WITT Bulletin. First issue!

In the first issue you will find:

WITT NEWS: Witt is developing and expanding

WITT ACTIVITIES: WITT has two new Focal Points! Czech Republic and Serbia and Montenegro.
Bulgaria and Macedonia Focal Points mandate has officially terminated!

WITT WEBSITE: Soon you can expect Witt to be multilingual!
Getting close to 20,000 hits!!! Have a look!

WITT REPRESENTATION AND PROMOTION Where we have been?
Where to meet Witt?

WITT NEWS WITT is developing and expanding

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The end of June has marked new development of WITT. Core Group had strategic planning meeting in Amsterdam hosted by IIAV and facilitated by Dana Hradcova as external expert invited to support WITT members to define its future. The most important outcomes of this meeting are:

1. WITT is defined as European network working in the field of Gender, Transformation, and Information and Communication Technologies.
2. Instead of Core Group, former decision making body of WITT, Interim Board has been established. It consists of 4 members:
   • Christina Haralanova, IRBF, Bulgaria – chair person
   • Natasa Stevanic, WITT, Serbia and Montenegro
   • Eva Cruells, Les Penelopes, France
   • Milica Gudovic, Zene na delu/Women at Work, Serbia and Montenegro
3. New coordinators of WITT have been appointed: Eva Cruells (Les Penelopes, France) and Milica Gudovic (Zene na delu/Women at Work, Serbia and Montenegro).
4. Contact person for WITT is Eva Cruells and you can write her at eva AT gmail DOT com or evacruells AT penelopes DOT org

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WITT ACTIVITIES

Following is the short description of exciting activities that took place in the period July – September.

WITT has two new Focal Points! Besides Macedonia and Bulgaria, WITT has established Focal Points in Czech Republic and Serbia and Montenegro. WITT Focal Point in Czech Republic is Lenka Simerska (lenka.simerska At ecn DOT cz) and for Serbia and Montenegro is Milica Gudovic (zenadelu AT yubc DOT net).

FPs are currently conducting Needs Assessment with aim to determine the needs of women’s organization in their respective countries related to the usage of ICTs as strategic tool. After completing this survey Focal Points would organize training for representatives of WNGOs.

Country FP reports:

CZECH REPUBLIC

July – Lenka Simerska has attended The Eclectic Tech Carnival as part of the Skills Development Program, July 11-15 in Graz, Austria

July/August - preparation for the NA, studying materials, designing the questionnaire in line with selected methods of the NA

September - pilot testing of NA questionnaire, distribution of the questionnaire among women’s organizations, collecting answers, possibly start analyses

SERBIA and MONTENEGRO

Needs Assessment – currently being conducted

Consultancy work – FP in Serbia is also doing consultancy work with women’s, youth and queer organizations on developing their web sites. Currently, FP is working with ATINA, organization focused on reintegration of girls, victims of trafficking, Novi Sad Lesbian Organization, and Queer Beograd. One of the web sites you can check is http://queeruption.org/queerbeograd

Web design trainings - Two months trainings that included basics of HTML and image editing were organized for activists of youth and queer organizations. 10 participants in two groups learned how to create simple web sites, but they were also introduced to Free Software concept, collaborative tool such is SPIP.

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Bulgaria and Macedonia Focal Points mandate has officially terminated!

The mandate of FPs in Bulgaria and Macedonia has officially terminated, and full reports are available upon demand. Bellow you can see activities done in these two countries.

Bulgaria

• Needs Assessment completed and presented at various events,
• Paper edition of Needs Assessment published
• Two trainings for representatives of women’s organizations
• Promotion of WITT on national and international level
• Writing for WITT web site
• Capacity building of FP through Skills development Program
• Active participation in numerous mailing lists
• Active participation in WITT decision making bodies (CG, Interim Board)

Future activities include:

• Maintain Local section of WITT web site

• Needs Assessment completed and presented at various events, report prepare
• Training for representatives of women’s organizations done
• Promotion of WITT on national level
• Writing for WITT web site
• Capacity building of FP through Skills development Program
• Active participation in WITT decision making bodies (CG, Interim Board)
• Participation in Information Society Task Force - Macedonia

Future activities include:

• Maintain Local section of WITT web site

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WITT WEBSITE

Soon you can expect Witt to be multilingual! Web team is currently working on further development of WITT web site and soon you can expect WITT to be multilingual.

Getting close to 20,000 hits!!! Currently there are more than 300 articles on WITT web site. WITT has been visited almost 19,790 times!!! We are getting close to 20,000 hits!!!

Have a look! In this section we provide you with some of the new articles we recommend!

Gender and ICT Training for Planning and Organizational Development by Taida Horozovic

Women in Information and Communication Technologies by Lenka Simerska

Conference Women Claiming the Information Society (WOCTIS) by Lenka Simerska

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WITT REPRESENTATION AND PROMOTION

Where we have been?

Participation in WOCTIS conference in Berlin

Cultural Center REX, Belgrade within project Plan B, presentation of projects ThinkTank and WITT

Round table “WSIS and gender equality” organized by women’s organizations Equal opportunities, Belgrade.

Round table ”National Strategy for an Information Society in Serbia”, Belgrade, organized by Center for Internet development, Belgrade

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Where to meet WITT?

Christina Haralanova, will present WITT at AWID Forum, Bangkok (October 27-30, 2005) in a session called: What Feminist Activism and Research in the CEE can teach the World?