Vision & Mission

Vision

All women and girls confidently exercise their information and communication rights to create social capital and wealth that positively impacts on their lives.

Mission

Women’sNet is a South African based non-governmental organisation that strengthens women and girls movements for social change through the strategic use of information communication tools and advocacy that promotes access, the right to information and freedom of expression. Women’sNet achieves this through the following:

• Women and girls are empowered to use, control and adapt new information and communication tools, skills and knowledge to meet their own needs and to claim their rights.
• By collaborating with networks and campaigns Women’sNet successfully advocates for policy change that promotes gender justice, internet rights and freedoms.
• Women’sNet is a key player in advocating for universal access to affordable, secure and gender aware information and communication technology services.
• Women’sNet is an effective, innovative lead agent for social change with knowledgeable and skilled people.
• Women’sNet is a learning organisation with systems to monitor and evaluate our interventions in order to increase our impact and deepen our practice.

Women'sNet Approach

The Women'sNet model rests on three pillars, information/content generation linked to networking and capacity bui lding. Examples of how content development has gone hand-in-hand with capacity development of women's organisations include the work done in preparation of the Violence Against Women site, the human rights site, and the governance site. In the context of building networks for action, this is a tried and tested developmental model for ICT work, and has underpinned all Women'sNet capacity development and content generation activities.

This model en sures Women'sNet's sustainability and the sustainability of South African women's organisations in the long term. Without the engagement with women's organisations and efforts to build their capacity, content flow to the Women'sNet site will be impeded. As it is, most women's organisations lack the capacity and resources to use and engage with ICTs without some facilitation by Women'sNet. Furthermore, without women's organisations' active participation in content generation, Women'sNet loses its authenticity and uniqueness.

Four years after its establishment, Women'sNet has developed a regional and international profile and a reputation as a project that both disseminates relevant information and supports other gender-aware organisations in their work to advance gender equality. Much of this profile rests on our networking and capacity development activities. Women'sNet is an active partner within an Africa-wide network of women in ICTs that have taken on the challenge of promoting ICTs for social development and gender transformation.

Women'sNet has been an active participant in regional gender and ICT advocacy and training through its membership within APC Africa Women and the global network, APC WNSP. Where ICT circles would not norma lly include gender issues, Women'sNet has been identified as a gender and ICT advocate and invited to these fora to make presentations. Women'sNet staff participated in the preparatory processes of the World Summit on the Information Society (2003, to 2005) and remain active in advocating for principles and action areas for the information society that are both gender-inclusive and sensitive to the specificities of Africa contexts.

Since its inception , Women'sNet has successfully implemented a number of projects as part of its mandate to support South African women in harnessing ICTs to facilitate women's empowerment through networking and specia l projects.