This is the summary of the exchanges, experiences, analysis and suggestions provided during the AFR-FEM Internet Working Group's fifth week of activity. This Group was organised by the World Bank and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, as an associated activity to the Conference "African Women and Economic Development: investing in our future", to be organised by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, in Addis Ababa, 28 April - 1st May, 1998. The facilitation of the conference is being done in collaboration with the Association for Progressive Communications / APC - Women's Africa Program The mandate of the Internet Working Group is to support the Conference, by gathering a basis of field information pertaining to the Conference themes.

The Internet Working Group activity reports are posted to the GKD main list "Global Knowledge for Development" and are also available on the Global Knowledge Partnership Web Site <http://www.globalknowledge.org> as well as on the ECA 40th Anniversary website <http://www.un.org/depts/eca/eca40th>. Activities of the AFR-FEM Internet Working Group A USAID team (Office of Women in Development, and Africa Bureau) has agreed to engage in a dialog with group members. Up until May 6, List members can send their questions, recommendations and information to the AFR-FEM Moderators <afr-fem-mod@tristram.edc.org>, who will compile and summarize them for the USAID panelists to answer.

AFR-FEM group members will be able to react and the USAID panel will have a chance to make a second reply. Information About the Conference The list of participants will be posted on the ECA Web Site. AFR-FEM Group recommendations to the ECA Conference on "African Women and Economic Development: investing in our future"

Outlines/Update 2 The AFR-FEM Working Group recommends that the Conference adopt the following language:

1 - Support for women's participation in economic development

a) - to heads of state, their governments and the policy makers:

The Conference participants recommend to :

• Focus development policies on the needs of women and the poor, and towards access to knowledge and learning.
• Ensure support for affirmative action towards integrating women into the decision-making process.
• Ensure that policies focus primarily on poverty allieviation, and support methods inspired by traditional models of resource management.
• Review the laws according to the current change in women's roles.
• Develop assistance programs for alleviation of domestic work of women.
• Develop - with their assistance - policies that allow women to play their role as producers: infrastructure and equipment, irrigation, seed improvements, fertilisers, alternative energies, water resources, credit, services to production and marketing, processing.
• Support women's actions in terms of training and networking facilities.
• Devote resources to the collection of gender-disaggregated data, and devote (one per cent? half a per cent?) of public expanditure to that end. (not dicussed)
• Invest 10% or 15% of public expenditure in women's agricultural activities (not dicussed)
• Ensure that women agricultural workers, many of whom are employed on commercial farms on a casual basis, are covered by minimum standards of labour legislation. (not dicussed)
• Support activities to involve more women in trade unionism (not dicussed)

b) - to donors and international organizations:

The Conference participants recommend to:

• Support African women's actions, by promoting the exchange of South-North and South-South experiences among women active in community economic development and by providing assistance for the reinforcement of their lobbying skills.
• Develop, with African women's participation, knowledge about poverty and wealth distribution, a combination of traditional and modern practices for education and resource management, the impact of economic policies of African countries on women's situation.
• Support government policies in terms of programs for women, allieviation of domestic work, revision of laws according to new roles of women, programs for economic production improvement.
• Support training and technical programs and services for communication and networking for women.
• The Conference urges donors to commit themselves to systematically enable women in Africa to identify and address priority research gaps, to gather gender-disaggregated data, and to ensure that African women's research findings are published and distributed within as well as outside Africa.

c) - to women's and civil society organizations:

• Focus their interests through research and action on issues of access to resources (including land), impact of economic policies and WTO policies on their lives, traditional systems of women's empowerment and resource management, and the possibility of integrating them into current systems.
• Develop endogenous actions in terms of women's participation in decision-making and policy-making.
• Develop internal actions of networking and training.
• Actively involve women in labour union activities. (not dicussed)

2) Governance with women In order to ensure that a country's public policy supports the needs of its citizens, particularly its female population, we recommend that each African Government take the following actions:

1. - to heads of state, their governments and the policy makers:

• Ensure the participation of grass-roots organizations and endogenous community organizations, and particularly women's organizations in the decision-making process and adaptation of policies along a gender perspective
• Extend formal invitations to the heads of NGOs resident in their countries to participate in policy formulation discussions, and record the presence of the NGOs at such meetings. Wherever possible and appropriate, include representatives of donor countries/agencies in such meetings.
• In addition, where appropriate, invite private sector representatives to such meetings. The objectives of these meetings will be to involve NGOs working in women's interests, in identifying the most pertinent issues and concerns of women and ensuring that the final policies developed and implementation strategies adopted reflect the women's NGOs-identified priorities.
• Establish a desk for NGOs working in relevant areas and particularly where women's issues are concerned, and make this desk responsible for ensuring that all government agencies involve NGOs in policy formulation process.
• Support existing local structures, and their interactions with NGOs and civil society organizations,
• Ensure the participation of endogenous, civil and women's organizations in the peace maintainance process, prevention and managment of conflicts as well as in post-conflict situations, and in the limitation of arms trade.
• Promote and strengthen networking capacities among civil societies and women's organizations.
• Develop affirmative actions for the reinforcement of equal political representation of gender, at every level.
• Take immediate and concrete steps to increase female participation in politics. One such step would involve changing electoral systems from proportional representation to a plurality system.

1. - to donors and international organizations:

• Develop support programs towards grass-roots, women's and civil society organizations, in terms of reinforcement of their self-capacity for organization, conception, formulation and networking.
• Develop research and actions with African women for the construction of an endogenous model of governance.
• Support grass-roots women's organizations and networks towards the reinforcement of endogenous networks as well as the development of their contacts outside Africa, for the promotion of global citizenship.
• Support programs for African women's, civil society's and endogenous organizations' participation in the process of peace protection and restoration, and management of post-conflict situations, and for the limitation of the arms trade.
• Support partnership initiatives between the social actors including government representatives and from civil society, NGOs, bi- and multilateral organizations.
• Support the processes and local policies towards affirmative actions for the reinforcement of equal political representation of gender, at every level.
• Support research by African women on traditional models of women's participation in political power, the central place of women in society, the primacy of life and life-sustainability, education and solidarity.
• Further, donors should commit themselves to creating a process that ensures that their work, in the field and at policy level, incorporates the recommendations of such research.
• The Conference participants urge donors to encourage and assist governments in taking steps to increase female participation in politics.
• The Conference urges donors to examine their institutional structure to ensure that their gender department/network is routinely involved in all the organizations' planning and evaluations.
• The Conference urges donors to involve NGOs in the process of such examination, and preparation of recommendations for change.
• Donors should step up action not only to encourage governments but also directly assist NGOs that gear their efforts toward equitable integration of women at various levels of activity and in various fields.

1. - to women's and civil society organizations:

• Focus on research and actions with grass-roots organizations and on the links between endogenous development policies and international relations.
• Reinforce their own and grass-roots organizations' capacities for organization, conception, formulation and networking.
• Develop research and actions on the construction and the implementation of models of governance based on endogenous capacities of self-organization, coexistence and interactions in the communities.
• Reinforce networking actions within and outside endogenous and women's organizations, including through the use of ICTs.
• Develop research and comprehensive actions on the issues of peace protection, conflict prevention and post-conflict situation management, along traditional processes and women's roles, and based on current techniques of communication and information.

3) ICTs contribution to sustainable development with women

1. - to heads of state, their governments and the policy makers:

• Focus telecommunication policies on the needs of women and the poor.
• Support the democratisation of access to ICTs in the field of policy formulation, utilisations for sustainable development, training, accessibility, impact assessment by involving civil and especially women's organizations engaged in development actions in Africa, and the mass media, in the analysis and the negotiation process.
• Improve the environmental conditions which are essential to the full utilisation of ICTs (i.e. infrastructures, price policies, telecommunication policies, maintenance and training).
• Support affirmative actions towards the private sector so that they contribute towards meeting civil society and women's organizations' needs (technical support, recycling of equipment, specially-designed training).
• Act for a better balance in terms of access and utilisation of ICTs according to cultural diversities.
• Support policies that allow the proliferation of community telecentres; support alternative and integrated communication and information technologies, and support their diffusion through appropriate policies.
• Governmental regulatory frameworks in the telecommunications sector need to ensure :

• that competition between operators is fair;
• that consumers are protected and get a fair deal from operators;
• that profit motivation is balanced against social obligations (such as providing services to marginalised peoples and to remote areas)
• that levels of contributions to government revenue are established and that this regulatory framework be crafted through a process of open consultation and the exposure of telecoms issues to wide public debate (including women).

• Given that new market entrants tend to target lucrative business customers, we urge African governments to consider :
• making new market entrants invest at least 10% to 15% of their profits in developing rural telecommunications;
• ensuring that new market entrants have a restricted period (say twelve months) in which they have free reign to develop their networks in the lucrative areas after which they are committed to turn their attentions to the less lucrative regions or sectors requiring development. (not discussed).

1. - to donors and international organizations :

• Promote Information Society programs that benefit women; support government programs for the improvement of environmental conditions essential to the full utilisation of ICTs (i.e. infrastructures, price policies, telecommunication policies, maintenance and training).
• Support analysis by African women of their information needs, and how ICTs could meet them, in the economic sector as well as in the development sector.
• Support research and actions by African women's organizations on ICT policies and actions focusing on the needs of women and the poor, on democratisation processes, and partenrships with the mass-media.
• Provide support for women's organizations towards training, equipment, accessibility, utilisation and assessment of ICTs, especially with regards to community uses (telecentres).
• Support programs providing more cultural diversity in ICTs.
• Support analysis by African women of future trends in ICTs, and their impact on African women's futures.
• Support African women's actions towards endogenous networking, at the subregional and continental level, as well as the reinforcement of alliances with civil society groups.
• The Conference urges donors and the governments of every African country to support establishment of 1-2 pilot projects in each country, which test the impact of ICTs on women's empowerment in a range of economic, political and/or social activities. The projects should include monitoring as a central project component, as well as a commitment to produce a report on the outcomes, "lessons learned," and "critical success factors."

1. - to women's and civil society organizations: - Take an active role in the analysis and negotiation of telecommunication policies.

• Conduct research and actions in terms of women, the poor, and grass-roots organizations' information needs, and how ICTs could meet them.
• Develop alliances with the mass-media to lobby for democratisation in the use of ICTs, in terms of policy formulation, utilisation for sustainable development, training, accessibility, and impact assessment.
• Organise affirmative action within the private sector so that they contribute towards meeting civil society and women's organization needs (technical support, recycling of equipment, specially-designed training).
• Implement telecentre activities that meet women's needs, including in terms of cultural diversity.
• Develop their skills and partnerships regarding ICTs: access, techniques, content production, networking for action, and prospective analysis, at the subregional, continental and worldwide levels.

4) New opportunities for youth

1. - to heads of state, their governments and the policy makers:

• Work towards the systemic and fundamental reform of education systems in Africa, using ICTs as an educational tool and medium for educational delivery, and reserve a central place for women.
• Develop programs that encourage women towards non-traditional occupations with advancement potential.
• The Conference participants call on governments to provide statistics on primary, secondary and tertiary education disaggregated by gender. Where women and girls are disproportionately represented at various levels of education, the governments will provide free education for females until the disproportion is rectified.
• Develop programmes that address future education needs through revising teachers training programmes.

1. - to donors and international organizations:

• Support the government's efforts towards the reform of education systems in Africa, and the inclusion of ICTs as an educational tool.
• Support programs for cultural diversity, gender equality and advancement of women.
• The Conference participants call upon donors to provide resources that will assist the governments in such efforts, and to link aid to requirements for gender-disaggregated statistics, and measurable progress toward equal access to education for women and girls.
• Work towards the systemic and fundamental reform of education systems in Africa, using ICTs as an educational tool and medium for educational delivery, and reserve a central place for women.
• Develop programmes that address future education needs through revising teachers training programmes.

1. - to women's and civil society organizations:

• Implement research and actions on gender roles according to the present dynamics of African societies.
• Integrate new generation issues into their program of activities. Summary of the exchanges during the Fifth Week Women and Economic Development It is necessary to acknowledge the place and the role of the private sector and the informal sector of popular economy, and the important part that women occupy there. In some countries, women represent two-thirds of the informal sector, mainly in the trade activities. The informal sector is particularly marginalised in terms of access to capital, technology and information. The private sector is a key component of development. The foreign private sector has investment capacities more important than those of donors; it is a key component of the economic system.

Recommendations - Give more support to the informal sector, particularly where women are more involved, in order to facilitate its access to production factors.

• Develop politics towards the private sector, both local and foreign, that, without discouraging investisments, will reinforce a positive impact on women and national economies. Governance Increasing the political participation of women needs a specific support for women in the political parties. In the field of women's participation in good governance, women should take a greater part in the programmes about decentralisation, legal state issues, human rigths issues, electoral and parliamentarian systems, the strenghening of management skills and the civil society, socio-economic management, public administration, communication, press and media, as well as in those about peace and stability.

Recommendations - Support mechanisms for training and funding of women in political campaigns.

- Identify and act against discriminatory practices against women

• Develop programs which involve women in the fields of decentralisation, legal state issues, human rights, electroral and parliamentarian systems, peace and stability, strengthening of management skills in public administration, communication, press and media.
• Develop research and programmes on the role of the African diaspora in the development of Africa, particularly when it comes to women. Contribution of ICTs to Sustainable Development with Women Data are missing about the number of women working with ICTs, and on the number of girls who have access to training about ICTs. In such a way, the projects on ICT uses by women's groups for economic development or within community telecentres are very scarce, and it is difficult to highlight data for comparison, or indications about impact and multiplicator effects. Nevertheless, the identified projects of women's uses of ICTs show that they do increase their self esteem and empower them. Beyond the question of equal access to ICTs, and the strengthening of development skills through access to information, ICTs have the unique potential to transform the social rules, in particular in the field of access to knowledge. This is why conservative traditional powers try to stop their dissemination, and why women working for social change expect so much of them.
• Recommendations - Pilot projects should gather data on the experience and impact of ICTs on the empowerment of women in different countries, as well as on the economic and social multiplicator effects due to community telecentre experiences.
• Reinforce the number of online discussion and exchange spaces for African women.
• Increase the support facilities in ICT uses for individual and community ends.
• Development agencies should encourage pilot initiatives, including those of a size matching with the communities, and innovative projects in matters of methodology. The main point is to quickly implement actions, as long as community appropriation processes are provided. Opportunities for Young Generations Actions to launch to create a favourable environment for girls education must also consider employment facilities. Priority attention must be granted to refugee girls, who, being in a particularly difficult situation, are in a position to turn to innovative approaches and attitudes.
• Recommendations - Link the reforms of education systems to the evolution of employment possibilities.
• Develop special and priority programmes towards young refugee girls, open to innovative possibilities of women's participation in development.
• Internet Resources - Just Watch Africa: <http://www.access.ch/justwatch> - 1994 WISTAT CD-ROM, Statistics on women Documents, Rresearch, Books - Sam Moyo, "Land Entitlements and Growing Poverty in Southern Africa", paper presented to the UN Information Centre workshop on the follow-up UN Development Conferences: Regional Forum on Poverty Eradication in Southern Africa, Phase 11, November 1997 - Sam Moyo, 1995, "A Gendered Perspective of the Land Question", Southern African Feminist Review (SAFERE), Vol 1, No 2, SAPES Trust, Harare
• Dede Amanor-Wilks, "Women, Agriculture and Food Security in Southern Africa" in forthcoming Southern African Research and Documentation Centre (SARDC) publication: Gender in Southern Africa.
• Tansa Musa : "People Have A Voice in Community Banks", Inter Press Service, 17-Apr-98 - ECA: Economic Report and The Economic and Social Survey of Africa, 1997-1998.
• African Centre for Women (ECA): compilation of data on the status of women in 53 African countries
• International Freedom of Expression eXchange Clearing House IFEX "COMMUNIQUE" # 7-11 17 March 1998: The second edition of "At ease with e-mail: A handbook on using electronic mail for NGOs in developing countries" has been released by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation and the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service, Origin: HURINet/Human Rights Info Network
• WorldSpace Corporation Chairman and CEO Noah Samara promises to bring "Information Revolution" to Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, (March 10, 1998), Africa Middle East Media & Public Relations Strategy, WorldSpace Corporation - Reuters: "Women's debate to mark ECA 40th anniversary", Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (04/21/98) - Tezer Ulusay de Groot, Industrial Development Officer, UNIDO: "Good practices by UNIDO, SUB-THEME: Developing African Economies - The Role of Women, Facilitating Women's Access to Productive Assets and Markets" - International Women's Tribune Centre: IWTC GLOBALNET #107, Women's Initiatives and Activities Worldwide, April 22, 1998 - Women's Caucus of the U.S. African Studies Association Newsletter, Spring 1998 Conferences - Third regional conference for Anglophone Africa, on gender and communication policy, World Association for Christian Communication, Cape Town, South Africa, June 1-4, 1998. - American University of Paris and the French Senate, with OECD: "Women, culture and development" 12-14 Nov. 1998 Experiences Mentioned - FIDA-Kenya International Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya: program on women's human rights - Network "People against torture" (EcoNews Africa) - Just Watch Africa, Women in the Media project: media seminar and international symposium in 1999 - Southern Africa workshop on Promoting Food Security through Rural Connectivity and the Internet, on behalf of IDRC, FAO, the SADC Centre of Communication for Development and the University of Guelph, 1997 - Zambian Women Farmers Association - The Rural Libraries and Resources Development Programme in Zimbabwe - Rural Connectivity Forum (with support from IDRC) - Development Through Radio (DTR) joint project in Zimbabwe: Federation of African Media Women in Zimbabwe with the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. - Africa Community Publishing and Development Trust in Zimbabwe - Zimbabwe Women's Resource Centre and Network (ZWRCN) - organization of Rural Associations in Progress (ORAP) and Zimbabwe Farmers Union (ZFU) - Coalition of international women's NGOs as well as women's NGOs in Rwanda working on Women's Human Rights in Conflict Situations (Women's Rights Programme at the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development in Montreal, Canada) - Virtual Souk in Tunisia (World Bank) - Cameroon Association of University Women

For questions and/or suggestions on the following Working Sessions, please send an e-mail to dialogue@un.org or eca40th@un.org or ecainfo@uneca.org

Secretariat of the Conference for information and correspondence:
Economic Commission for Africa
African Centre for Women (ACW)
P.O. Box 3001
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Tel: (251.1) 51 89 19 (Direct)/51 72 00 Ext. 33700
Fax: (251-1) 512233 (Direct)/512785
E-mail: eca40th@un.org
Internet: http://www.un.org/depts/eca/eca40th