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WOUGNET Update Newsletter - October/November 2008
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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. WOUGNET News

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News and Events
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= Web 2.0 in Africa - Agriculture and New Technologies
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1
'Web 2.0 in Africa' is an eight minute Business
Africa/CTA video production documenting actual
cases on the use of Web 2.0 applications in the
development sector, specifically among farmers in
Africa. The documentary which highlights the
experiences of the interaction with farmers such
as BROSDI does in Uganda is available in English
and has been translated into Langi (Luo) by WOUGNET/Kubere Information Centre.

= 'The Power of A Rural Woman' manifested by
Mpigi Widows Entrepreneurs Association (MWEA)
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=274...
Rural women are Â'ignorantÂ' and Â'powerlessÂ'! For
ignorance and powerlessness are slippery concepts
used, especially on rural women. From the
experience I saw in (MWEA) I stand to advise any
one from now on, to contextualize the words
Â'ignoranceÂ' and Â'powerlessnessÂ' if at all used.
MWEA is a women and orphans organization based in
Mpigi. ItÂ's a member organization to Women of
Uganda Network. Women of Uganda Network have
offered computers to MWEA to enable them produce,
share and store their information-WOUGNETÂ's core values.

= Decentralization of Land Management and
Administration - Has anything changed for Women and Land?
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=276...
In the 1995 constitution, the government of
Uganda vests land in its citizens. This it sets
out to strengthen by decentralizing land
administration and management as per the Land Act
1998. It is almost 10 years now down the road,
but to many the policy doesn't seem to exist.
What has or has not changed for women and land: A case of Lira district.

= Sign up to End Violence Against Women
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategor...
Launched by UNIFEM in November 2007, the Say NO
campaign aims to show that ending violence
against women has broad-based support from all
parts of society. To date, more than 300,000
individuals worldwide (including UNIFEM Goodwill
Ambassador Nicole Kidman), more than 40
governments, and over 190 civil society
organizations have signed on to the campaign.
They hope to collect 1 million signatures by
November 25, 2008, when all signatures will be
ceremonially delivered to UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon, in support of his multi-year effort.

*** UPCOMING EVENTS ***

= 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based
Violence, 25 November - 10 December 2008
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php?option=com_events&task=view_detail&...
16 Days of Activism is a global campaign against
gender-based violence. It commences on 25th of
November and ends on 10th December of every year.
This year the global theme is 'Defending Rights,
Defending Women'. The regional theme is "Our
Strength is the Solution: Communities Can Prevent
Sexual Violence" designed to focus on sexual
violence not just in conflict but also in our communities.

WOUGNET will be partnering with the Gender-based
Violence Prevention Network and other
organisations to conduct a series of activities
to mark the 16 Days of Activism against Gender
Based Violence. The GBV Network is hosted and
coordinated by Raising Voices. If you would like
to send and receive text messages (SMS) of
information and actions throughout the 16 Days,
send your mobile number and country code to: info [at] preventgbvafrica [dot] org

*** OPPORTUNITIES: JOBS, INTERNSHIPS ***

Jobs and internships opportunities are announced by EASSI, ECCA and FOWODE at:
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection...

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Tech Support
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= October 2008: Assessing Information on the Internet
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=259...
When you decide to use information found on the
Internet, you must keep in mind that anyone can
become a publisher on the Web. Unlike libraries,
where information is hand-selected by information
experts, and unlike peer-reviewed academic
publications, much of the information available
on the Internet is of unknown quality. In
addition, millions of websites have been
abandoned by their creators, are not updated or
reviewed, contain broken links or undated,
un-attributed documents. There are also fake
websites, created for fraud or satirical
purposes. Therefore, it is up to you, as the
user, to assess the quality of information you
find and its suitability for a particular use.
You can apply a number of criteria to information
you find to help you assess its validity and quality.

= November 2008: Removing Spyware, Adware, and Malware?
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&se...
If you have been on the Internet for any length
of time, you've probably ran across the topic of
spyware, adware, or malware. This is software
that has installed on your computer, many times
without your permission, or accidentally by
clicking on a popup ad, etc. The problem with
these programs is they will slow your computer
down, make changes to your desktop, homepage,
search page, load programs into your taskbar tray
and otherwise get in the way. In the worst cases,
they will even transmit information from your
computer to servers on the Internet.

= Mobiles in-a-box: Tools and Tactics for Mobile Advocacy
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategor...
Tactical Tech announces 'Mobiles in-a-box: Tools
and Tools and Tactics for Mobile Advocacy' - a
collection of tools, tactics, how-to guides and
case studies designed to inspire advocacy
organisations and present possibilities for the
use of mobile telephony in their work. From
choosing an audience, to privacy and security
issues and also countering technological
challenges, Mobiles in-a-box provides effective
solutions to enable you get started with using
mobiles in your advocacy efforts.

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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= Dignity in Poverty
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategor...

Dignity in Poverty is a BBC Citizen Journalism
project asking people about their housing
situation, access to food, water and toilet
facilities and access to electricity and also
access to health care and education. In what ways
are people poor - how does this make them feel
and do they feel that they are respected despite
being poor, how do poor people retain their
dignity, in what area if any, are they losing
their dignity and what is their self respect as human beings like?
The Dignity in Poverty project coincided with the
UN's Eradication of Poverty Day - which was also
the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights.
The BBC Citizen Journalism Project invited
WOUGNET to contribute to the stories for the day.

= Challenges for Citizen Journalism in Africa
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php?option=com_mamblog&task=show&action...
We have completed day one reflecting on the theme
of citizen journalism of Africa, abbreviated as
CJA. It has been an interesting but challenging
session for both trainers and trainees. About
thirty participants from Kampala and upcountry
locations have gathered at Ridar Hotel in Seeta
Mukono for five days, with financial support from Hivos.

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WOUGNET News
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= Unlocking the Potential of Mobile Technology for Social Impact
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=265...
Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET), was one of the
many organizations that participated in the
recently concluded Mobileactive08 forum. The
meeting took place between 13 ­ 15th October
2008, in Protea WanderersÂ' Club in Johannesburg,
South Africa. It was co - sponsored by IDRC,
Hivos, OSISA, Vodafone Foundation, Vodacom,
Knight Foundation, The Doc from South Africa,
Microsoft, Torque IT. Over 350 participants from
45 countries participated in the highly
interactive forum. Participants included non
profit practitioners using mobile phones in
innovative ways, mobile technologists,
researchers studying the use of mobile phones,
government officials, representatives from
international donor communities and telecom
industry. The theme of the forum was, Â'Unlocking
the Potential of Mobile Technology for Social Impact.Â'

= FAO and WOUGNET commission a study on Food
Insecurity, Gender Based Violence, HIV/AIDs and Transaction
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=264...

Food security can be defined as adequate food
available to all people at all times. Armed
conflict and displacement cause unpredictable
risk to food security as food production is
disrupted making people starve because they lack
means to acquire food. Food insecurity may arise
as a result of environmental risks, drought,
diseases-notably HIV/AIDs, market risk due to
poor spatial arbitrage, poverty, gender based
violence, conflict and displacement.

The conflict in northern Uganda has increased
womenÂ's vulnerability and strengthened social,
cultural and personal factors that perpetuate
Gender Based Violence. Violence against women has
been evident in abductions, indiscriminate rape,
maiming (some have had their lips cut off or
limbs amputated), death and psychological torture
mainly perpetrated by the Lords Resistance Army
(LRA). HIV/AIDs also remains a major problem in
northern Uganda and is generally attributed to
almost two decades of internal strife/conflict
that has led to social and economic destabilization of the region

FAO and WOUGNET have commissioned an assessment
on the impact of food insecurity, gender based
violence, HIV/AIDs and transactional sex on
peopleÂ's livelihoods in Northern Uganda.

= Entrepreneurship Development through use of ICTs ­ A WOUGNET Project
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php?option=com_mamblog&Itemid=83&task=s...
WOUGNET at the end of June 2008 benefited from
the NEPAD Spanish fund for empowerment of Women.
The support was directed towards a project for
Enhancing Income growth between Small and Micro
Women Entrepreneurs in the 3 districts of Uganda
(Ibanda, Apac and Mukono). The main goal of the
project is to promote economic empowerment among
women entrepreneurs in Uganda. This project is
one of its kinds that WOUGNET is implementing
under its entrepreneurship area of operation. The
project will aim at improving incomes of the
women entrepreneurs through exploring and
utilising ICTs in their enterprises and improved enterprise management skills.

= President Museveni visits WOUGNET at the UCC 10th Anniversary Exhibition
http://www.wougnet.org/cms/index.php?option=com_mamblog&Itemid=83
The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) 10th
anniversary Symposium of regulating
communications in the public interest took place
at the Kampala Serena Hotel from 01st to 03rd
October 2008. The anniversary was accompanied by
workshops, discussions and an exhibition.
Uganda Communications Commission invited a total
of thirty one (31) companies and organizations to
exhibit their role in promoting the use of ICTs
to Uganda and elsewhere. These included non
governmental organizations like WOUGNET, private
companies for example internet service provider,
telecommunication companies, couriers companies,
and learning institutions which were represented
by Mbarara University of Science and Technology.
Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) was privileged
to participate and exhibit at this event.

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The Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) website and
mailing lists are hosted by Kabissa - Space for Change in Africa

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

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