The focus of the discussions this week was on sharing concrete experiences of using ICTs in rural areas and some of the challenges and difficulties involved.

Numerous participants contributed their experiences in using ICTs in Africa, South America and India. Several of these examples involved using radio as a communication tool for women, which seems to work well as a catalyst for change and women's empowerment, and one that can lead to other initiatives combining new and older methods of communication.

The initiatives presented this week include:

• The Nakaseke Women Development Association (NAWODA) Multipurpose Community Telecentre in Uganda.
  
  
• Women Farmers Association of Nigeria (WOFAN), which formed radio listening clubs in which women were trained to record their development challenges and to broadcast this on Radio Kano.
  
  
• Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN), which trained women to produce a video on development issues that could be shown to communities and policy-makers.
  
  
• World Links in Uganda, which created school-based telecentres that provide internet and multi-media services.
  
  
• Council for Economic Empowerment for Women of Africa (Uganda chapter) supports the Buwama Telecentre in Uganda.
  
  
• Radio for Development (RFD) civic education campaign project funded by DFID in Malawi which supported radio listening clubs in rural communities.
  
  
• Helen Keller, a development NGO, promoting rural radios in Niger.
  
  
• A documentation centre implemented by a development NGO in Cameroon.
  
  
• Rural information centers in Costa Rica.
  
  
• Telecentres in Maharashtra, western India using ICTs for women's empowerment.
  
  
• The Community-based Management Information System (CBMIS) sponsored by UNICEF in Uganda.
  
  
• Network of Rural Women Trinidad and Tobago, and the Caribbean Network of Rural Women, which have used radio, television, drama and oral tradition to promote communication between and for women.

In all of the contributions, some very common challenges were mentioned such as:

1. Poverty
2. Limited resources resulting in poor infrastructure, lack of basic amenities, etc.
3. Low levels of literacy, particularly among women
4. Cultural perceptions of women's roles
5. The urban bias in development which marginalizes rural communities.
6. Little or no government support
7. War, instability and conflict

Some similarities emerged in the way participants spoke of how they dealt with these challenges. The following are the conditions they indicated as essential in the implementation of their projects.

1) Providing the most appropriate tools for "information dissemination and communication"

The contributions this week showed that communication tools have to be appropriate and adapted to the local social and economic context (which also reflects the consensus of last week's discussion). As one participant expressed, "It's the appropriate 'means' of access to the appropriate information for rural women that we're talking about. May it be a thematic chat or discussion group situated at a community centre scheduled to fit women's free time, or may it be the typical well-equipped multi-media telecentre. The primary challenge is to up-trickle the ideas about the 'real' information and communications needs of women".

A member of an organization mentioned, for example, that they began by showing videos to women at night because a projector was used that could only make things visible in the dark; however, they found that because it was presented at night, women were unable to attend. An evaluation of the project revealed that the telecentre was not having an impact, so the project eventually adopted other methods that were based on what women had identified as important, which involved using the telephone and internet. As a result of the telephone and internet, the women's organization has made links with a women's group abroad that has promised to provide access to new markets for their handicrafts.

2) Start from the bottom-up

Several contributions this week underlined another premise that was discussed last week, which is that development initiatives have to answer the needs that women or local communities express and not result in the introduction of a well-meaning service that fails because it does not capture the interest or support of communities.

An example of this is the program involving the Women Farmers Association of Nigeria (WOFAN), which supported radio listening clubs for rural women in which participants were trained to record their views of the development challenges in their communities and to broadcast this on Radio Kano. Apparently, the program has helped women to realize the power they have and to examine others forms of communication beyond radio. In addition, the listening clubs have given women an opportunity to engage in income-generation activities that have granted them greater economic freedom, as well as a sense of political power.

3) Take into account the constraints on gender and create opportunities for positive change

Participants raised concerns about cultural attitudes to gender as major obstacles to women's participation. Examples were given of how men have acted to bar women from participating in local initiatives. However, examples were also given of how this can be counteracted by involving men as partners in order to gain their support, training young women and girls to share their knowledge and experience with their female relatives, and involving local leaders, men and women, as change agents.

However, there may still remain some uncertainty and possibly negative effects of introducing technology in an environment where women's power and opportunities are limited. Participants spoke of how telecentres can be perceived as being for the 'educated' or 'elite' and/or how they can become a tool for those in power and as a consequence, only further alienate women. Another participant suggested that in light of these challenges, it is necessary to conduct research on the local context before a project is implemented.

It is also important to use measures that are sensitive to women's needs and situation; for example, by choosing an hour of the day when women are free or when they are more able to leave their work and their homes. The need to translate content into the local language is also evident.

4) Ensure "ownership" and sustainability

The question of "sustainability" was raised several times this week, and some examples were given of how this can be promoted. However, it appears that while some methods are effective, it is important to keep in mind that promoting sustainability is an ongoing process and that careful attention has to be given to the range of issues involved, such as local resources (both governmental and community), short and long-term costs, technical support, etc.

Below are suggestions from the contributions this week:

1. Integrating a rural information project into an already existing program or service, such as a community centre, school, or other local organization. According to one participant, "telecenters are very difficult to sustain if they do not have a core 'home' that can take prime responsibility for organising things. It is even better if such a core home is a stable institution with stable systems. With the school-based telecenter, we are making the school the center of management, assisted by a committee of representatives (including members of the community) that would ensure that the community's interests are taken care of. The community meets part of the costs through the school fees and limited costs at the use level". For another participant, situating an RIC in a school has also been a way to reach and train youth who are often quicker at learning new technology than adults.
   
   
2. Introducing an income-generating activity for women (an organization mentioned that women in a group were selling second-hand clothes to raise money).
   
   
3. Encouraging contributions from different sources including communities and donors. According to a participant from India, it is important to have "RICs that are supported not by heavy capital investment but 'community investment".
   
   
4. Training local people to manage the projects and apply the technology on their own. In this case, participants indicated that youth, and particularly young women in girls, can be trained to become future leaders as well as to open doors for their parents. Another spoke of the importance of developing the capacities of women, which in her words, "goes beyond access and basic applications and addresses personal, institutional and systemic barriers". Thus, training and capacity-building are essential not only to empower women to use technology, but to change the structures that keep them in a disadvantaged position.

In addition to the above, discussions this week included questions about the role of governments. It seems that at the moment, most governments have either been of no help or have acted as a hindrance. Participants suggested that governments need to be more involved in defining and implementing mechanisms for rural communication and in facilitating access to resources and opportunities. A participant from Uganda mentioned that the government of the country had recently waived taxes on imported computers in a bid to promote the wider application of ICTs. Similar actions could be taken elsewhere, but progress also needs to be on a broader or deeper scale. A participant suggested that, "there is need for support for a deeper focus on regulatory processes to deal with the lack of support for ICTs".

All of the examples presented this week show us what is possible; however, it is also clear that various challenges remain and that it is still important to explore in more depth what the constraints and opportunities are to promoting information and communication for rural women.

The benefits are wide-ranging: from giving women greater political power; promoting participation and collective decision-making at the local level; developing literacy and education; reducing the isolation of rural communities and given them a place and a voice on wider scale, and finally, permitting important relationships to develop between communities at the national and international level.

Yet again, the question remains whether structures that are implemented are indeed helpful to women, and not detrimental. The diagnosis is mixed, but experience shows that a lot can be accomplished with creativity and dedication. One final suggestion from a participant is to carry out pilot projects that involve women in order to explore and test what is possible. In her own words, "je pense aussi qu`il sera mieux de faire l`experimentation avec quelques centres tests tenus par des femmes lettrées ou alphabetisées et formées en la matière qui pourront aider les autres femmes à mieux apprendre, comprendre et à mieux gerer. Ces centres peuvent servir pour les cours d`alphabesation fonctionnelle et les cours de mise à niveau surtout pour les filles ex-scolaires". In this example, she mentions how projects can support women of different ages and social classes in working together to provide training and literacy.

Other remaining questions that participants hope to answer through this conference are:

1. How to integrate a communication component into a rural area where the infrastructure is very poor (a participant from France for example wishes to support a rural initiative for women affected HIV/AIDS in Africa but is unclear how to proceed);
   
   
2. In which ways can ICTs be used to address problems of access irrespective of the levels of literacy, and;
   
   
3. What are the various benefits of RICs for women and how can these be maximized.

To conclude, what seems to appear from all of the contributions this week is, as one participant expressed, what we need to do is "to apply to the use of new information and communication technologies the same principles, criteria and lessons learned in the use of other technologies and participatory approaches in the past: Communication activities should reflect the special needs of women, should address their social, economic and cultural constraints in the design of messages, the selection of appropriate channels to use, and best timing and locations for delivery".

(Summary prepared by Anne-Marie Livingstone.)

IARW Online Conference

Last update: June-27, 2002