In depth

University women struggle for knowledge access in Africa

Posted Wed 2 Jun 2010 - 00:20 | 7,086 views
The future female leaders of Africa are up against major barriers to knowledge access, which could mean lost opportunities in university learning and teaching the state-of-the-art research most necessary for academic success. Online academic journals, and university textbooks are a few of the important resources that are part of this access to knowledge, which is pertinent particularly at the…

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Do copyrights and patents limit access to HIV/AIDS knowledge and treatment in Africa?

Posted Wed 2 Jun 2010 - 00:20 | 7,012 views
The UNAIDS 2008 report confirms that Sub-Saharan Africa continues to be the region most seriously affected by AIDS in the world. As part of the response to this pandemic, access to information and knowledge on HIV/AIDS is vital, as disease prevention depends heavily on information. In a world where there is a price to pay for access to knowledge, to what extent do patents and copyrights limit…

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Dealing with fraud and internet "love": women and cybercrime in Burkina Faso

Posted Wed 2 Jun 2010 - 00:20 | 11,778 views
Fraud, data piracy, seeking partners on the internet: women in Burkina Faso are as much victims as perpetrators. From Ouagadougou to Banfora via Bobo-Dioulasso, and from Ouahigouya to Dori, all towns with an internet connection are affected by this phenomenon. However, the fight against this crime is in the tentative stages, if not altogether non-existent. Legislation is still under development.

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Revolution in ICT infrastructure: Hope for the Ghanaian woman

Posted Wed 2 Jun 2010 - 00:20 | 14,832 views
In the area of telecommunications, Ghana appears to perform relatively well in relation to its neighbours in the West-African region. How does it fare in terms of ensuring that gender concerns are taken into consideration whilst promoting ICTs for development? Emily Nyarko examines this question through a closer look at the Strategic Document for ICT and Gender in the national ICT policy agenda.

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GenARDIS: supporting the use of ICTs by women farmers for social change

Posted Wed 2 Jun 2010 - 00:19 | 6,404 views
The GenARDIS grants programme was developed in recognition of the ICT-related constraints and challenges faced by rural women in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The grants winners took part in a knowledge sharing workshop on gender, agriculture and rural development in the information society in Entebbe, Uganda from July 3 to 8. The following is a report by Sylvie Niombo - Deputy…

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Will women really benefit from the digital revolution?

Posted Wed 2 Jun 2010 - 00:19 | 4,681 views
The book “The Gender Digital Divide in Francophone Africa, a Harsh Reality” written by Marie-Helene Mottin-Sylla has just been translated into English by APC, the Association for Progressive Communications. On this occasion, Sylvie Niombo, Deputy Coordinator of APC’s Africa-Women Programme, interviewed Marie-Helene on the content of the book.

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Gender, Trade and the role of ICTs in economic growth

Posted Wed 2 Jun 2010 - 00:19 | 5,541 views
While trade offers opportunities for women's socio-economic empowerment and growth in Africa, it can perpetuate women's marginalisation and gender inequalities, which in turn hamper growth and development, the ultimate goal of trade.

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Why Are Congolese Women Absent from Decision Making in ICTs?

Posted Wed 2 Jun 2010 - 00:19 | 6,577 views
The Republic of Congo is located in Central Africa, with an estimated population of 2,854,600in 2000. The urban population is at 66% and is concentrated in the southern areas of the country. Telecommunications infrastructures are decrepit, limited to the two biggest cities of the country (Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire). Despite the existence of private telecommunications companies, only mobile…

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Pourquoi les femmes sont-elles absentes dans la prise de décision dans les TIC au Congo?

Posted Wed 2 Jun 2010 - 00:19 | 4,421 views
La République Congo est située en Afrique centrale et possède une population estimée à 2 854 600 habitants en 2000. Elle est urbaine à 66% et se trouve concentrée dans la partie sud du pays. Les infrastructures de télécommunications sont vétustes, limitées en grande partie aux deux grandes villes du pays (Brazzaville et Pointe-Noire). Malgré l’existence des sociétés de télécommunications privées…

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ICT gender issues past, present and future

Posted Wed 2 Jun 2010 - 00:19 | 5,855 views
As women living in Africa we have many things to confront: the process of African enlargement and our participation in the globalised world, the decline of national states, the dominance of market and consumerism, growing poverty, social and political inequalities or insecurities within Africa and outside in the face of neo-conservatism and dominance of the United States.