Report back

Report Back on the Focus Network Interviews

Interview with Sylvie of AAW (APC Africa Women) whose goal is to empower women in the use of ICTs (and research and advocacy)
AAW has a number of challenges including growth, knowing who knows what ie. skills of network members
There is an unknown meaning of membership; people join to interact with women who work in ICTs but it isn't clear what they get out of it
Also lack of f2f interaction; dream of having an all network member meeting
Members are keen to use ICTs but there is an acknowledgement that access is an issue
Planning to develop a portal which would also include a portal; at the stage where they would like to make it live
Also promoting interaction among members using different tools
Creating a profile database with info on network members
Assessing the re-introduction of the newsletter
Finding additional resources
Collecting stories from their membership
AAW feels that they are making good inroads
language came up as a salient feature of their situation which wasn't addressed; will create a french and english version of the portal
feel that once the profiles are done they will be able to take advantage of the skills

Reflecting on Creco's work (a consortium of 23 CSOs)
One of the challenges that they wanted to address was the duplication of activities and failure to operate as a group

but rather as individuals;

Using learning platforms to support exchange and interaction
Equip the secretariat with internet connectivity
Also wanted to develop some guidelines for the consortium
Oversight on the willingness of the partners to take part in the implementation of the action and funding from donors
Created the learning platforms which proved to be quite successful
Dialogue between the various stakeholders
Draft code of contact has been developed but needs to be further refined
Grants was able to initiate process but needs more
Lessons learnt from implementing the project is that it is pivotal to support the platform as it brings in small CSOs

that have less resources

Recognition of the diversity
Need to develop a system to self-sustain their work in the absence of funding from other donors
What would they want to change: change the way that they implemented by putting more emphasis on training on ICT and

communication

ARN's aim is to promote research on emerging issues in the Information Society
Action: promotion and strengthening the capacity of sharing information using ICTs
Really appreciated the situation
African languages are missing in cyberspace
didn't expect the lateness in arrival of finances
what's been learned:
exercise patience
bringing network members on board
Actions: newsletter, special journal
network members didn't respond as we wanted them to

Interview with Jackie by Gracian
Implementation has been a year
We should all continue to support Harambee by sharing with each other
Harambee isn't just about supporting networks but building capacity with networks in many ways including funds for the implementation of a network activity

Interview with Goretti by Abu
Time lag between the implementation of the activity and the workshop and Addis; when the resources were received, there was a rush to implement
Made plans based on meeting in Addis without a clear sense of what funds were available but in the same vain it made Wougnet be more resourceful
In a position to apply the skills learnt in the future ie. at the Wougnet AGM

Action plan to streamline ICT activities in Africa and establish a legal secretariat
Hoping that they would be able to develop sustainability
Translate activism into results
Misperceptions: thought that there would be more funding; ended up having to be more resourceful
They realise that they need to strengthen network efficiency ie dealing with secretariat administration
Important to harness the passion of their volunteers; develop a strong system so that even as volunteers come and go they can continue on with activities
Clear structures need to be put in place
Important to learn from the experiences of other networks