GenARDIS Evaluation Report
released in 2007
An evaluation to assess the achievements of the GenARDIS grants during Phase I and Phase II was carried out with grantees and honorable mentions in 2006. It found that GenARDIS small grants are making "important inroads in the ICT for development field" in African, Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) countries and "consciously encourage and engender the adoption and application of ICT." Download the report summary (pdf, 417 kb), including key recommendations, or the entire report (pdf, 3.2 mb).
GenARDIS Partners
Centre Technique de Coopération Agricole
et Rurale ACP-UE / Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
ACP-EU
www.cta.int
Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries
www.hivos.org
International Research Development Centre / Centre
de recherches pour le développement international
www.idrc.ca
International Institute for Communication and Development
www.iicd.org
GenARDIS Administrating Partner
Association for Progressive Communications
www.apc.org
Women's Networking Support Programme
www.apcwomen.org
GenARDIS Contact
2005 WINNERS
- Benin, Awareness-building, training and implementation project of an agricultural information system based on ICTs, at the benefit of ten women's groups in the Dassa-Zoumé district in Benin [Information systems;Agricultural production] [ICTs] [Internet training] [Rural women]
- Burkina Faso, Project to strengthen the ICT skills of 30 peasant women [Multi-stakeholder partnership;Women and technology] [ICTs] [Computer training;Internet training] [Rural women;Women farmers]
- Congo (Kinshasa), Campaign to support and educate Uvira’s rural women in NICT use for gender advocacy [Gender advocacy] [ICTs] [Training;Computer training] [Rural women]
- Ghana, Promoting the cultivation of healthy vegetables by farmers: a gender approach to using information and communication technologies [Agricultural production;Access to market information;Gender roles] [ICTs;Radio] [Agricultural production;Computer training;Internet training;Training] [Women farmers;Rural women]
- Kenya, Engendering Equality: A Health and Agriculture Community-Based Information and Communication System Project
- Lesotho, Widening the Wellhead. Creating and Using a dedicated cellular phone network to add Information, Value and Dignity to the Work of Women in Lesotho’s Agricultural sector [Agricultural production;Gender roles] [Mobile phones;ICTs] [Agricultural production] [Rural women]
- South Africa, Developing rural expertise in spatial dynamics – participatory GIS in the rooibos tea lands of the Suid Bokkeveld (Northern Cape Province) [Agricultural production;Information systems] [Training;Agricultural production] [Rural women;Farmers]
- South Africa, Mobile Learning for Change [Information systems;Agricultural production;Gender advocacy] [Mobile phones;ICTs] [Training] [Rural women;Women farmers]
- Tonga, Coconut Productions Video Training Kit [Gender advocacy] [Radio;Television;ICTs] [Training] [Rural women]
- Trinidad & Tobago, Proposal to Test the Use of Mobile Cell Phones among a Select Group of Female and Male Farmers in Trinidad and Tobago
GenARDIS Round 3
GenARDIS is a Small Grants Fund to address Gender Issues in Information and Communication Technologies for Agricultural and Rural Development in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP Countries). The call for applications closed on 2nd June 2008. Thank you to those who have sent in their submissions!
We received an overwhelming number of applications which are currently being reviewed by the Jury. Because of the number of applications, we will announce the short-list of 20 selected projects in late July 2008. The first GenARDIS workshop will be rescheduled once selection is announced.
The Jury consists of women and men who have experience in issues of gender, information and communication technologies and rural and agricultural projects.
Expect a public announcement near the end of July 2008.
If you are interested in being kept up-to-date with developments in the GenARDIS project, please keep visiting this website and/or send your email to genardis@cta.int
Thank you once again for your interest and we look forward to disseminating more news and updates soon.
“This prize will be of great help to us in building our capacity to promote the rights of women farmers through the demystification of new information and communication technologies (new ICTs), and through gender advocacy. This prize will have a real impact on our support activities for women farmers in the sectors of agriculture, breeding, handicrafts, and in helping them to learn about their rights via their literacy efforts. Such capacity building will increase our usefulness to other women, and to our entire community.”
-- Campaign to support and build awareness of rural women of Uvira about the promotion of ICTs for gender advocacy. Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“Cell phones are only available to 30 out
of every 1000 Basotho. It is a luxury good for poor families. The GENardis
project, will make the cellular phone an indispensable piece of communications
equipment between the women in the Eyking project, the officers of the
cooperative and the market. Having a phone and controlling it to enhance
the profitability of their SMEs will enhance the role of women.”
-- Creating and using a dedicated cellular phone network
to add information, value and dignity to the work of women in Lesotho's
agricultural sector. Lesotho.
Gender, Agriculture and Rural Development in the Information Society Small Grants
The GenARDIS Small Grants Fund was initiated in 2002 to support work on gender-related issues in information and communication technologies (ICTs) for Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) agricultural and rural development.
The programme was developed in recognition of the constraints and challenges encountered by rural women in ACP countries with respect to ICTs. The challenges include cultural factors that hinder women’s access to ICTs, limited time availability to participate in training and use of ICTs, minimal access to technology such as radios, mobile telephones or computers, and inadequate availability of information in local languages that is relevant to local contexts.
Submissions consist of research programmes, training courses, publications, broadcasts, theatre productions, promotion materials, etc. – whatever need could be addressed by the means available to the many creative grant applicants. All projects focus on innovative use of ICTs by or for rural women to improve the well-being of their families and communities.
Two rounds of grants have been offered since the fund came into being. The response to both rounds has been overwhelming. In 2005, more than 310 submissions were received in a period of two months.
This is a clear indication that there still is a real need for support in the field of ‘gender and agriculture in the information society’.
Challenges of the Digital Divide
A 'digital divide' exists not only between the North and the South, between urban and rural areas, but also between men and women.
Gender disparities mean that the opportunities offered by ICTs are not immediately available to the poorest of the poor - who are mostly women.
Rural women in ACP countries face important constraints and challenges with respect to ICTs. These include:
- limited time availability to participate in training and use of ICTs
- minimal access to technology such as radios, mobile telephones
or computers
- inadequate availability of information in local languages that is relevant to local contexts