Engendering IT Tools: WLP Partners Share ICT Advocacy Strategies

On September 5th, Women's Learning Partnership presented a panel at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) entitled "Technology for Women's Rights Advocacy and Democracy Building." In introducing the event and the panelists, Carl Gershman, President of the NED, pointed to the importance of women's political participation and the key role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in mobilising women as voters and leaders. The discussion, moderated by WLP President Mahnaz Afkhami and including panelists Sakena Yacoobi of the Afghan Institute of Learning, Asma Khader of Sisterhood is Global Institute/Jordan, Lina Abou Habib of Collective for Research & Training on Development-Action in Lebanon, and Rakhee Goyal of WLP, addressed the increasingly crucial role of ICTs in the context of advocacy for women's rights, and how ICTs can be used within a participatory framework.

Mahnaz Afkhami introduced the discussion saying, "International movement building in the 21st century and involvement of youth in advocacy will be made possible largely through technology." From an educational standpoint, ICT plays an important role, explained Sakena Yacoobi. Ms. Yacoobi, a well known Afghan educator, worked to build interest in ICT trainings by first integrating them into a workshop series addressing leadership and literacy. She noted demand for computer training quickly increased following these trainings. Women began to spend hours and hours in computer labs where they can "push a button and get linked with a different world, different resources," and from there they go on to take leadership roles. Asma Khader described how technology facilitates discussion within the "Claiming Equal Citizenship" campaign, moving it from a local to a national and international level. ICT is inherently democratic and empowering, she explained, offering freedom, accessibility, and a sense of solidarity. Ms. Khader also observed that in the context of the women's movement, ICT serves not only as a large-scale catalyst, but also as an access point for sharing experiences and obtaining anonymous legal advice on nationality or other family law issues. "Sometimes," she said, "in cases such as honor killings, it is a tool that saves lives." Lina Abou Habib described the experience of coordinating multi-national Arabic leadership e-Courses, pointing to the broader potential for outreach and mobilisation using this tool. E-courses can reach beyond constituents she describes as "intermediaries" - the community organisers and activists who are often the target audience for live trainings - and instead become a tool for mobilising a younger generation, overcoming challenges of geographic and social mobility, and offering a more economically sustainable training option.

All of the panelists emphasised the importance of ICT for facilitating communication within the women's movement, as well as its ability to connect activists and experiences across regions. WLP Executive Director Rakhee Goyal concluded the panel, showcasing the use of blogs and social networking tools such as Facebook and YouTube by women's organisations to raise awareness and mobilise constituents to advocate for women's human rights. She pointed to the use of participatory training methods for technology training featured in Making IT Our Own: Information & Communication Technology Training of Trainers Manual.