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Following
on the footsteps of its most recent strategic
planning exercise, FIAM has decided to focus
its attention and energies on the priorities inscribed
below. These priorities are taking the form of projects
the Federation is spearheading with its member associations
or issues to be debated for position development and
statement. MIDC stands here for Multimedia and Interactive
Digital Content.
Issues
 Women and IT (Source: UNESCO)
March 2007
In developing countries, women face many cultural and logistical barriers in the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs), which are often more readily accessible to men. How can we bridge this digital divide? Can ICTs be used to address gender issues?
A major challenge is gender equality in the use of ICTs. Women tend to be 'late adopters', meaning that they often tend to take longer to adopt to and utilize new technology than men. The overall use of the Internet by women is mostly "consumerist", functioning as users, but rarely as providers or active participants. This may be linked to the perception that fields such as engineering and computer science are considered part of the "male" domain in many societies. It is reinforced by gender stereotyping in the media, poor career advice in schools, and lack of career structures within research and development to support women?in regards to pregnancy and childrearing.
Both access and ability are important parts of training programmes targeting women on the use of technology. Training programmes should also be well coordinated with policy and educational planning.
Although ICTs have become an arena where gender differences have become apparent, ICTs have also proven to be a potential means of overcoming gender disparities in society at large. Its potential to educate people through the spread of information is evident through the use of audio-visual industries, the internet and by using ICT training to empower women.
Some initiatives
The publication Gender and ICTs for Development presents a collection of case studies whereby women and their communities in developing countries have been influenced by ICTs. It shows how ICTs can have profound implications for women and men in terms of employment, education, health, environmental sustainability and community development. Five case studies illustrate the different issues in gender and ICTs for development, including e-commerce in Bhutan, entrepreneurship by women workers in China, post-war communication using radio and ICTs in Sierra Leone, sustainable fisheries production in Ghana, and information exchange related to HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean.
The Commonwealth Of Learning (COL) and its network are working to address gender barriers encountered by women in the use of ICTs for education and training, especially with regard to open and distance learning. From 1998 to 2001, COL convened four regional expert group meetings to identify barriers in ICTs in education based on gender differences.
Equal Access, is an international not-for-profit organization that creates positive change for large numbers of people in the developing world by providing information and education through targeted content, cost-effective technology and community engagement.
It creates customized communication strategies and outreach solutions that address issues such as basic education, teacher training, womens empowerment, human rights, HIV/AIDS prevention, health education, governance, livelihoods training and landmine awareness. By designing and producing compelling local language audio and multi-media programs incountry, Equal Access aims to educate and catalyze behaviour change in target audiences.
(Please see www.equalaccess.org for more information )
(Source: www.unesco.org C in focus)
Digital review of Asia Pacific 2005/2006
New 2005-2006 edition of
<<Digital review of Asia Pacific 2005/2006>> launched
The completely updated edition of the Digital Review of Asia Pacific contains authoritative reports on how 29 economies are using ICT in business, government and civil society written by senior authors who live and work in the region. Included are three sub-regional chapters on the Pacific Island States, ASEAN and APEC.
(For detail information, please visit www.digital-review.org)
Mythanalyse du Future
Book: <<Mythanalyse du Future>>
Author: Hervé Fischer
We observed a generalized return of the magic thoughts in all human activities mostly in view C arts, ecology, artificial and robotic intelligence, astrophysics, biotechnology, genetics, new economy and hyper-liberalism, digital technology of communication and internationalization. This omnipresence its-self marks the inevitable importance to understand ours days
Then, how to unveil and to be free from the contemporary mythology?...
(To read the presentation of the book, see www.hervefischer.net)
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