Africa launch of the Digital Diaspora initiative.

In January 2002 in New York, the United Nations Development Fund for Women launched its Digital Diaspora initiative to build strategic partnerships between African Information Technology entrepreneurs in the diaspora and women's organisations and business associations in Africa. The initiative is aimed of harnessing the financial resources, IT and business expertise of Africans in the diaspora to tackle the challenges of feminised poverty. It seeks to undertake projects that empower women economically through capacity building in the use of information communication technologies, identifying business opportunities, creating business partnerships, and providing access to finance as well as building the knowledge base on ICTs for poverty alleviation. The initiative is guided by a Global Advisory Committee comprised of African ICT entrepreneurs from the Diaspora, ICT experts and representatives of the private sector and the United Nations system. A comprehensive programme to address the gender digital divide in Africa has been prepared with advise from the GAC and will form the framework for action under the initiative. Partnership with the UN ICT Task Force, Digital Partners and Gruppo Cerfe has been forged in the June 2002 launch of a complementary initiative, the Digital Diaspora Network Africa (DDNA), with chapters in North America and Europe. A gender caucus including African women's groups and organisations in the field of ICT bas also been forged to catalyse women's rights and organising around the preparatory processes of the World Summit of the information Society. The New Partnership for Africa's Development, which the UN General Assembly endorsed at its 57th session as the framework the international community support to Africa, recognizes ICTs as one of the priority sectors for Africa's development, and entrusts African governments to promote the role of women in society and economic development. In this context, UNIFEM, United Nations Development Programme, the Office of the Special Coordinator for Africa and the Least Developed Countries, the UN ICT Task Force and the UN Fund for International Partnerships in collaboration with the Government of Uganda, plan to launch the initiative in Africa on the occasion of the second meeting of the Global Advisory Committee. The outcome of the meeting in Kampala will be presented during the upcoming Meeting of the UN ICT Taskforce, in September 2003, and will Inform the ongoing process of...