Workshop co-ordinator: Nankunda Katangaza
ABANTU for Development, London, United Kingdom

The workshop aims to provide a forum for sharing experiences from around the world on how women's information has been gathered and used to influence decision-making processes. It also seeks to identify gaps and needs in the gathering and dissemination of women's information. This workshop further aims to examine and develop strategies for effective engagement with policy processes using women's information.

Presenters include:
Montserrat Argente - Centro de Documentación, Institut Catala de la Dona (Spain);
Victoria Jiménez González - Programa de Información para la Mujer, Universidad Nacional (Costa Rica);
Ranjan Karmaker - Steps Towards Development (Bangladesh);
Nankunda Katangaza - ABANTU for Development (UK); Muthoni Muriu - ENDA-SYNFEV (Senegal);
Ali Aissata Niandou - Centre d'Information et de Documentation Economique et Sociale (Niger);
Alexandra Ossei - Women's Enterprise Development Department, National Board for Small Scale Industries (Ghana);
Nguyen Thi Mai Thuy - Centre for Study on Women Workers (Vietnam);
and Chris Zwaenepoel - RoSa Documentatiecentrum Sekserollen en Feminisme (Belgium).

Workshop co-ordinator: Chat Garcia Ramilo
ISIS International-Manila, Quezon City, Philippines

Participants in this workshop will present their experiences through case studies and examples of effective information projects that directly influence government policies or programs, especially the implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action. Each presentation will focus on a unique area such as the experience of setting up issue-based documentation centres or ways of making gender information visible. At the end of the workshop, participants will try to draw up models for strategies that women can use for gender sensitive policy making.

Presenters include:
Jane Abonyo - University of Nairobi (Kenya);
Atawa Akyea - National Council on Women & Development (Ghana);
Jennifer Radloff - African Gender Institute, University of Cape Town (South Africa);
Ruth Ojiambo-Ochieng - ISIS-WICCE (Uganda);
Gill Kerchhoff - Women & Human Rights Documentation Centre, University of Western Cape (South Africa);
and Tran Mai Huong - National Committee for the Advancement of Women (Vietnam).

Workshop co-ordinator: Gill Kerchhoff
Women and Human Rights Documentation Centre, University of Western Cape, South Africa

Women's human rights demand more attention internationally now than ever before. Women's information is extremely valuable in assisting NGOs, government departments and international government agencies to improve the lives of women around the world.
This workshop will cover a broad range of topics from specific issues including education, violence against women, migrant workers, and women's health, to more general aspects of policy, and national and international legislation. The goal of the workshop is to develop a strategy whereby women who are involved in information work can promote the protection of human rights for women at the global level. We will compare the situation of women in different regions; discuss different regional and international human rights information organisations and networks; and share ideas on how effective information dissemination can influence policy makers regionally and internationally.

Presenters include:
Alejandra Scampini - REPEM (Uruguay); Nazifa Aabedi - Afghan Institute of Learning (Pakistan);
Gill Kerchhoff - Women and Human Rights Documentation Centre (South Africa);
Dian Paramita - Women's Studies Centre, Gadjah Mada University (Indonesia);
and Sudaba Timori - Afghan Women's Network (Pakistan).

Workshop co-ordinator:Irene Léon
ALAI (Agencia Latinoamericana de Informacion - Area Mujeres), Quito, Ecuador

The "information era" poses challenges to women to defend and appropriate our (human) right to expression, information and knowledge, if we are to ensure our democratic participation in the changing world and undertake effective advocacy for gender equality. In this context, new forms of social and political presence are emerging, such as media spaces and public opinion, which are indispensable areas of action both locally and globally. Communication and access to information are increasingly indispensable for timely feminist intervention. The media has acquired unprecedented levels of power and influence: it determines what is socially relevant. This has also given rise to a new form of social exclusion, which has affected women. Moreover, the concept of media is itself evolving, with the impact of new technologies that are redefining the limits between media and creating new openings and challenges for women's intervention.

The goal of this workshop is to emphasize concrete proposals and explore possible strategies related to feminist and women's information in the media. The presenters will address two basic questions: