective at all stages of policy formulation (awareness raising, policy drafting, implementation and review).

Action for the establishment of information centers

An information center may be defined as an exchange forum serving people, particularly the most disadvantaged women in the rural areas or small towns. The means of exchange are identified on the basis of three issue-related needs: poverty (physical or paucity of knowledge), security and social change.

Information and communications technologies should therefore adapt to therefore context and incorporate multimedia, oral tradition and computer science.

Moreover, such centres will be the extension of already existing community structures, such as schools, health centres or religious establishments.

What therefore needs to be done is to:

• Document experiences and build upon_wh~talready exists;

• Establish information centres in disadvantaged rural and urban areas following an analysis of neep.§,\~J}g..pri9~~!ies in terms of .information (health, agriculture) qeffi¥d15y theparticu];;tr areas;

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• Develop participation based on .a-dialogue between men and women to foster social change and alter men's perception of women;

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• Use participatory management and a flexible system of coordination as a basis; . " ..., ....

• .Cross-cutting applications: for example the transmission of data generated by women at the local level will permit the .inclusion of such data in national accounts and statistics;

Actions relating to new technologies as instruments of democratisation:

""Democracy is perceived as a process, and as far as women are concerned, this should include the social, economic and political . fields. It should be a process of involvement in the family, community and government, and not one of policy-making behind closed doors.

It is therefore, essential to:

• Develop women's access to ICTs through user-friendly tools;

• With contents thatgre relevant to women, and reflect the reality

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of illiteracy in qfflsial.J~nguages and oral tradition. ,!oice recognition techniques' could thus be popularized; ..

• Use ITCs to help promote the participation, of women and to educate them on their r i g h t s ; '

• Develop the capacities and credibility of women members of parliament and local counsellors by giving them access to knowledge;

• Develop two-way communications and initiate a dialogue among various actors should be initiated. For example, it should be ensured that women can inform the legislator of their needs;

• Ensure that the gender dimension is taken into account in national information, and communications workshops, and .organise gender poJlicy specific workshops;

• Develop linkages between the old and new technologies and translate data in English into the' national languages, and disaeminate such data through the most accessible media such as the radio;

• Promote networking among women's groups.

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Actions concerning the impact ,of technologies on women's work Such actions are based on the need for technologies to be appropriate and help to strengthen capacities and organisation at

". the local level.

The following actions were identified:

• Data' bases, which may be regional in scope, should be developed in order to share initiatives and develop models that , women can discuss.

• Policies should be tailored to Africa, and education and training should serve to develop women's capacities;

• The "aim of training should be not only to develop professionalism but also to cater to the needs of young people;

• ITCs that promote regional integration and networking should be developed;

• ITCs should be used to promote the expansion of local markets and to provide women producers with a,' direct 'access to international markets and production resources (virtual market place);

• Pilot projects should be used to establish telecentres in the remotest areas.

Synergy

All the groups emphasized the need for synergy among various groups,PArticularly central and local government" civil-society

ips~itutiQiisi information-technology netwotks,private-sector entities.anc] local communities, in order that the appropiration of

~~chp-qlqgies by African operators COUld; IJe the basis" for

~ustai~~hiW:Y. Another group was identified' the diaspora, which could contribute intellectual and material resources to African- oriented, African-inspired development, par~icularly

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A number of partners were identified. It emerged from the debate that partnerships with bilateral and fnultilateral institutions, and other institutions coricerned with international cooperation, were no lsnger viewed in the perspective of financing, but from the standpoint of advocacy to help women influence policy in the area

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of information and communications technology and to infuse gender-sensitivity into the policy-making sphere. Partnerships evidently stand to gain from linkages with various initiatives that have been introduced in Africa in markets, skills-building, and so on. Indeed, the outcome of this meeting should be considered by ECA's partners in the Initiative for an Information Society in Africa, the Telecom 98 Africa Conference in Johannesburg, and the Conference on global linkages in Africa, in Addis Ababa.

Imperatives for ECA and ACW

• Assess the situation, particularly ⁱⁿ connection with the information centres for women;

• cultivate greater awareness about ACW;

• Act as a catalyst in sharing experiences and in the production of materials;

• Develop follow-up and evaluation mechanisms;

• Develop a reference centre for information and amelioration of training mechanisms;

• ACW should in due course become an open forum for debate and continuous follow-up in respect of various social actors that are a source of information, expertise and so on.