The following Information has been provided by conference organisers;

Using mobile technologies to achieve development goals (M4D) could present a tremendous opportunity to rapidly meet development objectives, including promoting transparency, supporting skill development, increasing access to health care and education, and expanding economic opportunity.

Yet, focusing on mobile technologies can be seen as a quick fix by governments and development organizations, especially if they choose to invest in M4D rather than tackle complex structural problems. Mobile technologies also remain unevenly incorporated into development planning, as rapid changes in the field make it difficult to anticipate new technologies.

As a critical source of financial and technical assistance around the world, the use of mobile technologies by the World Bank Group presents a chance to accelerate the achievement of development goals or deepen negative impacts.

Join the Bretton Woods Committee, in cooperation with Development Alternatives, Inc, for a webinar to examine the opportunities and challenges for the World Bank Group to use mobile technologies to meet its objectives.

Speakers Include;

Ineke Buskens, Research Director, Gender Research into Information Communication Technology for Empowerment
TBD, Mobiles for Development Team, DAI
Philipe Dongier, Country Director, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi (TBC)

Follow this on Twitter for updates. Comment using the hashtag #BWCM4D.

Follow this link for further details; http://www.brettonwoods.org/events/index.php/80/Effectively_Applying_Mobile_Technologies_to_the_World_Bank_s_Development_Planning

A SID Gender Work Group Panel Presentation
Co-sponsored by the Centre on Governance, University of Ottawa
Date: April 24, 2012; Time:5:30 to 7:30 pm
Location: Room 080 Gendron Hall, University of Ottawa, 30 Marie-Curie Private (off King Edward Ave), Ottawa Map link: http://g.co/maps/5r6fh

Four panelists,with extensive experience in the area, will speak about initiatives and ideas to address gendered poverty, recognizing issues of diversity, complexity and different contexts and experiences. They will discuss approaches to reducing multidimensional and interrelated causes and consequences of women’s experiences of poverty. A key point of discussion is the relationship between women’s economic and social empowerment.

The idea of SID discussions is to share perspectives, experiences, ideas and knowledge in relation to international development issues, bringing out differing, emerging and complex understandings.

Panelists:
Francisco Cos-Montiel, IDRC Senior Program Specialist Supporting Inclusive Growth, Women’s Rights and Citizenship. Francisco’s work focuses on poor and marginalized women and on ensuring their full participation in government and decision-making.

Rita Morbia, Inter Pares Executive Director. Rita joined Inter Pares in 2001 as a program manager for Asia.

Jane Parpart, Institute of Political Economy, Carleton University, visiting professor. Professor Parpart’s research areas of concentration include: Gender and Development Theory; Empowerment, Agency and Gender Mainstreaming; Masculinities, Conflict and (In)security; Gender Analysis, Policy and Praxis; as well as Gender and the Urban Middle Class in Zimbabwe.

Following short panel presentations (15 to 20 minutes each) the floor will be open for questions.

Welcome by Riccardo Rossi-Ricci, SID Ottawa-Gatineau President.
Moderation by Gender Work-Group co-Chair Anne Webb

The book was featured by Professor Geoff Walsham of the University of Cambridge in his presentation; ‘Development informatics research: from early beginnings to future opportunities’. The presentation was also one of the only two keynote addresses. the other keynote address was presented by Dr. Mahabir Pun of the Nepal Wireless Network Project.

Click here for more details on this conference.

GRACE members: Prof. Rokhsana Abdul Rahman and Radia Shamsher presented a paper at the International Conference on Gender Transformations in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa Cairo, November 16th and 17th, 2011. the paper was

entitled “Masculinity and its Impact on Violence Against Women in Yemen (Aden), Dr. Huda

Basaleem presented her paper entitled “Women’s Reproductive Health Seeking Behavior in
Four Districts in Sana’a: Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis.
Prof. Rokhsana was a discussant for session Intimacy, Gender Relations and Subjectivities

At the end of the conference Prof. Rokhsana Ismail was selected to be one of the editors

of the book or scientific annual journal which will be issued by CEFAS entitled Gender

Transformations in the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa. This journal will

be issued in September 2012.

When approaching the last step of the technical part of her research journey, Saneya found it was necessary to provide the female land owners with what would meet their needs and contribute to solving problems they may face during the management of their land. To disseminate the research outcomes to them and others in the surrounding context: 1) Loaded CDs with the contents of the extension program copied from the web site (www.gracemena-elneshawy.com ) were prepared and handed in to the female land owners. They were trained on how to use the CD as a source for obtaining and utilizing the information in case the  internet lines are disconnected  in the village as they complained about this frequent inconvenience. 2) A print-out of the CD contents was also prepared and given to each of the female land owners to make the information available to them in case the electricity is cut off.

The respondents received the distribution of the CD with great happiness and encouragement as they guarantee the availability of the information related to the procedures they need to apply step by step, especially those related to dates, numbers, doses, etc… that should be applied on time even when facing an electrical cut.

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The following were her contributions;

To make ‘impact on vulnerable group’ a separate item, to de-link it from ‘cyber security’;

To establish a think tank on how to prevent damage to vulnerable groups through the internet;

To add training in gender awareness to the capacity building of the future internet governance leaders; just promoting women in leadership is not enough: the leadership has to become gender aware;

To include a focus on women, gender and development into the focus, as sustainable development is key to the focus of the SAIGF. Women’s leadership in and contribution to development has been under acknowledged. This need not happen in this forum;

She went on to add that the internet is a social space. Before anything else, it is about human beings connecting with other human beings. Hence internet governance is not only about technical governance but also about social governance. She expressed that framing the ‘social’ as a problem is not a realistic and effective approach.

Ms Buskens reiterated that the internet is also a space that stimulates aspects of human nature that otherwise would not have the chance to proliferate. She went on to say that Just as there are no neutral ICT tools, there are no neutral ICT spaces: the internet is a not a neutral space as it is embedded in, fed by and in relationship to the gender-power relationships that prevail in the ‘physical’, ‘real life’ space of the ‘real world’. It is important therefore that Internet Governance takes this into account.
40 people from the region met at this forum to discuss issues of Internet governance to establish a regional standpoint to take this into the International Internet Governance Forum meetings in Nairobi later this month.

The event is dubbed Training Workshop on Technopreneurship for South Countries. It is organised by the International Science, Technology and Innovation Centre for South-South Cooperation under the Auspices of UNESCO In collaboration with the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Malaysia (MOSTI). It is also managed by Usains Holding Sdn. Bhd.

Visit the Conference website here…

Read the Presentation by Ineke Buskens;

The theme of the 2011 HDCA conference held in September from 6-8th, 2011 in The Hague, Netherlands was ‘Innovation, Development Human Capabilities’

A statement from the Conference organisers read as follows;

Bringing about human development for all is a challenge. It is not sufficient to investigate how human capabilities are expanded or diminished by our current policies, institutional arrangements, incentive structures, social practices, infrastructures and technologies. Grounded in our understanding of these realities, we also need to be creative and innovative in order to bring about change. The 2011 conference theme Innovation, Development and Human Capabilities is an invitation to discuss and reflect on this. Whether it concerns social or technological innovation, grassroots innovation or innovation policy – to make innovation truly work for human development, input from different angles is needed. We thus expect speakers and papers from a wide variety of disciplines. While innovation is the thematic focus of the 2011 HDCA conference, we naturally also welcome papers on other aspects of human development and the capability approach.