UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER
"African Women And Economic Development" Internet Working Group

"African Women And Economic Development" Internet Working Group



Women/Africa/Economics Internet Working Group
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Source: AFRIK-IT@LISTSERV.HEA.IE

Invitation to the "African Women And Economic Development" Internet Working Group

Purpose of the AFR-FEM Internet Working Group

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) will host its 40th Anniversary Conference, "African Women and Economic Development: Investing in our Future," on April 28 - May 1, 1998 in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia. The Conference will focus on four themes:

* Developing African Economies: The Role of Women
* Achieving Good Governance: The Essential Participation of Women
* African Women and the Information Age: A New Window of Opportunity
* Creating Opportunities for Africa's New Generation

In association with this Conference, UNECA and the World Bank, on be- half of the Global Knowledge Partnership, are sponsoring a "virtual Working Group", which aims to support the Conference and to build a re- source of field-based information related to the Conference themes. Working Group members are invited to share information, related to the Conference themes, regarding their activities, key success factors, lessons drawn from experience, and the impact of their activities in the field. We would particularly like to encourage women and young peo- ple in the South, especially those in Africa, to contribute information about their activities and experience. Information gathered by the Working Group will be organised as a permanent reference for Conference participants, local communities, women's groups, NGOs, governmental bodies, and development agencies, including the World Bank, UNECA, UNDP.

The Working Group will be moderated and animated to maintain focus on the specific objectives of the conference:

* Share information that is ordinarily difficult to disseminate, and is relevant to Conference themes, particularly information from those in the South :

- Best practices
- Research results
- Useful tools in selected skill/topic areas
- Information on experts
- Information on available resources
- Sources of funding support
- Sources of information, e.g., papers, WWW sites,
- NGO activities
- Government and donor programs

* Offer a forum in which Working Group members, especially those involved in the Conference, can provide feed-back, as well as make requests and offers of collaboration.

* Serve as a source of information about the Conference

* Provide regular updates to the larger GKD list plenary about the Working Group activities

HOW TO JOIN THE AFR-FEM WORKING GROUP

Anyone who has electronic mail with Internet access can subscribe to AFR-FEM. To join please send an e-mail to:

MAJORDOMO@MAIL.EDC.ORG

Do *not* enter a subject. In the body of the message, type the text:

SUBSCRIBE AFR-FEM
end

You will receive a Welcome Letter to the Working Group.

HOW TO GET THE AFR-FEM DIGESTS

If you would like to get the digests, i.e., compendium, of AFR-FEM mes- sages, send an e-mail to:

MAJORDOMO@MAIL.EDC.ORG

Do *not* enter a subject. In the body of the message, type the text:

SUBSCRIBE AFR-FEM-digest
end

HOW TO GET THE AFR-FEM WEEKLY SUMMARIES

A summary of the Working Group messages will be posted each week. If you would like to get *only* the summaries, send an e-mail to:

MAJORDOMO@MAIL.EDC.ORG

Do *not* enter a subject. In the body of the message, type the text:

SUBSCRIBE AFR-FEM-summary
end

WORLD WIDE WEB SITE FOR THE CONFERENCE

Information about the Conference and related activities is available at the UNECA Conference Web site at: http://www.un.org/Depts/eca/eca40th/index.htm

In addition, archives of the Working Group will be maintained at the Global Knowledge Partnership Web site: http://www.globalknowledge.org

OTHER RELEVANT RESOURCES

The Global Knowledge for Development discussion List, GKD, offers a vibrant, rich, valuable discussion on a range of issues related to expanding access to information and knowledge to support development. The GKD operates, in a sense, as a "plenary" meeting for all interested in these issues, and the Working Group will post regular updates to the GKD List regarding Working Group outcomes. Approximately 1,000 people and organizations from more than 75 countries participate in the GKD discussion. To join the GKD List, send an e-mail to

MAJORDOMO@MAIL.EDC.ORG

Do *not* enter a subject. In the body of the message, type the text:

SUBSCRIBE GKD
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For further information about AFR-FEM, please contact:

Janice Brodman
Education Development Center
mailto:janiceb@edc.org



Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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