Two new projects in Bolivia
Submitted by Daniel Berggren on Thu, 04/23/2009 - 12:30.
In close cooperation with the Dutch NGO IICD (www.iicd.org), SPIDER is set to start two new projects in Bolivia. They are both dealing with ICT and Gender and our counterparts are Bolivian NGOs Casa de la Mujer and CIDOB (Confederación de Pueblos Indígenas de Bolivia).
The innovative technologies in the Ondas Libres program introduce new ways of developing the capacity of the target group. It makes it possible to address problems where conventional methods fail. Moreover, the use of new communication technologies such as internet and email saves time, bridges physical distances and allows the women to participate anonymously. The program, therefore, shows how innovative ICTs can be used to help empower female victims of domestic violence.
The idea of the program is to promote the unification of female victims of domestic violence by providing them with access to a virtual platform. In addition, an online consulting service will also be made available to women at risk from all socio-economic and educational classes and who need to get legal support.
The project focuses on the development of ICT competencies of a core group of 100 indigenous women from all regions to be continuously informed and participate in indigenous and political rights, to be able to gain leadership positions in the organisation at both regional and national level and their direct participation in national policy processes. Learning from earlier experiences, the core group will transfer gained capacities to another 500 indigenous women (1 to 10 ratio).
The women also learn how to collaborate online by writing in a Wiki. A Wiki is a page or collection of web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content. Indigenous women can use Wikis to write proposals about topics that are related to the rights of indigenous people.
The Casa de la Mujer project
The On-line consulting service on domestic violence project or ' Ondas Libres’ (Spanish for 'Free Waves') in Bolivia unites female victims of domestic violence in an online network. In this network they are completely anonymous, which makes them feel more secure about opening up and discussing their problems with other victims through computer programs such as Skype and via email. Women who become victims of domestic abuse often find it hard to approach legal institutions for help. This problem will also be addressed in the program. Another aspect of the project is to develop and broadcast regular radio programs and radio spots featuring stories of victims of domestic violence. To complement the above, three communication centres will also be set up in three different districts and will be run by women’s organisations.The innovative technologies in the Ondas Libres program introduce new ways of developing the capacity of the target group. It makes it possible to address problems where conventional methods fail. Moreover, the use of new communication technologies such as internet and email saves time, bridges physical distances and allows the women to participate anonymously. The program, therefore, shows how innovative ICTs can be used to help empower female victims of domestic violence.
The idea of the program is to promote the unification of female victims of domestic violence by providing them with access to a virtual platform. In addition, an online consulting service will also be made available to women at risk from all socio-economic and educational classes and who need to get legal support.
The CIDOB project
In the period 2002-2007, the organisation of indigenous people in Bolivia (CIDOB) has used ICT for the gathering of information on land use and land rights to support the lobbying activities. After successful embedding of computers and the internet into the daily activities of the organisation and its users, a follow-up project is formulated in 2007. The new phase of the project responds to a request of female indigenous leaders of CIDOB at national and regional level to enhance their capacities in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and leadership competencies. This to increase their participation in lobbying activities and decision-making processes. Parallel, a national chapter of CIDOB for indigenous women was set up early 2008. This chapter targeted ICT and leadership as one of the pillars of their organisation.The project focuses on the development of ICT competencies of a core group of 100 indigenous women from all regions to be continuously informed and participate in indigenous and political rights, to be able to gain leadership positions in the organisation at both regional and national level and their direct participation in national policy processes. Learning from earlier experiences, the core group will transfer gained capacities to another 500 indigenous women (1 to 10 ratio).
The women also learn how to collaborate online by writing in a Wiki. A Wiki is a page or collection of web pages designed to enable anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content. Indigenous women can use Wikis to write proposals about topics that are related to the rights of indigenous people.
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