How Many African Women are Online?

African women given the impetus can put technolpgy to good use. Source: ris.lib.unc.edu

I pose this simple question to ICT4D researchers on International Women's Day 2012. My orignal intention for this post was to highlight the limited access that African women, and those in other parts of the developing world, have to the Internet and other vital information sources. But where could I find comprehensive statistics to back my claim?

Tweeting at BarCamp Takoradi, Ghana: Men dominate the show

 Or, perhaps am I just tasking myself to bring a non-issue into the limelight? I don't think so. Cursory observation and scanty data available show just how grave the situation is:

• Women’s participation in Internet usage in Africa ranged from 12% (Senegal) to 38% (Zambia), according to this 2003 study. This is notwithstanding the fact that women constitute the majority in most African countries.
• According to socialbakers.com, far more men than women use the social networking site, Facebook in Ghana.

Male/Female ratio of Ghana's Facebook Users

Studies showthat women naturally tend to use the Internet and mobiles for personal and intimate encounters, like what persists on social networks, more than men. So why the huge disparities?

• In Uganda, women's awareness and usage of ICTs is nearly three times less that that of men (ResearctICTAfrica, 2006). There, women tend to acquire basic ICT skills in order to be able to get employment in gender-stereotyped roles, it was noted.

These sad developments defeat the objectives of women empowerment as captured by the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) in 2003:

We are committed to ensuring that the Information Society enables women’s empowerment and their full participation on the basis of equality in all spheres of society and in all decision-making processes. To this end, we should mainstream a gender equality perspective and use ICTs as a tool to that end.

Team Azma coming out of the Kuyu Project Digital Camp in Kenya show the way forward for African girls and women

Not only that. Granted that ICTs have been identified as development tools and women are at the heart of development in our communities, the situation is worrying. Knowledge is power. The inability of women to drink from the knowledge well of the world-wide web is disempowering; this is the inimical to the advancement of development in Africa and elsewhere. Their lack of avenues to express themselves through the emerging digital frontiers choke their voices in the arena of public discourse. This cannot be!

Firstly, we need to be able to place a figure on the actual number of active female Internet users. Next, we should figure out the factors that inhibit women's use of the web and finally put in measures to reverse this trend. Many women are leading the way when it comes to technology in Africa, but we must support many more to bring change to our communities. Bring the women online!

Taking The BarCamp Fever to the Regions of Ghana

Section from BarCamp Accra 2010

BarCamps the world over are space for idea-sharing, networking and fun. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you may be abreast with what barcamps in Ghana are all about.

For starters, a barcamp is simply a conference whose content is mostly user-generated (so we call it an un-conference). That is attendees are allowed to dictate what should be discussed and in what way it should be discussed. This allows for highly relevant, engaging and focused discussions relevant to local communities. The result is that the passion, fervour and "vim" flowing from such discussions push people to come out with many projects, in different sectors, ranging from regular businesses, through social enterprises to building intellectual communities.

And so it is with BarCamp Ghana. I've learnt lots of valuable lessons participating in and volunteering for BarCamps in Ghana. Since 2008, BarCamp Ghana has been nurturing the nation's young minds, preparing them for the future with the knowledge of skills they should be learning, networks they should be building and planting the seed of firm believe that they can thrive and succeed in Ghana despite the prevailing odds. That's the spirit of BarCamp Ghana. Some prefer to sum it up with one word. VIM! That vim is evident in all these BarCamp gatherings, as the creme de la creme of young changemakers are always represented.

One focus of GhanaThink, the organisation behind barcamps in Ghana, for the last two years, has been to spread the barcamp love nationwide. Last year barcamps were held in Accra, Kumasi and Sekondi-Takoradi. This year even more towns are joining the BarCamp train. Kumasi and Cape Coast have already hosted superb events. Tamale and Ho will be debuting their respective regional barcamps ahead of the grand party, BarCamp Ghana 2011, in Accra. Here are some quick details:

Championing local voices for development through technology and ICT

Focus: Northern region, development, NGO, community, technology
Venue: Tamale Polytechnic
Date: 26th November, 2011
Registration: Evenbrite page. OR Text "Barcamp Tamale [your_name] [your_email_address] to 1945
Connect: Facebook, Twitter, Google +

Harnessing local competencies and opportunities for global impact

Focus: Volta region, entrepreneurship, tourism, social media, local content
Venue: Centre for National Culture, Ho
Date: 3rd December, 2011
Registration: Eventbrite page OR Text "Barcamp Ho [your_name] [your_email_address] to 1945
Connect: Facebook, Twitter, Google +

Try to make it to these events if you get a chance and like the BarCamp Ghana page on Facebook! 

Spotlight Takoradi: BarCamp and The Emerging Oil Industry

Takoradi is one of the biggest towns in Ghana. It is host to the oldest of the country's functioning commercial ports, and together with its twin-city, Sekondi, forms one of the most bustling and vibrant social and commercial centres in Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is capital of the Western Region, an area not only rich in forest and mineral resources, but also in awesome tourist attractions and well-developed beaches. There is an active fishing community there too. Find more on the official Sekondi-Takoradi website.

Takoradi has always been a good place to do business in Ghana. With the development of the country's new oil industry, there is every indication that the metropolis has become a bee-hive of intense activity, as many multinational companies plot, strategise and scramble to gain control of the black gold. Questions have been raised with regards to safeguarding the interests of the people of the Western Region and Ghana at large. That is a charge to keep by all stakeholders.

Oil is not the only exciting thing happening in Takoradi at the moment. BarCamp is going there too. BarCamps are known to provide collaboration and networking platforms for people interested in business and other endeavours. Specifically, BarCamp Takoradi aims at catalysing networking among local business people, while showcasing opportunities available in the oil industry. The keyword here is COLLABORATION. There will be great speakers such as Nana Kobina Nketsia, Amos Anyimadu and Wilson Arthur. If you're interested in attending, register online and show up at Takoradi Technical Institute(TTI) on 27th November, 2010.

This year, successful regional BarCamps have been held in Kumasi and Accra, but BarCamp Takoradi comes with its own excitement. Firstly, Takoradi offers a refreshing alternative to Accra and Kumasi as venue for events of this nature. Secondly, it'd be interesting observe the discussions that go on concerning the oil and the opportunities that will be identified and exploited thereof. I hope BarCamp's coming to Takoradi will breed local entrepreneurial and innovative success stories that would be showcased as proof for continuation of this great project. Tsoboi!