51³Ô¹Ï Division for the Advancement of Women
WomenWatch:
Global Information through Computer Networking Technology in the Follow-Up to the FWCW
The Expert Workshop: "Global Information through Computer Networking Technology in the Follow-up to the FWCW" held in New York, on 26-28 June 1996.
WomenWatch: a joint UN project to create a core Internet space on global women's issues.
On 26-28 June, 1996, an Expert Workshop on Global Information through Computer Networking Technology in the Follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW) was held at the 51³Ô¹Ï headquarters, New York. The Workshop was sponsored by the UN Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW).
The Workshop is part of the development of WomenWatch, a proposed core internet space being developed at the UN aimed at facilitating global information exchange and outreach to NGO's for the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action through the use of global computer networking technology. Participants included potential users from women's NGOs and others as well as producers and experts on the Internet from both developed and developing countries.
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An explosion in the field of communications has taken place in the past twenty-five years. At the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in September, 1995, it was stressed that women needed to have access to new information and communication tools as part of empowerment and equal participation.
At the Commission on the Status of Women meeting in March, 1996, it was stressed that the role of women in global communications needs to be strengthened. The Commission endorsed the idea of the joint project of DAW, UNIFEM and INSTRAW to create a core space on the Internet to be called WomenWatch. The Commission saw this as a valuable tool for consolidating and exchanging information on global women's issues; a gateway to information on women and gender available in the UN system and for improved outreach to NGOs. The WomenWatch web page will integrate the Web home-pages of the cooperating institutions and provide archival information on the FWCW and related fora. It will be jointly managed and up-dated to provide a highly relevant one-stop shop for users. Access will be facilitated for users who rely on e-mail and gopher services and interactive fora will be developed to enable exchange of information and ideas. The WomenWatch project is in its first stages and funds are being sought for the next phase.
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