Reflections from the Feminist Tech Exchange
by jkemitare | November 10, 2008 at 12:36 PM
As I sit in my room in Cape Town after Day one of the Feminist Tech Exchange, I reflect on how ICT can be used by us as a powerful tool for community mobilization to empower communities and especially women. We do not necessarily have to use the internet (although this is a powerful tool) we can be innovative and educate and help our communities to change attitudes considering men and women as equal human beings.
Comments
Empowerment
I applaud your efforts and will to educate communities in Africa to change attitudes towards gender equality. I hope that you can share with us what skills, tools and innovations you are learning at the Feminist Tech Exchange and what general thoughts and experiences you are gaining from this exchange.
Warm Regards,
Jade
Welcome, Jean!
Welcome to PulseWire, Jean. How was your trip to Cape Town? Have you met Leah, the World Pulse African Outreach Specialist, who is also at FTX? What kind of skills are you hoping to learn at FTX? What is the conference like? I can't wait to hear more about what is going on there since I could not make the long journey to Cape Town!
Warmly,
Lisa
Greetings Jean, I would
Greetings Jean,
I would love to hear more about the Feminist Tech Exchang. I hope you have a chance to post to PulseWire again and share more about what is being coveredat FTX.
Best,
Sally
PulseWire Online Volunteer
Welcome!
I couldn't agree more, sometimes gener equality takes a long time, but every stride is important. I myself am a bit technology challenged and I know how un-empowered that makes me feel at times. It's hard to compete in the world when you don't have the skills to compete.
That is why the work you are doing is so important! Thanks for your work and thanks for helping women to reach their full potential!
In Friendship,
Wendy
Global and Local
Welcome Jean,
Thank you for sharing.
What I think is powerful about Internet-based communication technologies is their ability to link people that would, heretofore, been working in isolation. It creates the potential to overcome challenges and celebrate successes in an unprecendented forum of caring human beings. I agree with you, however, that substantive change begins with people loving and caring about one another, face to face, on the front lines of human confusion.
It is behaving differently in the same situation that changes the situation itself. Words help, visuals help, and large networks like ICT help; but change begins inside us where, if I may quote you, we reconcile the "contradiction between social justice issues and what has been socialized [in us]... as good morals."
In my understanding, equality comes from the practice of equality. When the male dominated hierarchy promotes its greatness, we all lose; when the feminist movement promotes its greatness, we all lose. It is when men and women practice equality, even in the most unequal situations, that we eventually win our freedom from the oppression of inequality. As our Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said,
"One day we will win our freedom. We will not only win freedom for ourselves. We will so appeal to your heart and your conscience that we will win you in the process. And our victory will be a double victory. This is our message. This is the message of nonviolence. And I believe that this is the message that will transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony."
We will one day be delightfully and joyfully different and equal. It will be people like you who guide us there.
In Friendship, Dave...
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world."
-- Mohandas K. Gandhi