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Using ICTs to transform women’s images in conflict situations
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Because women bear the brunt of violent conflicts, they have also been at the forefront of conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peace building. They have taken on different initiatives to transform the negative and stereotypical victim image that is often attributed to women caught in violent conflict situations to a positive and empowered image of stakeholders and active participants in the pursuit for just and sustainable peace. However, the idea of using the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) for facilitating dialogues towards peace remains an unpopular concept among women involved in peace activism. This, despite the many examples of how such technologies have been used to support grassroots activism, networking and movement building. For the International Women's Tribune Centre however, our long experience in using ICTs to get women’s voices heard in global policy and decision-making and in translating policy rhetoric into realities at the community level, has taught us that there is more to ICTs than just serving as a cheaper and faster communication vehicle and knowledge source.


In October 2005, on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, a landmark document that marks the first time the UN Security Council addressed the disproportionate and unique impact of armed conflict on women and recognized their contributions to conflict prevention, peacekeeping, conflict resolution and peace-building, we at IWTC launched the Peacebuilding Cyberdialogue in partnership with Isis WICCE. The Peacebuilding Cyberdialogue brought together women peacebuilders from Nepal, the Philippines, Timor Leste, Uganda and Zimbabwe representing 40 women’s organizations through a ‘real time global town hall meeting’ using Internet chat with voice and video/visual contact. It connected women working on peacebuilding and conflict resolution at country and community levels with gender advocates, policy makers and diplomats meeting at the UN, and with women attending the AWID Forum in Bangkok, Thailand. Participants in New York included personnel of the Canadian mission to the UN, women activists from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burma, and USA as well as Rachel Mayanja, the Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women. The major thrust of the Peacebuilding Cyberdialogue was women’s efforts to implement the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, as well as the gaps and challenges they confront in working for its full implementation. Rachel Mayanja noted the women's concerns and suggestions and took their messages to the Open Debate of the UN Security Council, which took place immediately following the Peacebuilding Cyberdialogue.

The discussions during the Peacebuilding Cyberdialogue were recorded and edited and were used to produce radio features, public service announcements and radio drama in English, Luganda and Swahili. These radio productions that highlight women’s role in peacebuilding and reconstruction are currently being aired in different radio stations in Uganda and other parts of Africa. The Peacebuilding Cyberdialogue combined the power of the new information and communication technologies and the broad reach of radio to allow women peace activists at the national and community levels to sit at the peace table with policy makers and gender advocates at the international level. At the same time, it allowed for a broader outreach to more women in the communities by way of the radio productions.



The Peacebuilding Cyberdialogue represented an important link in “grounding” the connection between policies proposed at global level and realities confronting women at the local level. It was an effective exercise in making local voices heard in a global space and bringing back that global discussion to make sense at the local level. Moreover, the Peacebuilding Cyberdialogue is an example of innovative usage of ICTs that builds on current efforts in conflict resolution, conflict prevention, and peacebuilding by enhancing channels, and modalities of communication, information dissemination, knowledge sharing, and collective learning in virtual spaces, especially when physical interactions are not possible because of geographical distance, lack of resources, and in certain instances, political sensitivities. It builds on the holistic view of conflict transformation, conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peacebuilding as complex processes that are founded on the principles of inclusion and effective dialogue which can lead to trust, respect, and mutual acceptance of differences.

Within the broader picture of IWTC’s organizational objectives, the Peacebuilding Cyberdialogue is part of our continuing efforts to develop a core group of community radio broadcasters, print journalists, and other media practitioners who will ensure an on-going flow of information to women at country and community levels regarding the use of a global policy like the SCR 1325 as well as the existence of new legal mechanisms and how they can be used to protect and promote women’s rights.


March 31, 2008 | 2:23 PM Comments  0 comments

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