Pamoya

WOUGNET Update Newsletter - February 2005
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A monthly electronic newsletter from Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) -
http://www.wougnet.org
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This month's contents:
1. Women Organisations in Uganda
2. Documents on Women's Issues in Uganda
3. Links & Resources
4. Project News and Events
5. WOUGNET News
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WOMEN ORGANISATIONS IN UGANDA
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= Munkunyu Women's Development Association (MUWODA)
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/muwoda.html
Based in Kasese District, MUWODA's mission is to uplift the status of
women. MUWODA was founded in 1998 as a communty based organisation by a
group of three women concerned with promoting the quality of life of the
women and girl child by enhancing locally available resources. It operates
in a rural area where the majority of the people live below the poverty line.
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#MUWODA

= Namasuba Kikajjo Women's Development Association (NAKIWDA)
http://www.wougnet.org/Profiles/nakiwda.html
Operating in Namasuba Kikajjo zone, NAKIWDA's mission is to promote the
economic empowerment of women in the development process
http://www.wougnet.org/wo_dir.html#NAKIWDA

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DOCUMENTS ON WOMEN'S ISSUES IN UGANDA
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= The Implementation of Quotas: African Experiences
(International IDEA, Editor: Julie Ballington)

This report examines women's political representation on the African
continent, and shows how quotas have contributed to increasing women's
access to political power. Gender quotas are now increasingly viewed as an
important policy measure for boosting women's access to decision-making
bodies throughout the world. Experience from Africa is very encouraging:
over 20 countries on the continent either have legislated quotas or
political parties that have adopted them voluntarily. This report
illustrates the different quota types that are being implemented in
different political contexts, including the situation in Uganda.
http://www.wougnet.org/documents.html#IQAE

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LINKS & RESOURCES
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a) Development

= Engabu Za Tooro - Tooro Youth Platform for Action (EZT)
Operating in Kabarole, Kyenjojo and Kamwenge districts, EZT's mission is to
promote organizational discipline, and initiate group effort
entreprenuership and community mobilization for competitive, integrated and
sustainable development. While the original target was youth out of school,
today EZT is creating activities that cater for the needs of all members of
the community. EZT activities include conferences for youth in
institutions, cultural research and education emphasised by elders in the
community, functional adult literacy and vocational training for women.
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/development.html#EZT

b) ICT-related organisations and resources

= Rural Information Services Association (RISA)
Based in Kayunga District, RISA's mission is the innovative use of
information technologies for development of the rural poor. RISA's
activities include training seminars on the use of ICTs for rural
development; providing information on best practices to women and youth
groups affected by HIV/AIDS; and creating training materials on audio/video
cassettes and CDs to record local content (music/drama) for purposes of
sharing experiences and best practices.
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/ictresources.html#RISA

= ITAfrica
ITAfrica is a simple vision: provide a database of expertise for growing
African IT communities. With the dramatic growth of services in the last
five years, and the fragmented nature of this sector, this resource is
provided as a community-driven database of IT experts, businesses, events
and projects. Highlighting local services, local companies, and local
solutions to specifically African opportunities is key. Too often
governments and CEOs have looked 'outside', where in fact, help and
expertise is either on their doorstep, or can quickly be developed.
ITAfrica is designed to kill that 'excuse' of not knowing who does what. To
be listed, one's primary business must be as an IT services provider in a
town/country of Africa.
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/ictresources.html#ITA

c) Human Rights

= Sexual Violence Research Initiative (SVRI)
The SVRI aims to build an experienced and committed network of researchers,
policy makers, activists and donors to ensure that the many aspects of
sexual violence are addressed from the perspective of different disciplines
and cultures. The SVRI website provides information about the SVRI and
contains links to documents and other resources on sexual violence and
sexual violence research.
http://www.wougnet.org/Links/rights.html#SVRI

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PROJECT NEWS AND EVENTS
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February 2005

= Gender and Agriculture/Rural Development in the Information Society -
Announcing Round 2 of GenARDIS (Application deadline: February 25, 2005)

The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA),
the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the International
Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) and the Humanist
Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (Hivos) are inviting
applications for the second round of the GenARDIS small grants programme.
GenARDIS is a small grants fund to address gender issues in Information and
Communication Technologies for Agricultural and Rural Development in
Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP Countries). Application forms
are available online or via email to .
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews05.html#GenARDIS2

March 2005

= Prix Ars Electronica: Digital Communities Award (Application deadline:
March 11, 2005)
For the second time, Prix Ars Electronica will honor important achievements
by digital communities. This category focuses attention on the wide-ranging
social impact of the Internet as well as on the latest developments in the
fields of social software, mobile communications and wireless networks.
The "Digital Communities" category is open to political, social, and
cultural projects, initiatives, groups, and scenes from all over the world
utilizing digital technology to better society and assume social
responsibility. It is meant to recognize the initiators and propagators of
these communities as well as the developers of the relevant technologies,
and to honor those whose work contributes to the establishment and
proliferation of Digital Communities as well as provide understanding and
research into them.
http://www.wougnet.org/Events/projectnews05.html#PAE05

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WOUGNET News
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= WOUGNET receives support from CTA for "Enhancing Access to Agricultural
Information using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)" project

WOUGNET is embarking on a three-year program, 2005-2007, whose main
objective is to strengthen and support the use of ICTs among women and
women organisations, build capacities, and expand WOUGNET activities to
reach out to women in the rural areas.

Under the rural access component of the three-year program, WOUGNET has
developed a project entitled "Enhancing Access to Agricultural Information
using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs)" that is supported
by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation ACP-EU
(CTA) and is being piloted in Apac District, Northern Uganda. The main
objective of the project is to provide access to agricultural information
to women farmers. The main activities include: identify information needs
and prioritize agricultural information for rural farmers, package the
required information into formats to suit the farmers/local users using
appropriate delivery mechanisms and disseminate the information, establish
linkages with CTA Question and Answer Service (QAS) based at the National
Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) to provide answers to farmers'
questions, and establish the Kubere Information Centre with linkages to
agricultural-focused organisations.

For further information about the project, contact . For
information about CTA, visit .

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