Jakarta, Indonesia - 25 May 2009

APCICT has provided advisory support in designing and delivering an ICT training programme for female Indonesian government officials on 25-29 May 2009 in Jakarta, Indonesia, in partnership with the Korean Ministry of Gender (MOGE) and the Korea Productivity Center. The training is part of MOGE’s IT Capacity Building Programme for Women in the APEC Region that started in 2003. Select training materials from APCICT’s flagship initiative – the Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders – that focus on ways in which ICTs can be leveraged for women’s empowerment and the promotion of gender equality will be used for this training programme. The Academy modules will also provide the knowledge and tools to mainstream gender issues in ICT project management.

25 May 2009
Press Release No: G/38/2009

Bangkok  (UN/ESCAP  Information Services)  – Women continue to trail behind men  in  their ability to access information and communication technologies (ICTs)  –  denying  them  the opportunity to fully participate in and drive equitable development.

In  recognition  of  ICTs’  power  to  improve  gender  equality,  a United Nations-run  ICT  Capacity  Building  Programme  for  Women starts today in Jakarta,  Indonesia,  with  participation  by  over  30  female  government officials  from various provinces and cities of Indonesia. The programme is supported  by  Indonesia’s Ministry of Women’s Empowerment (MOWE) which has made training women on ICT a key priority.

The  week-long training is part of the Republic of Korea Ministry of Gender Equality’s  (MOGE)  IT  Capacity  Building  Programme for Women in the APEC Region,  which  started  in  2003.  The  United  Nations  Asian and Pacific Training   Centre   for   Information   and  Communication  Technology  for Development  (APCICT)  is  providing  advisory  support  in  the design and delivery  of the training programme, at the request of MOGE.  Additionally, relevant training materials from APCICT’s flagship curriculum – the Academy of ICT Essentials for Government Leaders – will be used.

The Bahasa Indonesia version of the Academy curriculum will be delivered by local  presenters  from  the  University  of  Indonesia  who have undergone APCICT’s regional Academy training of trainers programme.

“Enabling women to use ICTs for their benefit does not simply mean building their  capacity  to  access technologies”, said Hyeun-Suk Rhee, Director of APCICT.  “Women should also have the capacity to participate in the design, influence the content and shape the uses of ICTs”.

The  training  programme  will include sessions on the linkages between ICT and  the  Millennium  Development  Goals  (in  particular  MDG3  on  gender equality),  e-government,  ICT  trends,  ICT project management, and gender mainstreaming.

Also  in  Indonesia,  the  Third  National  Academy  of  ICT Essentials for Government  Leaders  Workshop  organized  by  the  Indonesian  Ministry  of Communication  and  Information  Technology,  University  of  Indonesia and APCICT  will  take place on 30 June - 3 July 2009. This is part of a series of Academy workshops for Indonesian government officials aimed at equipping them  with  the  knowledge  and  skills  to  fully utilize ICT for national development.

Supporting  the  Academy  is  the  APCICT  Virtual Academy (AVA), an online distance  learning platform that aims to promote easy access to the Academy modules  and  encourage  life-long  learning.  AVA ensures the inclusion of female  participants in ICT capacity building training programmes by making the course materials readily available and self-paced, allowing flexibility as  to  the  time and place the courses are being taken. “Through AVA, more women  government  officials  are  expected  to be reached and empowered to participate in the Information Society,” said Ms. Rhee.

For more information about the Academy, visit http://www.unapcict.org/academy.

APCICT Virtual Academy – http://ava.unapcict.org.

IT Capacity Building Programme for Women in the APEC Region – http://www.itge.org.

 

Organizer
UN-APCICT