알림·소식

Articles

- ICTs and its Social Meanings: Women in the Margins of Thailand
- Dilemma of International Female Migrant Workers as Agent of Rural Development in Indonesia
- eBunda: Building Collaboration through Radio Broadcast
- Intel Easy Steps Program: Empowering Women through Digital Literacy
- Selection of the Priority Countries in the ICT Sector for the ASEAN-ROK Cooperation
- e-Government for Women in Korea: Implications to Developing Countries in Asia
- APWIN Guidelines for Contributors

Editorial

The untapped potential of women is considered a key to drive national economic development and to spur social changes in many developing countries. Notably,the Beijing Declaration on Women and the UN Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) acknowledged that investing in women?s capacity building is one of the most urgent and strategic goals of international development community.

Despite the efforts to date however, women, as a group representing half of the world?s population, yet earn just 10 percent of the world?s income. According to the latest Global Gender Gap report published by the World Economic Forum in 2011, economic and political participation continue to show the largest gaps around the world, compared to a steady catch-up in other aspects including the health and survival and education attainment. Lack of access to, and control over productive resources is one of the major factors that hamper women?s equal participation in economic activities and decision-making process.

Since 1996, the Asia Pacific Women?s Information Network Center (APWINC) has helped women in developing countries fulfill their economic potential and drive economic and social changes in their communities, particularly tapping into the transformative power of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Additionally, APWINC strives to leverage the strong global network of government officials and academics in Gender & ICT field that the Center has accumulated over a decade, to raise awareness of the importance of improving women?s socioeconomic potential and to help move this global agenda to the next level.

In this issue of APWIN journal for 2011, we are delighted to feature six papers that highlight various local and regional efforts to improve women?s socioeconomic potential through creative use of ICT.

First, Mary Luz Menguita-Feranil looks at the implication ICTs? influence in the lives of marginalized women migrant workers and refugees in Thailand. Her research delves into the specific context of a repressive military regime of Burma, and examines how such an environment influences women?s community empowerment through the use of ICT.

Lala M. Kolopaking?s ethno-survey spotlights the case of international female migrant workers from Indonesia. He explores the complicated social recognition of female migrant workers which often conveys dual meanings -- a change agent in rural communities on one hand and a stigmatized unskilled worker in informal sector on the other.

Nur ?AzimahZaili and RozanaYunos examine the case of eBunda community radio in Brunei Darussalam. Their research highlights the utilization of community radio station in combination with social networking sites, SMS and live chats.

They present an interesting example of women?s community empowerment, as to how to choose the right, appropriate combination of technologies to maximize the program outreach.

Russell Campbell presents a case of a digital literacy program for women in a corporate social responsibility initiative of Intel. The article provides clear evidence that the potential of a broader public-private partnership for women?s socioeconomic empowerment program is strong.

Finally, submissions by Yoo-Jin Han and Haley Hyun and by Dong Ju Choi and Hanah Zoo present findings from two studies recently conducted by the APWINC research team. Han and Hyun feature the ASEAN ? Korean cooperation effort commissioned by the ASEAN. Choi and Zoo present the case of Korean e-Government services for women, conducted in part of a regional research commissioned by the United Nations Project Office on Governance (UNPOG).

We would like to thank all the contributors to this volume for gladly sharing their successful experiences and knowledge with the APWIN readers.

Editor, APWIN
Dong Ju Choi