Four grassroots women representing local NGOs went to Geneva to lobby for their own space in the World Summit on the Information Society. OneWorld South Asia, a Delhi based NGO, which uses ICTs in poverty alleviation and sustainable development, has promoted the concept of creating a Grassroots Caucus for the Summit.
Arunabahen Parmer travels extensively in rural India to capture the travails and hopes of women in India using a heavy umatic camera. At the Self-employed Women's Association (SEWA), Indias largest womens trade union network, Arunabahen works as the video producer. Opportunities for all was her key message to the PrepCom, as she feels that all citizens can use ICTs and not just the educated.
In the PrepCom, Asha Sharma of Prerana shared her experience of working in implementation of interactive voice response system (IVRS) to provide information on healthcare to the slum dwellers in Badarpur, an urban slum in Delhi.
Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK) is using two-way wireless communications system, to provide emergency assistance to the tribal in the state of Uttaranchal. Pratima, who works in RLEK, joined the team to Geneva, and expressed that decisions on the information society must be sensitive to grassroots realities and concerns.
Reiterating the concerns raised by Pratima, P. Packialoutchmy, representing the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), hopes that the information society of tomorrow will incorporate the needs and perspectives of people at the grassroots such as her. This she feels is imperative, if the benefits of ICTs have to reach all, especially the voiceless, the marginalized and the poor.
The women advocated the need to create an inclusive information society through the effective use of both traditional and new media technologies like video, phone, internet and radio.
All of them have showcased the use of those media in the development of their own community in a meeting, convened by OWSA, held on February 21 at the Palais des Nations, the seat of UN Headquarters in Geneva.
In his welcome remarks, Dr Basheerhamad Shadrach, Director of OneWorld South Asia, pointed out that OWSAs endeavour is to amplify grassroots voices. OneWorld is not about technology, its about people. People like this delegation of grassroots women whose voices have to be amplified, he said.
Mr. Gerolf Weigel, Head of ICT4D, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), said the resonance of the voices from the ground was a key input in such an international forum. Also, it is close to what we have sought to support and bring about amplifying voices of the grassroots, voices of women and voices from the South.
The session moderated by Marianne Seger, of the Gender Caucus, had presentations on sterling examples of how ICTs in the hands of the local people can bring about policy changes.
Tracy Naughton, head of the Media Caucus, as Special Guest, in her remarks, highlighted the salient features of the discussion. She said grassroots advocacy such as this facilitated by the delegation from India was necessary to help bridge the digital divide.
Indian delegates have demanded their presence in the Summit through the Grassroots Charter by advocating for creation of a Grassroots Caucus. The key recommendations of the Grassroots Charter are:
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A Grassroots Caucus shall be created; alternatively every caucus shall have two grassroots representatives
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Equal importance shall be given to traditional and modern ICTs in the Information Society Charter
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Priority shall be given to making content on the internet available in local languages
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Financial Mechanisms should be guided by local ownership and control
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IS shall provide equal opportunity for women
Through this dialogue, OneWorld South Asia raises the concerns of grassroots into the international development dialogues such as this. By providing research-based policy recommendations, undertaking action research projects that harness the power of ICTs for voicing the voiceless, OneWorld South Asia underpins the necessity of mainstreaming ICTs into all development strategies.
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