ADF Discussion List - Summary of discussion on the role Women and Youth in Moving Africa into the Information Age

The discussion on the role of women and youth in moving Africa into the Information Age ran from 20-26 September 1999 and was focused around the following questions from the moderator: how can ICT be used
to improve women's disadvantaged position in the region? What policy actions are necessary to ensure that women have access as ICTs become more available in the region? What actions are already taking place in
this regard specifically with regard to youth? What is the situation of our youth in Africa if they do not have access to ICTs? Does it matter? What are some initiatives already happening to ensure access for youth in the region to ICTs? Again, what policy actions are necessary to ensure that this happens on a sustained basis? The responses given to these questions are summarized below:

ICTs and African Women

A reference was made to the World Conference on Women at Beijing in 1995 where the discouraging picture of ICT utilisation in Africa was apparent. List members declared that today the image has been changed significantly in that several virtual networks for women of Africa have been set up and connectivity to regional and global networks has become a reality.

Participants pointed out that ICTs, especially the Internet, are advantageous for women because they creates forums that could be used to discuss issues of common interest and hence initiate collective
actions for development. In this connection, it was advised that providing training courses to women on the language of the web and the use of techniques required to tap information from the Internet and
manipulate its various resources are of paramount importance. ICTs can also be used as a delivery mechanism in both formal and informal education programs to women.

It was stated that ?women in rural areas are the fastest processors and communicators of information [and] this ability can further be developed by making accessible to them more sources of information like Internet?. But some expressed skepticism about the real impact of the Internet on women due to lack of familiarity with the language of the web (non-existence of knowledge in the case of women from
Francophone countries) and the irrelevance of the information obtained from the Internet. Some said that people in the rural areas have more pressing needs (roads, health, food access, etc.) than access to the
Internet.

Others reacted to this by stating that the language problem could be overcome by re-packaging the information from the Internet using local languages and pointed out that NGOs and women organizations could play an instrumental role in this respect. Reaching rural women located in remote areas and conducting online distance learning courses in the vernacular was also mentioned as another potential benefit of ICTs. It was also pointed out that the existence of good governance and stable political and economic situations are prerequisites for effective utilization of the Internet.

Some felt that ICTs could be used as a tool to improve the situation of rural women only if they are integrated within the overall national development process. Some said that, ICTs can be used to ?take women from positions of waiting for the men to be the sole bread-winner to positions where they are involved in decision making, not just in their homes but in their communities and the nation at large?, while others disagreed saying that the majority of African women have always been the bread-winner through their active engagement in various informal sector activities and agricultural production.

The overemphasis laid on access to computers as an ultimate solution of problems of rural women was criticized and business promotion motives were suspected. It was stressed that the basic issue for
Africa is to develop a ?pro-Africa? mentality rather than securing everyone have access to computers. According to them, Internet is considered as a ?convenience and entertainment, it is not a need.? Some others doubtfully asked ?What would a poor rural woman do with access to a computer (Internet) [and] What are the chances that she will even get access to a computer??

Women and ICTs ? Experiences in the Continent

Information was given on some of the women associations with focus towards using ICT for harnessing socio-economic development. Countries cited include: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Uganda. It was noted that such associations could lay the foundation for creating a well informed society. Abantu in Kenya, ENDA in Senegal, SANGONeT in South Africa, Boginet in Botswana, ISIS-WICCE in Uganda and other African wide organizations like FEMNET and APC were cited as examples where ICTs are used to realize women equality and to promote their concerns and voices.

Women's Net has built a website which contains a huge amount of information about, and for, women in South Africa. The website gives information to women on gender equality legislation and contains guidelines as to what to do, for instance, in case of rape. Women?s Net provides training to women working in the NGOs so that they can repackage information from the website, using such formats as posters, to reach women who do not have direct access to the Internet. The joint effort that is being made by FEMNET and APC to train women design and launch websites that would track the implementation of the resolutions of the Beijing Conference on Women in 9 African countries was yet another example cited from the continent.

List   members   were informed about the application of ICTs to disseminate information on existing and new legislation concerning violations of women rights; a case in point was the extensive online advocacy being made to women living under Muslim law on violations of women's rights with the aim of protecting individual women from violations.

Youth and the Computer

Participants stated that there is no doubt that students must have access to computers, video and other technologies in the classroom, because competency in the use of these is an important step in building one?s career.

Some suggested that the access and use of ICTs by African youth can be facilitated by making computers available to them. They further added that if the youth are provided with computers their attention would
not be diverted towards crime and other social vices. But some argued that does not always work out positively because many kids are engaged in undesirable activities on the Internet. They pointed out that the
quick receptive potential of youth to innovations would make them a target for ICT applications, and they could be used as a vehicle to transmit knowledge on use of ICTs to parents. It was also recommended
that setting up computerized youth centers with the assistance of the international donor communities would facilitate the realization of ICT industries in the continent.

Policy Actions Required

A number of participants reiterated that ICTs policies should be gender-sensitive. It was felt that the policies formulated in any sector of the national economy should balance the gender issues in that the interests and needs of women should be reflected. It was asserted that ICT policies must advocate the promotion of women entrepreneurial role in owning and controlling ICT businesses and they need to clearly show how ICTs are used to promote women's causes.

List participants expressed their frustration on the lasting impact of the new technologies, especially the Internet on the rural population who do not have access to basic telephone services as a result of
absence of required infrastructure. Liberalization of the telecom industry is believed to facilitate the proliferation of the telephone services and growth of the technology.

Other Issues Raised

Governance of/democratising ICTs

The issue of empowering people as a strategic move towards developing and implementing the African information society was brought to the floor. In this regard, three views were reflected, namely, increasing
the   participation   of   individuals   and    groups   in government decision-making,    democratising   the   processes   that    shape the information society itself and empowering people so that they will come up with their own agenda for using ICTs to solve development problems. Participants were concerned that the issue of empowerment may not be addressed adequately during ADF. In response to this, the ADF co-ordinator stated that the issue of empowerment was fundamental to ADF and would be addressed explicitly in a number of ADF sessions.

Brain-Drain in Africa

The comment made by the Tanzanian ambassador to Ethiopia in the meeting called at Addis Ababa by ECA to all ambassadors resident in Addis Ababa for a briefing on the ADF. He stated that "Africa already
missed out the information Age in the 90's. And it has lost its most talented citizens to the brain drain as well?? He added that this Diaspora could be the seeds of African salvation, and its accumulated skills and organisational talents can be used to African development.

Participants welcomed the comment and appreciated developments of positive thinking towards the Diaspora. It was noted that ?unless and until   the politicians and military provide a safe and stable
environment, talented Africans will continue to seek their fortunes in places which, if not particularly friendly, at least tolerate them and respect their talents and work ethic?.

URLs

On Internet Society

http://www.isoc.org/inet99/proceedings/3i/3i_1.htm
http://www.isoc.org/inet99/proceedings/3i/3i_2.htm
http://www.isoc.org/inet99/proceedings/3i/3i_3.htm
http://www.isoc.org/inet99/proceedings/3f/index.htm

Summarized by: Gorfu Asefa