[Ict4ruralwomeninafrica] Introduction

[UDS - Kampala]

Greetings to you all.

My names are Rita Mijumbi Epodoi. I work with Uganda Development
Services(UDS), an NGO that empowers the rural poor with information that
assists them to improve their livelihoods.

UDS seeks to fight poverty in rural communities in Uganda by enabling
individuals and groups to overcome the barriers, which prevent them from
improving their livelihoods. This goal provides UDS with 4 specific
objectives:
*Information empowerment
*Technical empowerment
*Educational empowerment
*Economic empowerment

I believe that ICTs can contribute to the advancement of rural womens'
empowerement if adapted to suit them. ICTs can be used in creative and
innovative ways to overcome several barriers which, otherewise prevent rural
women from improving their livelihoods.

 I also believe that for rural women to participate effectively in the
benefits ICTs have to offer they need to be economically and technically
empowered.

Look forward to the discussion



UDS identified works in four main areas where we
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jennifer Radloff" <jenny@apcwomen.org>
To: <ict4ruralwomeninafrica@lists.womensnet.org.za>
Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2004 11:45 AM
Subject: [Ict4ruralwomeninafrica] Welcome to the e-consultation and
introductions


> Greetings All,
>
> Apologies for the 1 day delay in starting. We had to sort out a technical
> mailing list problem! So let's begin.
>
> Welcome to the e-consultation on ICTs for the advancement of rural
> women's empowerment: Strategies, platforms, tools and training.
>
> In this email I will:
>
> * briefly outline the process of this e-consultation
> * invite people to send in a brief introduction of themselves and
> their work and/or interest in the topic.
>
> To give you some idea of how our e-consultation process will work. As
> facilitator I will begin discussions by posing the questions as
> outlined in the invitation to join the e-consultation. These are
> merely guides for our discussions. You are welcome throughout our
> e-consultation to contribute personal and organizational stories,
> resources, activities and events that would contribute to the
> discussion and to the workshop deliberations.
>
> My introduction: I am based in Cape Town, South Africa and I
> coordinate APC-Africa-Women which is a project of the Association for
> Progressive Communications. We are a membership-based network of
> organisations and individuals that work to empower African women's
> organisations to access and use ICTs for equality and development.
> http://www.apcafricawomen.org
>
> We do this through training, information facilitation, gender and ict
> policy and advocacy, networking, research.
>
> I believe that the appropriate use of technologies can contribute to
> social empowerment and a more just and equitable world. There are
> many
> creative and innovative examples particularly in the "developing"
> world. ICTs need to "speak to" and evolve from social needs rather
> than being imposed or applied. ICTs can be useful tools for positive
> social change but also as tools for deepening unequal power relations!
>
>
> I look forward to hearing more about your work and discussing the
> topic at hand.
>
> Again - a very warm welcome to you all!
>
> Jenny Radloff
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Ict4ruralwomeninafrica mailing list
> Ict4ruralwomeninafrica@lists.womensnet.org.za
> http://lists.womensnet.org.za/mailman/listinfo/ict4ruralwomeninafrica
>
>