11 September 2007
The North West Provincial Government will be hosting an Indaba for Women in
Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) at the Mmabatho Convention
Centre tomorrow (Wednesday, 12 September 2007) at 8h00.
The Indaba will bring together a considerable number of women of the South
African non-governmental organisations (NGOs), government departments, State
Owned Enterprises and Women SMMEs in all sectors of society, affording a
platform to discuss and debate a wide range of ICT issues. They will further
participate in technology demonstrations an practical training sessions which
will cover a range of topics to deepen the understanding and to enhance the ICT
skills of participants.
As part of the Gender Mainstreaming Initiatives, some of the objectives of
the Indaba are to:
* raise awareness on ICTs and their benefits
* introduce women to the various dimensions of ICT
* identify basic and affordable tools that will ease access to
information
* discuss the challenges of computer illiteracy
* promote the use of ICT and software tools for learning and action for
community development
* introduce participants, particularly young girls, to careers and
opportunities in the ICT sector
* use ICT to discuss and deal with gender-related issues.
It should be noted that the Indaba, which is being pioneered by Premier Edna
Molewa, is the starting point for a regional and wider effort to introduce ICT
in people's lives, and break barriers causes by the digital divide. The North
West Provincial Government would like to see communities adopt and adapt to ICT
so as to overcome development challenges, barriers and obstacles in the
region.
The Indaba is being organised and hosted by the Government Information
Technology Officer and the Office for the Status of Women (OSW) in the Office
of the Premier in partnership with South African National NGO Coalition
(SANGOCO)
North West.
The following organisations and departments have been invited to
participate:
* The Department of Communications
* Telkom
* Universal Service Access Agency (Usaasa)
* Meraka Institute
* South African Post Office
* South African Broadcasting Corporation
* Sentech
* South African Women in Dialogue (Sawid)
* Microsoft South Africa
* SANGONeT
* Women's Net
* Agenda 21
* Financial Institutions such as Absa, FNB and Standard Bank
* Mobile Operators (MTN, Vodacom and Cell C)
* IBM South Africa
* Linuxchix
The North West Provincial Government believes that women, especially those
in rural areas, need to be shown the relevance of ICT to their lives, and how
they can assist in expanding their livelihood options.
"For larger numbers of women to use the technologies more effectively, they
will need to be more available, affordable, and accessible. Getting informed
about and involved with ICT policy issues is critical to the women's
empowerment agenda," Premier Edna Molewa said.
All women members of the Provincial Executive Council and the Legislature
are expected to participate at the Women in ICT Indaba in preparation for the
African Women's Day Celebrations in March 2008.
Members of the media are invited to attend and provide coverage.
Enquiries:
Russel Mamabolo
Tel: 018 387 3103
Cell: 082 900 6610
Issued by: North West Provincial Government
11 September 2007
