Online Conference: Information Access for Rural Women
June 3 - 21, 2002

(Cliquez ici pour la version française)


In June 2002, Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) hosted an online conference on Information Access for Rural Women. Information, communication and entertainment are as critical for rural living as they are for urban living, and indeed there is increasing demand for information and communication equipment and services in rural areas. However, major challenges exist in terms of available means of information access and dissemination as well as how to operate the audio-visual systems used in rural areas.

Conference Objective

Facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences on information access for rural women.

Conference Participation

Participation in the online conference was open to everyone. The conference was email-based.

Conference Language

The primary language of the conference was English. Limited English/French/Spanish translation was available, including translation of conference facilitation messages as well as translation of the weekly summaries and final report of the conference.

Conference Outline

Week 1: June 3-7
Rural information centers: Description/components of centers. What channels are used to distribute information. Goal/objectives for the setup of the rural information centers. Size of target audience for information center. Experience in setting up of information centers. What is used to power equipment - electricity, solar power, etc.

Week 2: June 10-14
Challenges/Difficulties of setting up and maintaining rural information centers: Access to/dissemination of relevant information. Usage of center by target audience. How is center staffed - paid staff, volunteers, etc. How information dissemination has helped local organisations and community groups achieve their goals.

Week 3: June 17-21
Lessons learnt/Best practices and recommendations.

Conference Output

1. Weekly summaries of the conference proceedings
   
   • Week 1: Information Access for Rural Women. (In English   French   Spanish)
   • Week 2: Challenges/Difficulties with rural information centers. (In English   French   Spanish)
   • Week 3: Lessons learned/Best practices and Recommendations. (In English   French   Spanish)
   
   
   
2. Report on the conference proceedings - presented at the Know How Conference Kampala. (Download WORD document in English   French   Spanish   Swahili)

For information about the Know How Conference, visit the conference website at http://www.isis.or.ug/knowhow. Alternatively, click here for an information package about the conference (available in English, French and Spanish).

Conference Organizers

The online conference on Information Access for Rural Women was organized by Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) with the generous support of a team of Conference Organizers. Francophone participation was facilitated by ENDA SYNFEV - Synergy Gender and Development, Senegal. The conference mailing list was hosted by Kabissa - Space for Change in Africa.

Conference Materials

A set of conference discussion messages was available to facilitate discussion on the issues of information access for rural women. The messages are in English, French and Spanish.

The Conference Resources page provides links to documents and websites compiled by conference organizers or contributed by conference participants for the online conference on Information Access for Rural Women. Resources are available in English and French.

Contact information

If you would like further information, contact ruralwomen@wougnet.org.

---

Last update: August-31, 2002