Pamoya

WOUGNET Update Newsletter - October 2009
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A monthly electronic newsletter from Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)
- http://www.wougnet.org

For comments or queries, contact info [at] wougnet [dot] org

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This issue's contents:
1. News and Events
2. Tech Support
3. Citizen Journalism
4. Gender and ICT Policy
5. WOUGNET News

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News and Events
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= Mobile services for women's organisations in Uganda
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php

As noted for the 2009 CTA Observatory, in recent
years the ICT4D field has changed its focus
profoundly mainly to the wide use of mobile
phones. Africa has the highest growing rates of
mobile subscribers, while other ACP
(African-Caribean-Pacific) countries have
witnessed similar developments. The ACP-EU
Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural
Cooperation (CTA), together with its partners,
held the 2009 Observatory on ICTs on Â"mobile
servicesÂ" for agricultural and rural development.
The seminar was held in Wageningen, The
Netherlands from 2 to 4 November 2009 and
attended by around 30 international experts.

= Rural women farmers in Apac district determined in the fight against Poverty
http://kic.wougnet.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=41%2...

Rural Women Farmers in Apac District Northern
Uganda are determined towards poverty reduction
in their communities using various group
initiatives that would set them from the burden
of dependence to income generation and self
sustenance. This was evidenced during an internal
Monitoring and Evaluation of the project
conducted by Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET).

The rural women farmers groups that were formed
in 2005 in 12 parishes of Apac district in 4 sub
counties with support of CTA is now progressing
at a rate they believe would drive them out of the yolk of poverty.

= CTA celebrates 25th anniversary
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/content/view/425/1/

A silver anniversary marks a milestone for any
organization. It seemed appropriate then, that
the 25th anniversary of CTAÂ's existence was
celebrated in style in Brussels, Belgium during
the CTA seminar whose theme was Â"The role of
Media in the agriculture and rural Development of ACP countries.Â"

A total of 150 participants from Africa, the
pacific and Caribbean attended the annual seminar
which took place in Brussels. Representatives
from the ACP and EU embassies based in Brusssels
were invited to the ceremony which was held at
the historical palais des colonies in Truven Brussels.

The CTA annual seminar 2009 was characterized
with a number of panel discussions which were
usually followed by instructive discussions on
the role of Journalists in Agricultural
development. Scientists, researchers and heads of
media houses from Africa, the Pacific and
Caribbean had a feeling that Journalists always
majored on reporting politics, scandals and
sports rather than Agriculture. They added that
the journalists mainly did it to satisfy
politicians. The response from Journalists was
quick, they said that the logic applied to
current events and the information collection and
processing techniques are universal, in other
words, they are not specific to any given sector.

= The Digital Doorway: A solution to Rural Communities.
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/component/option,com_mamblog/Itemid,83/task,s...

The Digital Doorway is a very robust computer
kiosk. It was developed so that it could be put
in rural areas among communities and school areas
so that the communities can just use it to equip
themselves with ICT skills and retrieve local
content relevant to their needs. It is also good
for school children to teach themselves how to use the computer.

The Digital Doorway is a hardy, weatherproof
internet kiosk with three computer terminals,
vandal-proof keyboards, reinforced screens,
speakers, and webcams within a rugged steel
enclosure. Deployable in cities and remote areas
through satellite internet, the Digital Doorway
provides internet access to children and
communities that are otherwise unreachable by
computer labs or internet cafes. In the absence
of internet connectivity, the Digital Doorway
offers interactive educational software,
reference materials, game and tutorials.

= Apac District Local GovÂ't and CSOs promises to
end corruption in the District Procurement Processes
http://kic.wougnet.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57%2...

Apac District Local Government (ADLG), and The
Apac Anti Corruption Coalition (TAACC), has
agreed to work together as a coalition in the
fight against rampant corruption in the district
procurement processes by instituting Integrity
PACT (IP), in awarding district tender or
contracts. This resolution was made during a half
a day meeting that took place in Apac Women
Development Center on Wednesday 28th October, 2009.

The meeting was organized by The Apac Anti
Corruption Coalition (TAACC), under the program
called Anti Corruption Country Threshold (ACT),
this program is funded by USAID to help Uganda
Government rapidly reduce corruption and qualify
for some bigger US funding in the fight against
corruption recently identified as the highest in
the public procurement department.

= Potato worms attacks Teso and Lango sub regions
http://kic.wougnet.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout...

Worms that eat sweet potato leaves have attacked
gardens in the Teso and Lango sub regions. Some
farmers in Teso particularly have started
slashing the vines to get rid of the pests. The
pest identified as the sweet potato horn worm or
hawk moth, can destroy a garden in one day.

= Start Up And Management Practices Of Rearing Indigenous Chicken
http://kic.wougnet.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=40%2...

We have looked at the improved practices in
rearing indigenous chickens, we also saw facts
about indigenous chickens and reasons for
improved management practices. As we are aware,
indigenous chickens plays an important role in
the livelihoods of most rural families. Therefore
itÂ's important that we understand the different
methods and practices involved in realising a better output.

= Kubere Information Centre Q and A
http://kic.wougnet.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=7&I...

A sampling of some of the questions asked by farmers, including:
- I want to know if you can plant Sunflower in
the garden previously planted and how soon can i weed
- What should be the size of weed in case you want to apply herbicide
- I planted my beans but suddenly the bean plant
started mottling and developing yellow leaves and stem
- What are the common pests and diseases of Groundnuts and Soya

For more information about the Kubere Information
Centre (KIC) and/or to serve as a volunteer
expert for KIC's Q and A, send a message to kicinfo [at] wougnet [dot] org

*** JOB OPPORTUNITIES ***

= CTA Director (Call to Eastern Africa nationals)
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/content/blogsection/18/110/

The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural
Cooperation (CTA) is seeking to recruit
its Director. The post is restricted to
nationals from the Eastern Africa Region of the ACP states.

CTA is an ACP-EU organisation established under
the Lomé Convention, now succeeded by the Cotonou
Agreement, between the EU and 78 African,
Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states. CTAÂ's tasks
are to develop and provide services that improve
access to information for agricultural and rural
development, and to strengthen the capacity of
ACP countries to produce, acquire, exchange and
utilise information in these areas.

*** UPCOMING EVENTS ***

= WOUGNET's Strategic Planning Meeting, 10 November 2009
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/component/option,com_events/task,view_detail/...

Reviewing work plans per program (Information
Sharing and Networking, Technical Support and
Gender & ICT Policy Advocacy), and having input
from WOUGNET members in regard to WOUGNET activities.

= Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), 27 - 29 November 2009
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/component/option,com_events/task,view_detail/...

This year the Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting and processes will be held in Trinidad
and Tobago from November 27-29, 2009. Â"Partnering
for a More Equitable and Sustainable Future" is
theme of CHOGM 2009. WOUGNET will be represented
at CHOGM 2009 by Ms. Janet Achora, Senior Program
Officer, Information Sharing and Networking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tech Support
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= October 2009: What is Microblogging?
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/content/view/419/77/

The phrase social networking has been all the
rage over the last couple of years. With sites
like Facebook, MySpace and the like, more and
more people are connecting with each other and
interacting online. Blogs, too, are a popular way
of sharing information and attracting an audience
of people with similar interests.

But more and more people are making that kind of
interaction quicker and shorter. Instead of
writing long posts or email messages, they're
tapping out quick missives telling their friends
(and the wider world) what they're up to at the moment, through microblogs.

For more information or for assistance in
managing your computer and in using the Internet,
contact techsupport [at] wougnet [dot] org

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Citizen Journalism
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= CJA blogs on Uganda available via WOUGNET website

Follow the blogs on the Citizen Journalism in
Africa (CJA) website that are focused on Uganda.
The section 'What's New at the CJA Portal:
Uganda' on the WOUGNET website highlights the most recent blogs at:
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/content/blogcategory/66/105/

Blogs highlighted include:
- The Importance Of Education
- Integrate And Live With Nature In Harmony
- Is Polygamy a menace in Rural Uganda?
- Women in in rural Uganda; Men's property?
- World Food Day Held On 16th October 2009 In Kotido - UGANDA
- Coaching Not The Only Way To Pass Exams
- TALK SHOW ENGAGES UGANDAN PUBLIC ON THE ANTI-HOMOSEXUAL BILL

More blogs at http://www.citizenjournalismafrica.org/news/Uganda include:
- Fish farming book out
- Accord Dignity To Rural Women
- Terror As Notorious Antigay Bill Is Tabled In Uganda
- Why Children must not be Oppressed
- Bonus Or The Baby
- Tell your story because if you don't, some one
else will in the way they want to?
- Getting Creative in Brussels
- I blame it on Â"CULTURALÂ" differences
- The month of swine flu threats
- Enhancing WomenÂ's self esteem and Self confidence.
- ISIS-WICCE in a drive to empower grass root women in self documentation.
- What a society is this?

The Citizen Journalism in Africa project (CJA) is
a three-year initiative funded by both Hivos and
the EU. Hivos is working with SANGONet (South
Africa) on this project. The aim of the project
is to increase civil society organisations' use
of and interaction with various forms of media.
This will help them maximise their communication
strategies and reach. It is hoped that this will
strengthen the organisations' use of media and
increase quality information dissemination capacity using multiple platforms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gender and ICT Policy
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= Feminist Tech Xchange (FTX), Kampala, 4 - 7 November 2009

WOUGNET in partnership with the Association for
Progressive Communications WomenÂ's Networking
Programme (APC WNSP) has hosted an exciting
training event. The Feminist Tech eXchange (FTX)
in Uganda gave activists, service providers,
womenÂ's rights advocates in the field of violence
against women, practical skills to employ the
strategic use of information and communication
technologies in ending violence against women, as
well as in addressing situations where ICTs are used as a tool for violence.

See highlights of FTX Uganda including pictures on WOUGNET@Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Women-of-Uganda-Network/133443013569

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WOUGNET News
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= WOUGNET to Participate in the Month of Women Entreprenuers (MOWE) in Uganda
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/content/view/426/29/

Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) serves as a
secretariat for Uganda WomenÂ's Caucus on ICT
UWCI) to undertake advocacy activities geared
towards addressing gender concerns within the ICT
policies and Programs. The Gender and ICT policy
advocacy program in WOUGNET aims at building
capacity of network members to effectively
influence the formulation and implementation of
gender sensitive ICT policies and programs such
that the benefits may trickle down to both men and women.

The Month of the Woman EntrepreneursÂ' (MOWE)
celebrations has been scheduled to take place in
November 2009. Uganda Women Entrepreneurs
Association Ltd (UWEAL) with support from ILO –
WEDGE is spear heading this event whose theme is
Â"Unleashing the untapped potential of women
entrepreneurs for economic developmentÂ". The main
objective of celebrating this month is to widely
promote the role of the womanÂ's entrepreneurship
development in the national development by
recognizing their potential and achievements.

= Follow WOUGNET-L discussions via WOUGNET website
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php

Registered users on the WOUGNET website can now
follow the recent discussions on the WOUGNET-L
mailing list. Follow links on the right hand menu
to see the whole posting. Register at
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/component/option,com_comprofiler/task,registers/

= Follow WOUGNET on Facebook and Twitter via WOUGNET website
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php

Site visitors can now access WOUGNET on Facebook
and on Twitter via links from the WOUGNET website.

Become a Fan - Direct access to WOUGNET@Facebook is at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Women-of-Uganda-Network/133443013569

Follow WOUGNET - Direct access to WOUGNET@Twitter is at:
http://twitter.com/wougnet

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WOUGNET is supported by APC, CTA, Dimitra/FAO and Hivos

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For comments or queries, write to: info [at] wougnet [dot] org