No women, no web - Digital skills trainings in fragile contexts

re:publica 18 - Politics & Society

Almost half of the world’s population are online by now. But online experiences differ greatly, depending on income, geography and gender. In fragile contexts, internet usage is often constrained by power outages, high costs and a lack of digital skills. The session discusses how civil society organizations in South Sudan, Lebanon and Pakistan use digital skills training to teach women and girls how to navigate the internet safely and take full advantage of its opportunities.

• Eva Yayi Mawa Upele
• Yine Yenki Nyika
• Nayla Zreik Fahed
• Iffat Gill

Poverty, illiteracy as well as armed conflicts continue to be the everyday reality for much of the world's population. One could reckon that being online appears to be the least of a problem for people in places affected by conflict. Additionally, power outages, scarce infrastructure and a lack of digital skills make the online world appear even further out of reach for them.

Despite - or perhaps precisely because of these challenges, civil society organizations use digital skills trainings to engage, educate and empower women and girls in these contexts. What is their motivation? What challenges do they face? And why is it so important to empower innovative, independent and self-confident women and girls? How do digital skills shape their understanding of the web and their own future prospects?

The session explores the potentials and challenges of teaching digital skills to female users in fragile contexts. Projects from South Sudan, Lebanon and Pakistan will present their approaches of how they use digital skills trainings to empower girls and women.

supported by BMZ